The holidays can be an incredibly stressful time for parents, so I’ve turned to parenting expert Sue Groner for some tips and tricks for dealing with family-related holiday stress.

It’s late on Christmas Eve. You’re bleary-eyed, devoid of cheer, and still not done wrapping presents. Every time the wind blows, you’re on high alert like a reindeer caught in the headlights. Was that a footstep? Are the kids still asleep? Wasn’t there an extra roll of tape around here somewhere?!

As your thoughts drift to tomorrow, your spirits are raised a bit. You think of the excited looks on your kids’ faces as they unwrap their gifts. A halo of bedhead encircles them and their eyes are wide and full of incredible joy. Your heart just might burst.

Then you consider what will happen when sugar is added to their already excited little bodies. And what will happen when this mixture is then combined with judgy relatives just waiting to help improve your parenting skills.

Does this rollercoaster sound familiar?

The holidays can be a bitch. With all the warm, happy, holly jolly feelings, there is also a definite side of stress. Whether money is tight, there’s family drama, or your kids have reached a point of overstimulation you’re just not sure they’ll come back from, it can be difficult to know just how to deal.

Since I’m no expert, I decided to pick the brain of Sue Groner, founder of The Parenting Mentor and author of the new book Parenting: 101 Ways to Rock Your World.

One of the holiday traditions that I get super excited and all squealy about is our children’s book advent calendar. Since we’re big-time book lovers, it made perfect sense for us to turn our “calendar” into a basket overflowing with books. We do the whole cheap chocolate thing too, but the girls and I absolutely love the excitement of opening up a book each and every night leading up to Christmas, getting under a cozy blanket, and reading by Christmas tree light.

Before I give you a peek at some of the books that are included in our tradition, I thought it might be helpful to give you a few tips. This does not have to be an expensive tradition! I am the Queen of Cheap. I would not run to the nearest bookstore and shell out hundreds of dollars on books that we’ll only read once a year.

How to build a children’s book advent calendar library without going broke

1) Be flexible. The books don’t all have to be about Christmas. I include any wintry books that make us all holly jolly. If there’s snow involved, it can be considered! This makes it much easier to do the next step.

2) Shop your personal library. Comb through your children’s book collection and make a great big pile of books that could work. You might be surprised at what you already have. Depending on how many books you own, you might not even need to go out and purchase more.

3) Get thrifty. If you do need to fill in (we did), don’t head straight to the bookstore. Hit up tag sales, consignment stores, and library sales first. You’d be amazed at how many used books you can grab for a dollar.

This post is in partnership with Minted. All gushing (and stray drops of drool) are my own.

Usually when I think of Minted, I think of insanely beautiful invitations and cards.

You know when you’re going through a stack of Christmas cards and one feels so luxurious in your hand that you have to touch it for a little longer than necessary? That can’t be just me, right? Or the ones with designs that kind of make you want to frame them and hang them up on your wall… even if someone else’s family will be staring back at you? Yeah, well those are usually from Minted. And I’m a total sucker for them.

What I didn’t realize is that Minted also offers a variety of holiday gifts and decor that are just as drool worthy. Let’s take a little peek together…

Who knew tree skirts could be so stinking beautiful? Yes, I’ve seen cute ones before. But these are some other level awesome without looking like someone had a little too much egg nog and vomited pent up holiday spirit under your tree. The graphic prints on these beauties are subtly festive and they get major bonus points for being reversible (kind of like dresses with pockets).

A few years ago, when I was pregnant with Ellie, my friends and I had an ugly Christmas sweater party. It was hilarious and ridiculous. We had a lot of fun and totally wanted to do it again. Fast forward a year and ugly Christmas sweaters were suddenly outrageously expensive.

I don’t know about you, but I have zero interest in shelling out $25+ to wear something once and laugh at its sheer ugliness. I’m way too cheap for that.

But I do still love the idea of a good ugly Christmas sweater. It just needs to be a cheap one. Like, maybe, a sweatshirt or sweater that I already own and never wear and a few dollar store embellishments. Now that sounds much better to me.

These ugly Christmas sweater DIYs having varying levels of difficulty, but all of them are nice and cheap. Now. Go forth and get ugly!

10 ugly Christmas sweater DIYs

Sometimes I feel like my taste is in a constant battle with itself. I’m absolutely drawn to things that are classic. Audrey Hepburn. Stripes. Clean lines. I really love these things.

But I also really like quirky. Like, a lot. A little pop of color, a little sparkle, a little razzmatazz to catch your attention, possibly confuse you a little, and infuse a bit of fun.

Sometimes these two loves don’t get along. In fact, sometimes they clash pretty hardcore. But then there are the times when classic and quirky meet and the skies clear and angels sing at their perfect marriage. Those are the things I try to hold out for. It doesn’t always work, but it’s fun to try!

I scoured Etsy trying to find a nice mix of classic and quirky holiday decor that works without seeming too clashy. At least I think so. Feel free to tell me I’m wrong in the comments. 😉