SCROOGE OR SANTA 2008
GO MOM!® Tips Help Moms Manage Every Winter Holiday FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Molly H. Gold at via email
919/387-3848
Apex, NC (November 2008) - Today, GO MOM!® INC offers a new twist to help Moms craft a holiday season about more than just a to-do list. "Even before Halloween, the Holiday season is well under way, presenting busy Moms with an overwhelming and herculean challenge to juggle it all," states Molly Gold, Founder of GO MOM!® INC. "No matter what winter holiday you celebrate, if you aren't careful you'll feel more like Scrooge with every day that passes thanks to a calendar that is overbooked with commitments made out of obligation versus priority." To avoid falling prey to six weeks of bah hum bug in your home, try these tips to help you strike a balance between enjoying your winter holidays for the wonderful season it is and staying grounded all the same:
Schedule: Before you even think about saying yes to another Open House invitation or request to bring cookies to the school play, pull out your planner and get your family schedule in order. This tool is your single most powerful defense to over committing both your family and yourself. First, review your calendar to make sure you have all the usual elements entered, such as carpool, business travel, sports schedules, and more. Then go back through and add in important academic dates for your kids such as due dates for projects and test dates as well. This will help you recognize when you need to block additional study or research time during the week and on the weekend that might otherwise be given away to social events. It's project management 101 for both you and your kids and you won't regret making that priority remain clear for everyone to see. Take it one step further and if you don't already do it, block time weekly to manage grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning. We all know that when things get really busy, this is the frontline that falls apart first so consider calling all hands on deck and divide and conquer with your spouse and family to make these maintenance chores run as smoothly as they can. It's only after these key tasks and important activity dates are protected on your calendar that you can then begin to introduce the holidays. You'll have no problem saying no to one more invitation if you've spent the last six nights on the go and can't remember which order to call your kids names when you need them front and center!
Budget: This compass is of equal importance to your schedule because truly, it is your boundary marker for any additional activities you might pursue. The key is whether or not you will adhere to it. Sit down this weekend and draw out your holiday budget. Be sure to include categories not just for family gifts but charitable giving, additional food and entertaining, holiday cards, photos, decorations, postage for both cards and gifts, gifts not just for your family but for teachers, neighbors, and anyone else you might include, travel and finally wardrobe. Remember, if you can't pay with cash, then don't pay with credit. Simply cut back by looking at ways to do things differently and focus on the reason for your season, whatever it might be. Then look at each of these categories as an event you need to plan for. Pick a date on your calendar that you want each one completed by and simply work your way back to today and break down what steps you need to do to make that happen. Out of town gifts are a great example. In order to ship all your gifts by the USPS guarantee delivery date, you'll need to shop, wrap, and package up your purchases to avoid both the long lines and extra postage you'll incur if you miss it. Your budget will give you the boundary for the task while your planner will tell you when you need to add that task in to what's already on your plate, helping you balance your path every step of the way as we count down to the Holidays and all they have to offer.
Give: Every year charities across the country face a growing challenge to make budget as donors pocketbooks are squeezed more tightly. This year in particular, charities are not only seeing donations slide but at the same time, their population needing support is unfortunately exploding due to the dangerous economic climate. At the holidays, this shortage will be painfully apparent not only because the holidays seem to assault our will power to avoid overspending but as well, you may find yourself knowing someone who has lost their job or even worse, you or your partner may be in the midst of a corporate downsizing yourself. So, how can we give when we don't know what's ahead? By choosing to give first and indulge our own wants second. If yours is the house known for throwing the big holiday event of the neighborhood, invite everyone to put money they might use towards a hostess gift or ornament and instead hold a fundraiser for a community charity of choice. Donations can be tax deductible and it will inspire all those around you to think twice about where their holiday money is really going. And goodness knows, the last thing you need is another set of monogrammed tissues! If you usually hold a cookie exchange, turn it into a food drive again taking the same amount of money everyone might already allocate and collecting it for an organization that can feed families with those dollars when food pantries shelves are running dangerously low. The big question here is who are you giving to and can you show your love to those who know you with less material objects and use your resources for those who don't know you to truly help hold them up at such a conflicting time of year? And finally, you can avoid the monetary question all together by volunteering time and effort as a group in any manner of ways, including serving or delivering meals, providing labor for minor repairs, or offering donations of unused clothing and household items from your own home. Our family will make the choice to celebrate this holiday with gratitude for what we already have and offer whatever we can to those who need our resources more. It's a family decision so call a meeting and ask your kids and partner what they think. I bet you'll be amazed at their solutions.
GO MOM!® INC helps mothers make positive mothering a daily reality through the platform GO MOM!® Schedule. Organize. Grow.®. GO MOM!® INC is located in Apex, NC and promotes the use of the GO MOM!® product line which is based on unique scheduling solutions for everything family. The GO MOM!® product line is produced via license partnership with Mead Westvaco Consumer and Office Products and sold at most Office Max stores nationwide.
GO MOM!® INC Founder, Molly Gold, is a 42-year-old mother of three and the creator of The GO MOM!® product line. Gold is known for her keen insights into Family Scheduling and has been featured both in print and on air media alike. She is a Family Balance Contributor and Blogger at www.PreciousMoms.com as well as Family Scheduling Expert at www.BlueSuitMom.com. She was a featured Family Time Management Expert for Time Makeover on Fine Living Network and served as the 2007 Home Management Expert on Kenmore.com. Gold's work has most recently been featured in print in Scholastic Parent & Child, Pregnancy & Newborn, Pregnancy, Family Circle, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Cooking Light, Parents, Women's Health, and Family Fun Magazines, on air with NBC's Today Show Weekend Edition, and as a contributing author in "The Experts Guide to the Baby Years," Ettus.
For interviews with Molly Gold, you can e-mail her directly at via email.
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