New Year's Eve Archives - McKenzie Interior Design

Who’s ready to choose their Christmas cards. What?? I haven’t put away my Bermuda shorts yet, you say! As a corporate wife of a Berkshire Hathaway company CEO, mom of an active family of now young adults, and all that entails, I’ve learned a few things over the years and would like to share some words of wisdom with you.

Planning ahead will save you time, money and avoid stress. Plain and simple.

Read on for my helpful tips and a Giveaway from Minted.com!

Since you may need some time to pull together photos, addresses, etc, it is really smart to start thinking about this holiday tradition now. To help you with holiday cards, here’s my easy action plan, aided by Minted.com, which provides unique images from independent artists.

its-a-wonderful-life-script-by-christine-taylor

First, what card suits your family this year? Spend some time thinking about all the fun events, birthdays, milestones for your family. There are so many options these days – Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year’s. Was there a special occasion in your family this year, perhaps a wedding or big trip? Now that we’re Empty Nesters (I think that’s defined by what’s in your fridge these days which are mostly condiments, cheese and wine), holiday cards take on a different look. No matching smocked outfits, less time all together as a family, school, work and their own families happen, so there are fewer photo opportunities. If you’re going to be taking photos with the extended family at Christmas, perhaps a Happy New Year’s card suits you best.
Schedule 15-20 minutes for a few days to go through your photos. Are the family photos on your phone? Your spouse’s phone? Did someone take a good couples photo of you at an event? Save them in a universal spot like Google photos or iPhotos.
Delete bad photos. Never a better time than now and it frees up more space to capture new memories.
Now that you have an idea of what the contenders are, in terms of images, develop a game plan to fill in the photo blanks. For instance, here’s my current photo summary and game plan…
- I have 0 photos of me and spouse – Someone needs to take a cute pic of us!
- Good quantity of SM, me and child #3
- Cute photos of our married kids sent to me already
- I need photos of this year’s college graduate. Who has one?
- Plenty of photos of Duke the Shop dog!
  Duke the Shop Dog
Now for the fun part – browse your favorite online stationery source. I’m super-excited about Minted. Save your favorite unique designs with their handy heart symbol, download your photos and see how it looks in each design. Minted has a handy “Find It Fast” button where you can see your photos in several cards, making it easy to choose your favorites.

unique images — Minted.com makes it easy to send holiday sentiments!

My goal is to have narrowed down my choices to three by late October and an order goal of November 5th. I’ve learned what works for me – plan ahead and diminish the panic feeling as we head toward Thanksgiving (my mailing date goal). Enjoy this time thinking about your family, and the dear friends who will enjoy your special cards. ~Jill

Bonus = A Giveaway! Minted has generously offered to share their unique designs from independent artists with a $100 Giveaway toward holiday cards. See the latest trends and updated classic holiday card designs. Click here to enter to win $100 to shop Minted! No purchase necessary and giveaway ends midnight Nov. 2nd.

This post and images (except Duke’s photos) are sponsored by Minted, but all text, and opinions are all my own.

Can you believe we’ve almost made it to 2015?!? Where has this last year gone???

Well, we can tell you, we’ve spent a lot of time moving… Not only did we move the showroom to our new location, we moved from the suburbs to a condo in the city and helped all three of our children move in the past year. Phew! I think we’re ready for a quieter 2015, but we’ll see.

newyearsdogs — In the McKenzie family, everyone gets in on the NYE fun… even the dogs!

This New Year’s Eve, we’re looking forward to a casual celebration in said new condo – we’re having so much fun christening it with holiday soirees! The view from our new place is pretty spectacular, so we feel pretty confident we’ll see some fireworks at midnight.

view from the new condo — View from the new condo – perfect for NYE fireworks viewing!

In our younger days, we tried all the prix fixe fetes, and while they were totally indulgent and holiday-worthy, we actually have come to appreciate the holiday at home. We invite friends over, cook and play games; it’s a hoot!

A staple on our New Year’s Eve menu is crab cakes. In the past, we’ve picked them up from The Red Bar, off 30A in Florida, and cooked them at home. This year, we may look to the Fresh Market for a cook-at-home solution, or if we’re feeling really adventurous, perhaps we’ll whip up our own batch for the crowd.

051099070-01-classic-crab-cake-recipe2_xlg — Classic crab cakes = a must on our NYE menu.

And, of course, there’s champagne. Perhaps we’ll be sipping out of these fabulous new flutes, which we’re carrying in the showroom…

happy new years post image 13 dollars ea — Fun new flutes available in the steve mckenzie’s showroom.

***Hostess tip from Jill – If you forget to pop the champagne in the fridge earlier in the day, don’t fret – simply fill one side of your sink with ice and cold water (it must be slushy) and put a few bottles in; they’ll be perfectly chilled in 30 minutes flat!

As for the games, try Ellen Degenerous’ game “Head’s Up!” for some fun and laughs. It’s similar to what she plays with her celebrity guests, only now we can play with our friends at home.