It’s that time of year! Time to make a list and check it twice. Christmas organization is all about preparing ahead of time so you can enjoy the holiday activities as they come.
Here are 10 simple steps to having an Organized Christmas
Prepare a Gift Buying List and Budget - Write a list of who you want to buy for and what you want to buy them, as you purchase items check them off your list. Include everyone you buy for on this list: family, friends, teachers, co-workers, and extended family members. This list will also allow for a quick reference guide to keep you in the know of who you have already bought for and what you bought them.
Christmas Cards - Print Return Address labels and buy stamps ahead of time.
Save time by printing out your return address labels and start addressing the envelopes ahead of time when you have spare time here and there. Also buy more stamps than you think you need so you don’t have to run to the post office.
Decorating the house - First things first, SIMPLIFY. When you put out Christmas decorations on top of your everyday home decor things can get cluttered quickly. Instead, as you take out your Christmas decorations use the empty bins to store your day-to-day decor. Not only does this make it easy to store and keep it out of the way, it’s a cinch to ‘undecorate’ after the holidays because you’ll just switch it out again. If you run across decorations you have not used for years now is a good time to donate those.
Christmas Baking - Make a list of all the Christmas Baking you want to do and pick a date to do it. How many different types of cookies do you want to make? Who’s it for?
Create a separate grocery list for all the baking you have to do and make sure you have all your ingredients before you start all the baking.
Planning Holiday Travel -
The final part of effective Christmas organization is planning your holiday travel. There are a few things you can do to make this entire hassle a little easier. Double-check the weather and avoid traveling in dangerous weather. Create a packing list ahead of time. Buy presents online and have them shipped to your destination ahead of you, if possible, then wrap them when you get there. Double-check flights for delays. Organize travel documents like hotel names and reservation numbers, rental car numbers, plane tickets.
Set Up a Christmas Gift-Wrapping Station - After you buy the gifts, save yourself time by wrapping them as you go. The best way to do this is to create a gift-wrapping station somewhere in your house. Once you have a place where you are going to wrap the gifts, take an inventory of everything you bought and buy anything else you need.
Keep gifts separated in Totes for the gifts you will bring to family and friends -
As you wrap gifts, keep them separated in boxes or plastic totes. Putting them in totes will save you time when you need to pack them up and take them to the Christmas party or get-together.
Christmas Bucket List - There are always things that we’d like to do during this time of year, and with all the busyness they can easily be lost – unless we track them somewhere. I find that getting everyone in the family to sit and brainstorm what they want to do (or just doing one for you!) is a great list to start as early in the preparations as possible, because then you can plan in as many as you can.
Everything goes on the Calendar - Weather you use a calendar app, your phone calendar, or a planner. Make sure you write all the plans on the Calendar to keep you in the know of what is happening and when. The kids Christmas Play, work Christmas party, gathering with friends, Christmas light viewing, cookie baking day.....It all needs to go on the Calendar!
Christmas Day - Be prepared for Christmas Day and sit back and enjoy the special moments. Plan out meals and prep before as much as you can, Prep the Morning Coffee the night before so all you have to do is turn it on, Enjoy the time with family and friends and soak in all the special moments of the season
It might seem like a lot of extra work, but I promise you, getting organized before Christmas will save you stress and anxiety. When you plan and prepare, you avoid last-minute surprises or be you will be able to handle the last minute surprises because you are prepared. Plus, you’ll be better able to respond to requests for your time if you know how much you have to give.
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