With the holidays just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to get organised, so you can reduce stress and focus on spreading Christmas cheer.
By now, you should know if you’re hosting Christmas or if you’ll be attending celebrations elsewhere. If you must travel, make sure those plans are set and agreed upon. As far as any other planning, keep reading for a quick reference checklist for a holly jolly holiday season!
Two months before
Update your calendar: Add all holiday-related events to a master calendar—either on your phone (and share it with the family) or one that you keep in a central location of the house, like the kitchen.
Buy wrapping paper, cards, and gift labels: It never hurts to have a little more than you end up using, but make sure you have all the gift-wrapping material you need before the shelves start to empty. You can also update your holiday card list and verify that you have all the addresses you need.
Bake freezer-friendly holiday treats: You can bake things like bars, cookies, and nut bread in advance and freeze them—just make sure they don’t have any icing on them yet. If you prefer to bake something fresh, you can still save yourself some time and freeze the dough!
Prepare for guests: If you’re hosting, think about what you’ll need to prepare for overnight guests. You don’t want to find out at the last minute that you don’t have as much spare bedding as you thought you did.
Six weeks before
Come up with a budget: Come up with a ballpark number that you’re comfortable spending gifts on. It’ll help you stay focused as you seek out your perfect presents. If you’re hosting the holidays, you can include your budget for that too. Don’t be afraid to tell guests to bring certain dishes and make it a potluck event if you’re on a tighter budget, or just want to allow everyone to participate!
Create a master gift list: create a list of gift ideas for everyone you plan to get something for. Try to come up with more options than you need just in case anything is out of stock or not what you expected.
Start shopping: You don’t need to find everything on your list, but you can start picking things up as you find yourself out running errands. The more you’re willing to purchase in advance, the more you’ll thank yourself later.
One month before
Black Friday and cyber-Monday sales: Right after Thanksgiving is the traditional time to make those large purchases. Consider this your Christmas shopping kick-off and try to knock whatever you can off your list. If you don’t want to deal with crowds, you can still participate in cyber-Monday from the comfort of your couch!
Address your holiday cards: This part takes longer than you think, especially if you have a large family. Mail them out by the end of this week if you can, to avoid the holiday rush!
Break out the decorations: If you give yourself a month of lead time to check out your decorations, you’ll have plenty of time to make replacements if anything is missing or broken.
Check your tableware: If you’re having people at your home, make sure you have enough dishes, glasses, and cutlery for all your guests. If you want to create a themed table spread, consider different Christmas tablecloths, runners, chargers, and other tabletop décor items.
Three weeks before
Buy a fresh tree (or take out your artificial tree): If you buy your tree about three weeks out, it should retain its freshness through the New Year. Many people are opting to use artificial trees in favour of their messier (and usually more expensive) counterparts—that’s fine too! Regardless of the type of tree, make sure you fluff out the branches and try to reshape anything that might have been squished in storage or during transport.
Finalize your food: Make sure to find out if any of your guests have special dietary restrictions. Whether due to allergy or lifestyle preference, you want to create an equally inviting experience for everyone. Make the final decisions on your mains, sides, and desserts. Think about beverage options and always include a desirable non-alcoholic to make sure everyone feels included in the celebration.
Place orders for speciality items: Whether you’re having ham, duck, or something else, you should always make sure you order it ahead of time. The last thing you need is to be scrambling for last-minute meal replacements.
Finish up decorating: Since you should have everything you need by now, it’s the perfect time to turn your home into a festive wonderland. Crank up the Christmas music, pour out a round of hot chocolate, and make it a fun family activity!
Two weeks before
Purchase non-perishables: Buy any items on your shopping list that you can store until the holiday. Alcohol, canned goods, and other pantry staples can be purchased in advance and save you a lot of time and stress as you get closer to Christmas.
Prepare presents: Don’t forget to wrap and label presents as you get them and buy plenty of batteries to go along with any children’s toys or electronics. Any presents that need to be mailed out of town should be sent by December 10th to be safe.
One week before
Cook anything you can freeze: If you have specific dishes that you prefer to prepare the day of, that’s fine, but anything that you can freeze should be prepared before Christmas Eve.
One last shopping day: Go on your last grocery run for anything that you’re going to need for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. When it comes to fresh produce and other perishable items, try to leave these until 2-3 days beforehand.
Christmas Eve
Start cooking: Prepare any of your meals that can be cooked the day before. Try to do whatever prep you can for anything that needs to be made the day of.
Last-minute tasks: You probably have some last-minute wrapping to do, some people even enjoy going out on Christmas and participating in the glorious chaos that is last-minute holiday shopping.
Christmas Day
Keep calm and be merry: Now is finally the time when you get to sit back and relax. There might be some light cooking to finish up, but you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy this time with family and friends.
At the end of the day, some preparation is better than none, so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Try to stay focused on different tasks each day and slowly everything will come together.
