Laying the groundwork for a stress-free holiday season.
One of my pet peeves is how retailers rush every season. When back-to-school supplies are put out in July or stores stock the shelves with Halloween candy in September, I get super annoyed. I feel like every year, you have to think so far ahead to be able to get the supplies you need for each season, or it’s gone before you know it! Anyone who’s ever tried to buy a bathing suit in August knows what I’m talking about.
That’s why it’s completely out of character for me to be writing this post about holiday preparation in October. However, I promise, I have a good reason for doing so. The purpose of this post is to get you thinking about the holidays early in order to mitigate some of the stress and aggravation that the holiday season brings along with it. When you put plans in place, it will be easier to coast through this holiday season with ease! Now, I’m not suggesting putting up the tree or decking the halls just yet. All I’m asking is for some thought to be given to the holidays now so that we’re in a good place to enjoy and be in the moment when December rolls around.
For this post, I will specifically be talking about Christmas. I respect that not everyone celebrates Christmas, but I do, and I have to write about what I know. Some of my advice should work no matter what holiday you celebrate so feel free to adapt and change my suggestions to suit your needs.
Tackle the Calendar
The first thing I suggest you start thinking about is the calendar. If you have traditions you would like to continue or gatherings you’d like to host or attend, now is the time to block out those dates. Coordinate with others to pin down their availability for holiday events–whether it be your ugly sweater party, a visit with Santa, or grandma’s annual cookie-baking day. Thinking ahead and prioritizing your ‘must-do’ activities now will make it easier down the line as other things start to fill in your calendar.
Once dates are finalized, you can put in a request for days off from your employer. The earlier that is done, the better. You wouldn’t want to be stuck working during an important holiday event because you waited too long to request off from work.
Finally, if you travel for the holidays, you can address travel plans as soon as dates are set. Having your flights, hotel or other arrangements taken care of early will save you time, money, and worry.
Money
Let’s face it, Christmas is expensive. Besides gifts, there’s food, clothing, travel expenses, Christmas cards, pictures with Santa, decorations, craft supplies, donations, etc. Well before Santa arrives at the nearest mall, you should consider what your budget is going to be for the Christmas season. It’s all too easy to get swept up in the holiday cheer and overspend. That’s why it’s so important to think about and stick to your budget during the holidays.
Discuss guidelines with your partner, family and friends to be sure everyone is in agreement on what to spend on gifts.
Gift Ideas
This is the one aspect of Christmas that benefits the most from the extra time and preparation. I’ve never been one to start Christmas shopping in October, and I’m not suggesting that you start now. However, it can’t hurt to make a list of everyone you will be buying gifts for this year and putting some thought into what they might like for Christmas.
Consider ALL the gifts you may need to buy. This includes teachers, mail carriers, neighbors, etc. that often fall through the cracks. You can look up ideas now and store them away for when you are ready to start buying. If you’re planning on chipping in with other people for gift giving or having a Secret Santa gift exchange, picking out a budget and assigning names can happen as early as you want.
While we’re on the subject of gifts, make sure you are fully stocked with gift wrapping supplies. When you see holiday wrapping paper and supplies, purchase it now so you have what you need on hand.
When you have some direction on what you are planning to do for gift giving, you won’t have a panic attack when the Christmas music starts playing. In addition, you can purchase gifts as you see them and spread out the cost of Christmas over a few months instead of all at once.
Holiday Decorations and Traditions
Traditions
If you send Christmas cards, look for a good family photo you can use for creating your cards. If you don’t have one, make a plan to get one. Either by having your photo professionally taken or by taking some yourself. Spend some time updating your Christmas card recipient list. The next time you’re out somewhere that sells stamps, grab a book or two in preparation for Christmas card mailing. Photo sites like Snapfish or Shutterfly often offer great discounts on holiday cards around Black Friday. If you have your photo ready, you can take advantage of those deals.
Are there traditions like cookie baking, ornament making or gingerbread house decorating that your family participates in? Those things all require supplies. If you make your list now, you can be ready to take advantage of sales and make it easy on yourself once stores start stocking holiday items.
Decorations
Think about your decorations from last year. Have you been saying for years you need new Christmas stockings? Did your blow-up Santa kick the bucket? Are you dreading detangling the Christmas lights you threw into a bin last year? Put some thought into what you might need or want to purchase so when you are out shopping you can pull the trigger. Make a list and take a picture on your phone or use your phone’s notes function for your list.
Clothing
I seem to always be scrambling last minute to figure out what to wear for holiday celebrations. In my family, we dress up fancy for Christmas Eve. We wear more casual but still festive clothing on Christmas Day. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I have two teen boys who do not care in the slightest what they wear–as long as it’s comfortable. So, naturally I have to take the reins when it comes to our dressy holiday attire. Thinking about outfits ahead of time helps you to be prepared prior to the holiday rush.
In addition to clothing for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, there are numerous other celebrations where you will need to have a holiday outfit to wear:
- Christmas Pajamas for Christmas Morning Photos
- Ugly Sweater for Ugly Sweater Parties
- Festive Apron or Shirt for Cookie Baking
- Santa Hat for any occasion
- Fancy Dress for Pictures with Santa
- Nice Clothes for Church Services
Consider all of the usual events you attend around the holidays and be sure you’re prepared with appropriate attire for each occasion.
Food
What would a holiday be without food? If you plan on hosting a holiday event or will be required to bring a dish to an event as a guest, start brainstorming ideas now. If you have a loose menu plan you can be ready when a guest asks, ‘What can I bring?’
Clean and Organize
What kind of Neatest Nest blog post would this be if I didn’t mention cleaning and organizing? Take advantage of the lull before Halloween and before Thanksgiving to spend some time deep cleaning and organizing in preparation for any holiday parties you may be hosting. It is especially important to take care of this now if you will be having out of town guests for an extended stay. If you really want to take your cleaning to the next level, follow my Summer Cleaning Challenge.
Go About Your Business
Now that we’ve laid the groundwork for a successful holiday season, we can forget about Christmas for a while. We can sit back and enjoy the season we are in. Keep your lists in the back of your mind and take care of each item when the time is right. Check in with me on social media or in the comments below. I love to hear what readers have to say.
BONUS: Sign up for my quarterly newsletter and I’ll send you a link to my Christmas Traditions printable.
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