2012 is almost here, and that means New Year’s resolutions are due. If you’re like many people, you know the drill: You make resolutions, you do well with them the first few weeks, you do less well with them after the first month, and you give up on them after a few months. But for all of you families out there, I have an approach that may help you have greater success with your 2012 resolutions.

Of course most of us have the best of intentions in following through on our resolutions, but it’s hard to make such big changes on our own. In this vein, as a husband and parent, I’ve learned that people can do a much better job of sticking to their resolutions if they do them together as a family. If your spouse or children are also keeping track of how well you’re making progress toward a resolution, you not only disappoint yourself when you begin to reach short of a resolution, you disappoint them, too. And the same goes for them when you’re a part of keeping track of their progress. Think of the old saying: There’s safety in numbers.

In particular, I’ve seen two ways that making resolutions as a family can help individual family members better reach their goals. First, simply making a commitment to hold each other accountable for resolutions creates an added incentive not to disappoint a family member with a lapse in will. If your goal is to lose 10 pounds and you have a young daughter who is helping you with this, would you really eat that big after-dinner snack at home as easily as you would if no one but you were keeping tabs on your progress?

A second way that tackling resolutions together as a family can help family members better reach their goals is that, by going through this process, you can show your children the importance of sticking with something and seeing things through to the end. The bigger lesson here about reaching New Year’s resolutions is that, more than achieving just a single goal, it shows your children that they can succeed in making big changes and accomplishing worthy goals if they put their minds to it. If your son has a goal to improve his grade in math, and if you keep checking in on him to push him to help him ultimately achieve this, this can serve as a tremendous motivator for his confidence at a formative age.

For these two reasons, I highly recommend you see this time of making resolutions as one that is not in isolation. Making resolutions should be something that does not just occur at the turn of a new year, but at many times throughout the year, when you see things that you can change about yourself and change with your family members.

While New Year’s resolutions are something that are oftentimes something that we get sidetracked from after a short time, they don’t have to be. If you can turn to a family member and to hold you accountable, you are and will be kept on a path to completion, and success. I hope you give it a try.

The holiday season is upon us.  Between the hustle and bustle of parties, shopping and decorating, stress levels can elevate quickly.  Keep a few things in mind to help survive this (and any other) holiday.

Don’t try to make it perfect.  Let’s face it.  The only perfect Christmas comes in the form a Norman Rockwell painting.   It is a myth.  The pies may end up burnt or the tree may end up crooked.  In the end, it really will not matter.

Give yourself a timeout.  If you feel that you are just running here and there and can’t catch your breath just stop.  Take a bath, read a book or watch a holiday movie.  Remember to give yourself a little down time every single day.

Ask for help.  If you are hosting parties at your home, don’t try to do it all yourself.  Ask guests to bring the wine or baked goods.  Opt for a potluck meal instead of cooking it yourself.  Enlist your kids and spouse to help set the table.  Ask your spouse to help finish decorating the mantle.  Asking for help doesn’t make you weak – it makes you human.

Don’t overspend.  Sure, we would all love to give the perfect holiday gift.  And oftentimes, the perfect gift can end up being pricey.  As simple as it is to whip out the credit card to pay for it, remember that with the credit card will come bills in January.  Set (and stick to) your budget and you can eliminate the financial stress.

Remember the Reason for Season.  It is so easy to get wrapped up in the details of the holidays. At the end of the day, it is spending time with your family and friends that matters most of all.  In fact, it is sometimes the things that don’t go the right way that make for the perfect holiday season!

Is it just me or do the holidays creep up sooner every year? (Or maybe I’m just less organized each year?) Having kids will do that to you, so my strategy for tackling the gift list is to put the little ones to work in the kitchen. The mess will be worth the outcome – special presents for teachers, grandma or just about anyone on your list. Here are a few ideas to get started:

Mini Breads & Bites – Combine your kids’ favorite fruit and nuts to make mini quick breads (you can purchase small foil loaf tins at the supermarket.) Try this recipe for Mini Pear Walnut Bread or Carrot Cake Bites. Cool and wrap in colored plastic wrap.

Cereal in a Jar – Look online for homemade granola recipes, which are usually simple enough for the younger kids to help make. Package in a Mason jar with a few cinnamon sticks tied with a bow. Or simply layer oats, cinnamon, dried fruit and nuts in a jar for a flavored oatmeal mix.

Spice Sets – Have kids stir up different spice mixes. Pour into glass vials with a handwritten tag attached listing the ingredients or ideas on what foods to flavor with. Some fun combinations:

Sweet Spice= Cinnamon + nutmeg + sugar
Salt Replacer = Black pepper + thyme + garlic powder
Spice with a Kick = Chili powder + paprika + cumin

Fruit Sauces- Cook down cut apples with a little sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a pot over medium heat. Or make other fruit sauces using canned pears, peaches or apricots. Mix in nutmeg, cloves or allspice for different festive flavors. Seal in Mason jars tied with sprig of rosemary or evergreen. (Keep refrigerated.)

Herb garden – Have your kids paint small planters then have them pot herb plants or seeds. “Kitchen window friendly” herbs include basil, thyme or parsley. For an extra festive gift, pot a small rosemary plant and trim like a Christmas tree.

Here’s to happy kitchen memories this holiday season!

Thanksgiving has always represented a day to me when, whatever situation you’re in and wherever you find yourself, you go out of your way to be with your family and friends to share your life’s blessings. These were values instilled in me when I was growing up, and I’m more and more aware of the importance of instilling them in my own children now.

But how do you keep the traditions of Thanksgiving alive in a world where everyone seems to be busier and busier and where technology is changing our communication from face-to-face conversations to text messages on personal devices? I take two approaches to overcoming these kinds of challenges. First, I make it a point to work in our daily family conversations the things that we have to be thankful for. This includes everything from the basics such as our food, clothes, and house, to luxuries such as vacations and birthday and holiday gifts, to more intangible things such as our health and family time.

Second, I find a local charity, such as a food bank, where I can get my children some hands-on involvement in helping those less fortunate. I want them to get their hands dirty and see with their own eyes the help they can deliver to others as well as the need of the people they’re delivering it to. And I want them to walk away having a greater understanding of how lucky we are and how we cannot take our luck for granted, as there are many people just within our own community who don’t have what we have.

So, for us, we try to live the ideals of Thanksgiving every day. While it isn’t always easy to make this understood to young children, it’s something I firmly believe they need to understand so they are encouraged to give back to their communities.

I hope in the weeks before and after Thanksgiving that you, too, can find ways to remember to be thankful in your everyday life, and not just on the fourth Thursday of November.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. With it come family, friends, fellowship and fun. Oh yeah – and quite often a strain on the budget! Just because it is a holiday doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. Follow a few simple tips to save when planning your meal:

Meal Share. Instead of cooking the entire meal yourself, ask your guests to each bring a dish. You could ask one to bring a dessert and another to bring dinner rolls. They will more than likely be happy to oblige and you’ll not only save money, but time in preparing your dinner.

Shop the Sales. There will be lots of great sales in your area. Shop smart and wait for the sales. If you combine those items with your coupons, you will be surprised at how far you can stretch your dollar.

Don’t go overboard. Sure, it would be wonderful to have seven different salads with your meal. But that can quickly add up. Stick with fewer items and you’ll spend less time in the kitchen as well as less money at the checkout.

Skip the paper goods. Sure, it can be easy for clean up, but purchasing fancy paper plates, napkins and cups can quickly add up. If you form an “assembly line” of sorts after your meal, cleanup will be a breeze.

No matter what you plan for your meal, try to enjoy it. We all know the holidays can be stressful, but with careful meal planning you can ease the burden.