10 Steps To A Perfectly Planned Christmas
The Christmas season will soon be upon us. People are starting to talk about it, Netflix is full of Christmas movies and every store that you walk into is playing Christmas songs. If you haven’t already started to do so, now is the time to be planning for Christmas. You know that there is much to do, from gifts to food to family fun and celebrations, but sometimes it can be difficult to remember everything. That is where we come in today as we share with you 10 steps to a perfectly planned Christmas.
Book in your family traditions and events
You probably have family Christmas traditions that you all enjoy each year. You might always watch a certain Christmas movie together, or perhaps you go to see a show every year. Make sure that you have every event booked in and spread out throughout December so that you have plenty to enjoy and look forward to.
If you have young children, they might enjoy going to meet Santa Claus, so take a look around in your area and choose an event where they can go and meet him. Again, get this booked in as the more popular ones tend to book up quickly.
Ensure that you speak to family and friends and coordinate when you will be getting together over the festive period so that you can be sure that you will get to see everyone that you want to.
It can be fun to create new traditions, so ask everyone what they would like to do this year and plan a few fun treats in throughout the month.
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Give your home a thorough clean
Before you start to put those decorations out, you are going to want to give your home a thorough clean.
Set aside some time to clean your home from top to bottom. Get everyone in the family involved as you will want the children tidy their rooms whilst you are doing this so that it is easier for you to clean everywhere. Incentivise them to help out with the cleaning too, as it will be so much easier with all hands on deck.
If you take the time to do this now, as soon as December rolls round you can sit back and enjoy Advent and the festivities and just keep on top of the cleaning each day as normal.
Declutter and clear out
Along with cleaning everywhere, now is a good time to declutter your home.
This point is particularly relevant if you have children. They are likely to receive a few new toys, books and gifts at Christmas so you will want to make room for them. It is easier to make room in advance, so that you can just pop them in their new place when they do arrive in your home.
Get your children involved if they are old enough, and explain to them that they need to regift anything that they no longer enjoy playing with. If your children are too young to understand this, it might be better to clear things out when they are not around. Sometimes they can cling on to ‘rediscovered’ toys when they spot them!
Fix those household niggles
Most homes have a few household niggles that are in need of attention. It might be a leaking tap, a door that keeps sticking, a slipping roof tile or perhaps it is a dodgy appliance. Make this the time that you finally get around to sorting and repairing things like this. You will feel so much better for doing so and you know that you will be all ready for Christmas then.
If you feel that you can do the work yourself, then set aside a day this month to tackle them. Try to group them together so that you can tick them all off whilst you are in that frame of mind. If you need to get the experts in, such as Mr Rooter Plumbing or a roofing contractor, then prioritize calling them so that you have enough time to get them booked in and the work carried out before the festivities begin.
Arrange the gifts
The easiest way to approach this is to first write down every single person that you plan to buy or make a gift for. Do remember people like neighbors and teachers if you are gifting to them, along with your friends and family.
Now that you have the list, note down a budget for each person and add everything up to ensure that you are comfortable with that level of spending. If you are not, then revisit the budgets and alter them accordingly.
Next you need to jot down your gift ideas for each person. You might have seen the perfect gift for them already or perhaps they have dropped a few hints about what they might enjoy. Once you have something next to everyone’s name on your list you can start shopping for them, or making them.
If you are buying the gifts, do take a little extra time when shopping to ensure that you are getting them at the best possible price. Look for discount codes, coupons and multibuy offers to make you money go a little further.
Plan your food shopping
Whether you are hosting on the big day or not, you are going to need to take time to plan your food shopping. Of course if you are preparing the christmas meal you have quite a bit to do, but in any case, you will want snacks and treats in as everyone just seems to nibble and graze all through the Christmas break.
Find out when your local store releases its online shopping slots if you are going to go down this route, and ensure that you book in as soon as you possibly can so that you get your pick of the slots. If you do not plan to shop online, book some time into your diary to get to the shop. Do consider peak times and make allowances for it to take you longer than your normal grocery shopping as those queues are likely to be long.
Make a list of everything you need and check with your family to find out what they would enjoy eating. This is not a time for popping back to the shop if you forget something.
Dust off the decorations
If you really go to town with your trimmings and decorations, you might need to start this one quite early. It might be easier to work on your exterior decorations first and then pay attention to indoor trimmings before concentrating on the tree.
Ensure that everything is still in good condition and working properly. You might also want to make a few new purchases to give your home a different look or to replace any broken ornaments and trimmings.
Be sure to test those lights out before you put them up as it is far easier to find the faulty ones when they are in a bunch in your hand rather than hooked up all over your house.
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Stock up on the essentials
Ensure that you stock up on the essentials that you will need.
You are going to need wrapping paper, gift bags, gift tags, bows, cards, tape and possibly packaging paper or envelopes if you are sending gifts through the mail. It is so much easier to buy all of this in advance and then start getting everything wrapped up and ready knowing that you have everything to hand.
Stock up on batteries for toys, gifts and Christmas decorations as this is not the time to run out of those!
Savor the writing and wrapping
We can sometimes be a little frazzled with all of the card and letter writing and present wrapping that we need to do over Christmas. It can be easy to get overwhelmed and fail to enjoy it. This is why we would recommend treating yourself whilst you do it to ensure that you can savor it.
Get a few Christmas movies ready and pour yourself a hot chocolate whenever you need to sit down and write or wrap. Make an event of it so that it is something that you will be able to look forward to rather than dread doing.
Little reminders
If you are sending cards or gifts through the mail, do check when the final mail dates are and plan ahead so that you do not miss them.
If your children take in cards to their schools, ensure that they are bought and written ready for that. Some children might take a few days to write theirs out, so give them time for this.
You will want to buy your Advent calendars in plenty of time, or you might choose to put together some DIY Advent calendars.
Get some festive paper in ready for letters to Santa Claus to be written on.
There are usually several events at school, work and church around this time, so mark every one of them on your calendar as they come in to help you to keep on top of everything.
