Thanksgiving is over, and you can hear those sleigh bells in the distance. Here is a 12-day plan to kick-start your Christmas.
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a beautifully decorated tree!
With Thanksgiving over, you now have full license to decorate your Christmas tree. You may have already decorated which is fine too! Psychologists say that decorating early makes you happier. No kidding!! Read about it here.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me an organized Christmas shopping spree.
Christmas isn’t all about the presents, but if your love language is gifts (like mine is), then it gives me so much satisfaction to find just the right gift to put a smile on a loved one’s face. You may have already started your Christmas shopping but now is the time to get serious! You can make this task easier by first starting with a list of names of everyone that you need to shop for and put them into groups including family, friends, kids, teachers, and neighbors. Next, set a budget for how much you want to spend on each person and total for Christmas. Add any gifts that you have already purchased and any gift ideas that you have so far. I have used an app called “Santa’s Bag” for years, and it does all of this for you. #winning
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a wish list for everybody.
Now that you have an idea of who you need to shop for and what you want to spend on each person, it is time to find the perfect gift for the ones that you love. When asking for a list for the kids or grandkids, you can ask them to set up a Pinterest board or Amazon wish list. This makes shopping for them so much easier! And don’t forget to start a list for yourself. I keep a Pinterest board year round of little things that I like, or that will make my life easier. #winningagain
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me an organized place for storing.
Organizing and storing gifts can be a challenge with little ones in the house. The organizing junkie suggests a cardboard box system. You can use a closet or armoire to sort, organize, and sort gifts you have purchased. You can designate one box for each family member or gifts that need to be mailed. Read more here.
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me Christmas cards for all of my family.
Hopefully, you have all of the addresses that you need in one place, but if you don’t, set up a spreadsheet or a Word document that you can save and update every year. You can print addresses out on labels and attach them to the envelopes. If you have not done this before, here are some simple instructions. When you have selected your cards, make sure you have enough envelopes and stamps!
For the past several years, I have saved all of the Christmas cards that I received and put them on a binder clip with the year written on an index card. Each year I can look through old cards and Christmas pictures, and they make a great decoration!
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me a house that is clean and sparkling.
If there was ever a time to splurge on a house cleaning service, the holidays are that time. You are so stressed out and busy, a little help around the house is the Christmas gift you really deserve!
Check back in two weeks to read about the last six days of (cleaning and organizing for) Christmas!