It's Never To Early To Start Planning for A Stress Free Christmas

I always thought I'd be one of those super organized, be prepared for anything kind of parents (and usually I am too).  I have spent my whole life planning for all sorts of scenarios and my motto truly is that it's never too early to start planning.  I think that is especially true for the holidays.



I know it's only October and so many people do not like hearing anything about Christmas and the holidays until the previous holidays and celebrations are over and while I get that I absolutely CAN NOT wait until after Thanksgiving to start planning for Christmas.

I just can't!  A month is no where near long enough for me to prepare for Christmas.

I thought it might be; when we first started homeschooling I waited until November to start holiday prepping with my kids.  I soon found that I was just overwhelmed with everything I had to do and everything I wanted to do.

 So now I start early... how early?

Truth be told I often start of thinking of Christmas as early as the day after Christmas the previous year! 

I love shopping after Christmas sales and stocking up on paper goods. I take inventory as I wrap and keep track of what I need to buy-- new wrapping paper, tape, gift tags, bags, bows, ribbons, etc.  After Christmas is a great time to stock up on paper goods when they are on sale.  In fact I'll often even wait a few days for the prices to drop from 50% off to 75% off.  That's when I stock up.

Last year I went so far as to buy my Christmas cards the week after Christmas.  Now typically I make my holiday cards with my paper crafting supplies (starting in October).  I usually enjoy it tremendously too but I found some cards that I just loved in the after Christmas sales and thought well... why not?  I am allowed to buy cards from time to time.  I don't HAVE to make them.  Plus they were 50% off so I bought two boxes for the price of one!

 Occasionally I find gift ideas in the after holiday sales too but usually I am content to walk away with some household decorations and paper goods.  Then I set aside thoughts of Christmas until after summer.

With the onset of fall I often turn my thoughts to gift buying.  



We have a LOT of birthday parties in our family for the fall and we often go on vacation somewhere in Sept. or Oct. so I make sure to at least write up a list of who I am going to be buying for nice and early in Sept.  If I have gift ideas I jot them down on my list too.

I try to have ALL of my shopping done by Thanksgiving.  I am not a Black Friday shopper nor do I want to venture out to malls or do any shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas (other than groceries)... stores are just too crowded for me.  I always start with all my nieces and nephews first and am happy to say that I am already all done already this year.

In the next few weeks I'll start to pick out gifts for my and my husband's parents and grandparents and finish them up by November.

I used to buy my kids gifts this time of year as well but often found that their letters to Santa left me scrambling around at the last minute for them anyway.  This year I am breaking my vow to have all gifts bought by Thanksgiving and will order their gifts on-line the first or second week of Christmas AFTER Santa letters have been written and delivered via our Elf on the Shelf.

The Month of December



With my gifts bought, paper goods all set, and cards all ready to be signed and mailed out you may be asking what is left for me to do in the month of December.  

Well, we start so early because for us the month of December is a fun time to lighten our schoolwork and turn to holiday crafts and baking.  We tend to plan a craft project or a baking project for each and every day all month long!  Many crafting and dessert type items make their way into our gift giving as the boys like to give out gifts to all their aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends.  

We read lots of holiday books, decorate our house, watch holiday movies and look around for some charitable organizations to donate gifts or time to.  

I know that I could never devote so much time to the boys and our projects if I still had all the holiday hoopla to try and deal with as well.  Planning year round helps reduce a lot of my stress about the holidays and frees us up for lots of time to make family memories.  


Comments

  1. Leslie AOctober 25, 2016 at 6:49 AM

    Every year I say I'll be prepared for Christmas earlier, but it always seems to sneak up on me. Thanks for sharing your tips!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3October 25, 2016 at 6:53 AM

      Thanks for stopping by! I find the years I slack off and wait the stress is crazy so this year I knew I had to start early.

      Delete
  2. Roseann HamptonOctober 26, 2016 at 8:51 PM

    I'm with you - I hate to go shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mrs. RNovember 1, 2016 at 1:43 PM

    Joanne, when the boys were at home I used to start buying Xmas presents in July. It was so much fun when it came time to wrap them because they ended up having soo many presents. I always love a ton of presents under the tree. I start planning any DIY gifts like cookie, fudge, herbal oils and homemade vanilla extract in October. This is a great list xo

    Carla aka Mrs R @ SimplifyLifeWithMrsR.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3November 1, 2016 at 4:01 PM

      Thank you! I do find shopping early does tend to lead to a few more gifts as I often forget a few things I've picked up here and there.

      Delete
  4. Christin BakerNovember 2, 2016 at 10:08 PM

    I am SO with you about planning ahead of time--I'm usually already playing Christmas music before Halloween! Stopping by from 100 Happy days! Happy Christmas planning!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother of 3November 3, 2016 at 5:45 AM

      Thanks for stopping by and happy Christmas planning to you too.

      Delete
  5. Crystal TwaddellOctober 25, 2017 at 8:17 AM

    I refuse to do Black Friday shopping, and rearely shop through the season. It's just too stressful. Love your ideas here and already well into my own planning:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. clairejustineOctober 26, 2017 at 11:55 AM

    I keep saying every year I need to plan early but then Christmas soon comes around. I really need to be more organised this year. Thanks for linking up to the Wednesday blog hop.

    ReplyDelete

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