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Why is it that one of our favorite times of year, the holidays, is also when we find ourselves stressed to the max? It's self-imposed, for sure, and really unnecessary. So now I'm giving you permission to do a little less this holiday season, with the end result being more time to ENJOY the season!

I'm sure some of you might have read "do less this holiday season" and are already freaking out. WHAT IS SHE TALKING ABOUT? HOW CAN I DO THAT? MY FAMILY! MY FRIENDS! THE GIFTS! THE TREE! THE FOOD!

OK, so let's just all take a nice deep breath together. Inhale…exhale… Now let's get to the heart (and ease) of the matter. The holidays are not about how much you do; they're about how much TIME you spend with your FAMILY. We all have gifts to wrap—sure. I've come to love using gift bags or our GIFT WRAP IN A SNAP to make that job a little easier and quicker.

And if you decorate a tree, why not start with a pre-lit version, like this Sunday's Today's Special Value from Bethlehem Lights? The FUN of tree decorating is in the ornaments, so let someone else do the lights.

And when it comes to entertaining, my favorite tip is picking one part of the meal you DON'T make from scratch. If you're stuffing the turkey and mashing the potatoes, why not have an award-winning bakery like Junior's New York Desserts handle dessert? But that's not all! See some of my favorite ways to use QVC's assortment of candies and sweets for the holidays in this month's The Joy of Christmas video blog below. And remember, you really CAN host the holidays, and eat your cake too!

From my holiday home to yours,
—Jill Bauer