10 Simple And Easy Steps That Will Organize Your Holiday Planning!
When it comes to planning Christmas don’t over plan and forget to enjoy the season! You still need to take the time to have fun too!
A stress-free Christmas is possible if you start your planning now!
There are things that you need to think about and getting ahead is going to reduce the stress and the panic as the holiday season approaches!
Get Organized And Make A Plan
Some of these steps are simple and they really don’t take much action on your part, but they will impact how you feel about the holiday season and how successful it was!
Preparing early will help, but whatever the timescale you’ve got just use that and start today!
Christmas And Holiday Season Preparations
Preparing and planning for a stress-free Christmas is going to be the best thing you can do, it will help you determine the priorities and the most important things that you have to focus on!
It’s about simplifying the holidays so that you know exactly what needs to happen and when and take the appropriate action to ensure it all gets done!
There is little point planning if that is all you do, you must take action for the plan to work, otherwise, there is little point in doing this!
Procrastination is the worst thing that can happen to any plan, it will destroy the plan and it will make you feel worse!
So, not only do you have to plan, but you have to plan to take action too!
Holiday Planning Tips And Ideas
Here are 10 tips that will help you plan and organize your Christmas holiday!
- Make a list
- Think ahead
- Share your calendar with your family so everyone is on the same page
- Take time for you
- Map out your time
- Plan what you are going to eat
- Make a plan for the gifts you need to buy
- Create a budget and stick to it
- Ask for help from other family members
- Remember you can’t control the weather, be prepared to cancel plans if the weather isn’t suitable
Let’s look at these in more detail:
Why Make A List?
I think that making a list is one of the most important things that you can do, not only does it give you a list of all the things that you need to do, but it also allows you to empty your head of all the things that you keep in there!
Getting your head free of all those thoughts and ideas onto paper helps, it lets you focus on the right things during the right time and not in the middle of the night!
Have a separate list for the different aspects of your life, if you keep a Christmas holiday list you can use the same one each year with only minimal adjustments each year!
Thinking Ahead
This is perhaps one of the most important and simplest ideas is to think ahead and to plan what you need to do before that appointment, meeting, or even kids activities.
Knowing what you need to do or where to be before the time of the event allows you to plan your day more effectively than anything else you can do!
It makes your life less stressful! It’s a real game changer!
Writing Things Down
Do you have a calendar or planner for your family? I find a great electronic calendar to use that is FREE is Cozi, get some more information here!
This helps to organize your family’s lives, you won’t miss an appointment or be late to pick up the kids from an activity if you use a family planner!
You have to use the planner to make it work, without this step a planner is useless!
However, if you use a planner to map out the activities and for all your family then this becomes like the hub of your family, everyone knows what’s happening and when!
Getting into the habit of writing things down in a diary or planner, it doesn’t matter if it’s paper-based or electronic, just make a note on something that you use!
When it comes to invitations, read them carefully and make sure you know where the party is, the time and if you need a present! Note this all down in your planner and if you need to buy something beforehand note this down in your diary at least a week before!
Take Time For You Too
Don’t burn yourself out getting everything perfect!
You need time for you too otherwise you are setting yourself up to become ill!
You can’t do everything without taking care of yourself first, even as a mum or wife your needs are important too!
Take time, plan it into your day and ensure that you get some me time! It might sound selfish but it’s not.
You are important too!
Map Out Your Time
When it comes to planning it’s important that you are realistic with the time that you have, don’t think that you can work for hours without a break and don’t think you are some kind of miracle worker either!
There is a limit to what you can fit into a day!
Mapping out the time that you have is key to working out what you can do in a day!
I’m not great with time blocking, I rebel at being told what I should do at certain times of the day, even if it’s me that set up the time block!
I like a loose outline, something I can work from rather than completely controlling!
Planning Your food
When it comes to the holidays planning your food is key! You need to know what to buy and without a thought-out food plan you will end up buying either too much or running out at an important point in your holiday when there are no shops open!
A simple plan is all you need then take this a break it down into items you need to buy!
When you do your holiday food shopping make sure that you have a plan, know what you need, have your budget and then enjoy the shopping trip!
Gift Buying For Friends And Family
When it comes to buying gifts, make sure that you can afford the gifts! Don’t go into debt buying gifts, this isn’t a good plan at all!
Knowing how much money you have for each person is key, it doesn’t have to be a lot, but it’s important that you stick to your present budget!
Don’t forget to save some money for those last-minute gifts that you forget to buy!
When it comes to shopping don’t go without a plan, this is so important with any shopping trip, you want it to be as successful as possible!
Planning A Holiday Budget
This leads nicely into the budget, you need to know what you need to spend and how much you can afford by budgeting!
Ideally, you should create a budget each month and ensure that you have the money to cover all your essentials and create a place to save up money for the holidays.
If this isn’t something you have done, perhaps it might be a great idea to start it next year!
Where are you getting the money from if you haven’t saved it up? You must have a plan, where you going to put it on credit?
Try cutting back on your grocery budget for the next few weeks and see if you can put some money away!
Asking For Help
Holiday planning and all the preparations shouldn’t fall on one person’s shoulders, it should be a joint plan with your whole family helping out!
Ask your family to help with different aspects of the holiday process, they are part of your family and will be participating in the holiday season so why shouldn’t they help with the preparation?
Seriously, don’t be afraid to ask for help from friends and family, that is what good friends and family are there for!
Don’t Take The Weather For Granted!
When it comes to the weather and the holiday season you really can’t be too careful! If you are lucky enough that your summer fails at Christmas time, then you still need to consider the heat of the day!
If like me, you live in a climate that is cold during the holiday period then you really can’t take the weather for granted!
If you have plans to travel, be prepared to change them and have a backup plan if the weather throws a spanner in the works!
If you are intending to travel or to have visitors staying, then it’s important that you plan for that!
Traveling is difficult when you have a young family, ensure that you have a game plan as to how you will keep everyone entertained on the trip!
Having money for the trip is important too! Not only will you need to think of the traveling costs, but you must also factor in the food and drink that you will need to provide along the way!
The most important thing is to be safe and warm, don’t risk traveling in conditions that are dangerous!
Always have an alternative plan! Don’t take risks or make hasty decisions that you might regret later!
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- If you want a family planner that’s electronic and is free and easy to use, you can’t go wrong with the Cozi Family Organizing app!
- Do you need help creating a budget? I wrote an article: It’s Easy To Make A Budget, you should read this to help you understand who to create your budget!
- If you need even more budgeting help, you must check out Dave Ramsey and the books he’s written on the subject!
Let’s Recap…
Planning is going to be your best friend in making sure that you have all the key features in place for the holiday season!
Always have a backup plan in case you need to make some quick changes!
Don’t underestimate a great plan to help you deal with a potentially crazy time of the year when everything tends to happen at once.
Without a plan, you can quickly be consumed in the number of tasks you need to complete and the difficulties of trying to juggle it all!
Take action now is a great way to ensure that you are ready to deal with anything this holiday season!
Halloween is over and I need to think about this. My favorite great aunt always started in July. Problem is if I start that early I forget where I put things. Making a list would be good.
A list is a great place to start! I have lost a gift or two over the years! Thanks for stopping by have an awesome week! 🙂