Tidy Takeaways: December
It’s full-blown Surthrival Season, and I’m right in it with you.
We’ve entered that stretch between Thanksgiving and the ball dropping in Times Square on New Year’s Eve, where everything is joyful, chaotic, and wildly exhausting, like living in a snow globe someone won’t stop shaking.
If you’re feeling the swirl, you’re not alone. This month’s issue is packed with tools, stories, and a little seasonal magic to help you keep your footing and find your joy.
Take a breath. Sip something warm. Let’s step into December together, one tidy tip, one joyful moment, one surthrival strategy at a time.
Ho Ho Ho! Surthrival Season is Upon Us!
This is a full-blown Surthrival Season! Time to activate holiday surthrival mode.
All December long, across Substack, Instagram, and Tidy Tidbits, I’m sharing a real-time look at life inside the Tidy Dad household and how our surthrival strategies are actually unfolding. I’m in the thick of it with you.
For starters, here’s the most recent podcast episode of Tidy Tidbits where I share 5 holiday surthrival strategies!
Part 1: Ignoring the Lazy Genius (With Love)
I appreciate the Lazy Genius. My wife does too. But apparently Surthrival Season has turned me into the Rebellious Genius, because I’m ignoring her advice left and right.
In Part 1, you can laugh with me as I realize I’m doing the exact opposite of her advice in real time, plus get a preview of a new household routine that’s finally cutting down on the “Let me tell you for the millionth time…” repeat track playing in our home.
The full article is available for my paid Substack subscribers.
Part 2: Lessons from my “Cheap But Fabulous” Mother
This year we made a new decision: instead of cramming all the holidays into one chaotic stretch, we’re spreading them out: one set of grandparents in November, one in December, and one in January. It’s equal parts joyful and strategic. Our school breaks are so short that squeezing holiday travel into the tiny gaps between school days leaves everyone exhausted. Spreading things out? That’s surthrival.
We most recently celebrated with my mom and her husband in Pennsylvania. She arrived with her two furry boys, Arthur and Buddy, which absolutely delighted the girls. And honestly, her whole approach to gifting this year delighted us too: crafts and consumables. It gave us joyful activities to do together over the weekend, kept the focus on shared moments, and didn’t send us home with a mountain of items we’d have to somehow fit into our very real, very small NYC apartment.
My mom is the crafting queen: diamond dazzle art, paint-by-number, cross-stitching, you name it. And my girls inherited that creativity right along with the glitter.
Holiday surthrival means doing things differently sometimes. And this year, different felt really good.
Tidy Dad Gift Guides
My Men’s Holiday Gift Guide is here! It’s a tidy little roundup of things I actually use, love, and would happily unwrap myself. Consider it your shortcut to shopping for the men who may claim they “don’t need anything”. There’s probably something in here that will make him feel seen, appreciated, and maybe even a little fancy.
BONUS: My “In My Surthrival Era” hats are live on Etsy. Grab one for yourself… or gift one to a friend who’s in their own season of surthrival. And for the month of December, I’ve added a discount code for you! Enter code TIDYDAD for 30% off.
Holiday Surthrival Guide
The holidays can feel like a marathon of merry chaos: decorating, shopping, hosting, wrapping, oh my! Somewhere between the cookies and the clutter, joy can get lost.
Enter Tidy Dad’s Holiday Surthrival Guide: your go-to companion for thriving while surviving the season. Inside you’ll find five signature surthrival strategies, a reflective year-end wrap-up, and a cozy Holiday Bingo game that turns tidying and self-care into something worth celebrating. Think less hustle, more heart. Less perfection, more presence. This year, you’re not just surviving the holidays… you’re surthriving them.
✨ Tidy Dad’s Holiday Surthrival Guide is part of the Tidy Toolkit, which is available to paid The Tidy Times subscribers. For just $5/month, you’ll unlock the entire toolkit, including this guide and every bonus resource I create for the Tidy Times community.
The Latest - Tidy Tidbits
Tidy Tidbits is my micro podcast where I share the tools, tricks, and tiny triumphs that help you bring a little more order to your everyday chaos. I share practical tips, behind-the-scenes stories, and interesting interviews, each in five minutes or less.
Here are the latest episodes that dropped in the past month:
I’m so obsessed with the Over Achiever spice blend from Chris Marcum that I invited him onto Tidy Tidbits. If you’re looking to simplify mealtimes, this episode is a must-listen!
The Housewives franchise is a beautiful, messy escape from everyday life, and I got to record with one of my absolute favorites from RHONJ right before flying off to BravoCon!
This gifting episode with author Ashlee Piper genuinely shifted our approach to gift-giving this season. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by presents and pressure this is a great listen.
3 Things to Declutter this Month
I may have joked earlier about ignoring the advice of the Lazy Genius: “If you have time to clean out a closet, you have time to take a nap.” But in hindsight… there’s truth to it!
I’ll be back in January with more decluttering tips from my “Decluttering Calendar,” but for now, consider this your permission slip to simply declutter the following:
Your calendar.
Your menus.
Your commitments.
Because sometimes the most powerful decluttering isn’t in your closet, it’s in your capacity. Just because you’re capable doesn’t mean you currently have the capacity. More on this theme in this Saturday’s upcoming Tidy Tidbits podcast episode.
Maintenance Department
Happy Quarter 4 (October–December)! Whether you live in an apartment, a house, or a castle, it’s time to get your space ready for the upcoming season! These maintenance tasks are a great place to start. Bonus: they spell out Tidy Dad! 🤣
Tidy up seasonal weather gear (gloves, scarves, hats, coats, boots etc.)
Inspect roof before winter (any missing shingles or weak spots?), clean the gutters
Dust heating units, radiators, baseboards, and filters to improve heating efficiency
Yearly outdoor water check, disconnect hoses, insulate outdoor faucets
Deep clean your oven and stove to remove grease and any food residue
Assess home for winter, seal windows and doors, inspect insulation
Declutter storage areas, make space for holiday gifts and seasonal decor
Tidy Dad’s Reading Stack
Mistletoe and Magic by Helene Sula - I loved this book so much! Helene Sula, beloved for bringing the magic of European holiday markets to her Instagram audience and blog, has written her debut novel about a woman on a festive UK getaway. This is a book that is perfect to read RIGHT NOW, as we embrace the current holiday season! Order it for your Kindle or listen to the audiobook!
Wondering what else I’m reading this year? Here’s the full list!
🎉 Book Club Pick - Tidy Up Your Life: Surthrive the holidays, and then start the year with a little less clutter. Tidy Up Your Life is the perfect January pick for your “New Year, New You” book club read. It’s all about creating space for what matters most, one small shift at a time. Bonus: I’ll join the first 10 book clubs that choose Tidy Up Your Life for a virtual chat! Just send me an email or DM @tidydad to set up details.
Tidy Dad’s Bar Cart
I like my cocktails like my routines: simple. Just a few ingredients. Surprised?
Here are three of my favorite seasonal drinks, perfect for cold evenings or holiday hosting.
Cold Brew Cocktail
2 oz Peppermint Bark RumChata
8 oz cold brew
Combine in a shaker with ice. Shake well, pour into a glass, and top with crushed peppermint or cold foam and sprinkles. You can even hook a candy cane on the side!
Boozy Hot Chocolate
2 oz Chocolate Crown Royal Bourbon
Hot chocolate (made with milk—trust me, it makes all the difference)
Prepare your hot chocolate with milk, then stir in the bourbon. Top with whipped cream, marshmallows, or a sprinkle of cocoa if you’re feeling festive.
Fireball Hot Cider
1 packet of apple cider mix
Hot water
1–2 oz Fireball
Prepare the apple cider with hot water, then stir in the Fireball. Cozy, simple, and dangerously delicious.
December Joy Plotting
In Tidy Up Your Life, I share the practice of joy plotting, taking a few minutes to anticipate moments of joy in the days ahead. Here’s my December list:
NYC Window Displays - We’re excited to soak up all the December holiday magic around the city! And we’re using our NYC festive stroll map as a guide!
New Victory Theater - We love the New Victory Theater and are attending one more show before the end of the year. New Victory Theater features amazing shows all year round. It’s also on my NYC Experiences Worth Gifting list!
2026 Planning - It’s never too early to look forward to big things in 2026… especially when it’s a milestone year. Emily and I both turn 40 in 2026, and I’ve officially declared 2026, The Year of Celebrations. We’re kicking things off with a cruise in February (sunshine, snacks, and no laundry? Yes, please). In April, I’m heading to Northern Spain with my dad and older sister. My dad and I haven’t been to Europe together since 2003! And because I apparently enjoy revisiting my early-20s decisions, I also signed up for a full marathon… my first in two decades. Forty is looking fun, full, and just the right amount of ambitious, and I can’t wait.
Thanks for reading!
I hope that you are your family have a festive, fun, and fabulous holiday!
If you enjoyed this free newsletter and want MORE, check out my book Tidy Up Your Life, and consider becoming a paid subscriber to “The Tidy Times” on Substack! It gives you access to all the “Behind the Stories” and the full “Tidy Toolkit”. It’s $5/month or $50/year and helps keep the tidying (and storytelling) going.
Excellent issue, Tidy Dad. I especially enjoyed your interview with Ashley Piper. I’m now following her. I also think it’s a great idea to host family at scheduled spread-out intervals. That is a good way to fully enjoy your family rather than trying to cram visits in a short period of time.
In 2026, I’m going to prioritize one thing at a time until it becomes habit. Then I’ll add to it. For example, I’m rejoining Weight Watchers and focusing on the food and tracking aspect of it. That is non-negotiable, because that alone will guarantee weight loss as well as good health for my mind and body. Each week at my WW meetings, I’m going to write in a notebook the main thing I learn and will incorporate that in the week to come while at the same time continuing tracking food. The next week, I’ll incorporate whatever is taught for that week. In time, the new things added will become habit. Too often, I attempt to make too many changes at one time, become overwhelmed, and result to doing nothing at all. I think my strategy will serve me well.