I am a procrastinator. I just am. Some of my favorite blog posts and pins lately have been about organizing yourself early for an easier and more peaceful Christmas season. Since it is our first Christmas with babes in arms (not in utero, haha), I know that if I want everything to get done, I'm going to have to start early and pace myself. While I've let "early" slip later and later, I'm planning to wrap the gifts we've already purchased and maybe make some freezeable cookie dough to thaw closer to Christmas this week. :-)
If you're in a similar boat, check out these great posts by some other bloggers!
This first post is from Creative Home Keeper, and it's straightforward and useful. We have already made our gift-giving budget, but I was glad she pointed out that Christmas expenses like extra food or party supplies can add up, too. We may need to reevaluate the budget we made to make some wiggle room for the little things.
Chicken Scratch and Sniff (I'd be lying if I said that name didn't make me laugh out loud!) published a great list of things that can be done ahead of time - it's where I got the idea of freezing dough this early - but the comments also have some good ideas. I'll also start stocking up on some of the baking/kitchen essentials I fly through, like sugar and flour.
If you're planning on giving/doing a lot of handmade things this Christmas, AmberLee is going to blow your mind. She has made her sixth annual set of weekly chores, starting in OCTOBER, y'all. Clearly, we're past that, but the checklists are still helpful and the lists can be adapted to whatever point in time you pick them up :-)
Kaley at Cha-ching on a Shoestring did a great series on organizing and planning ahead, including some roundups of organizational ideas. Getting organized will definitely save you time and energy when we're in the middle of the Christmas season. I mean, so I've heard. Can't say I've actually ever succeeded in having a super-organized holiday ;-)
If you're a lists and planner kinda person, you will flip for this round-up by orgjunkie! I am going to finish this list up right now and go print a bunch of pages and dig out an old college binder to put them in :-) One of the sets in the round up even has an ornament inventory, which I've been trying to figure out how to do for a while! (I'm still thinking about doing a photo book of our special ornaments and their stories, but that's a whole 'nother blog post, haha!)
I hope some of these posts can help you get organized and remove some of the stress from one of the most stressful times of the year!! As amazing as Christmas is, imagine it without the last-minute panic, surprise expenses, and all-nighters! ;-)
Merry Christmas!
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