The
holidays don't need to be such a crazy stressful time of year like they tend to be. The key to eliminating that stress is by planning everything out in an organized manner so you can actually enjoy your time decorating, visiting with friends, attending parties, and buying gifts. So I put together a guide for making this way easier!
- Reach out to family members to determine is being hosted where or to decide who will host.
-Decide what the food will be.
-Assign a food dish for each person to bring.
- Create a Grocery List of the items you need for your dish.
-If you are the one hosting, make sure you add important things that are often overlooked like drinks and napkins.
-Devise a schedule for what day things need prepared. Remember many dishes can be made a day ahead of time and then baked the day of. On your schedule, don't forget to include things that need thawed, sliced, cooked in advance, etc. (example: Wednesday - Prepare side dishes & thaw meat, Thursday AM - Cook Turkey)
-If you are the one hosting, make sure you add important things that are often overlooked like drinks and napkins.
-Devise a schedule for what day things need prepared. Remember many dishes can be made a day ahead of time and then baked the day of. On your schedule, don't forget to include things that need thawed, sliced, cooked in advance, etc. (example: Wednesday - Prepare side dishes & thaw meat, Thursday AM - Cook Turkey)
-Pro tip - while you're out shopping - if you see wrapping paper on sale already - buy it now!
(If you are hosting)
If
you are hosting it's important to ensure you have plenty of time in advance to clean your house. Since the food planning is done you can now create a cleaning schedule that includes tasks such as:
-Clean bathrooms
-Vacuum floors
-Clean counters
- Wash windows and glass services
-Clean dining table
-Clear off surfaces
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Follow your schedule and enjoy the day!
Begin to prep for Christmas by saving money and staying inside on Black Friday instead of shopping and getting stuck in traffic. Things you can do this day instead are:
-Bringing Christmas decor out of storage
-Make a list of people you need to get gifts for and set a budget for each person
- Time to put up Christmas Lights
- Decorate the inside of your home and put any Fall decor away
- Put up your tree
-Do research on websites that have Cyber Monday deals so you can get all your items on your list at one time and hopefully in one place
-Shop!
-Cross gifts off your list as you go!
-Time to wrap gifts as they arrive so you can enjoy the look of them under your tree over the next few weeks.
-Update your Christmas Card List
-Verify your address book is up to date
-Purchase stamps
-Write & mail out your Christmas Cards
-Wrap any remaining gifts as they arrive
- Reach out to family members to see where your holiday will be hosted.
- Figure out what each person needs to bring based off a list of what you normally eat on this holiday.
-Designate a dish for each person or family to bring.
- Create a Grocery List of all the items you need for your dish.
-If you are the one hosting, make sure you again add things like napkins and drinks.
-If you are the one hosting, make sure you again add things like napkins and drinks.
-Create a schedule for cooking. If you plan out the
preparation of your meal, the end result will be even more enjoyable. On
that schedule, include items that need thawed, sliced, cooked in
advance, etc. (example: Wednesday - Prepare side dishes & thaw
meat, Cook Ham)
(If you are hosting)
If
you are having family over for Christmas make sure you have plenty of
time to clean your home. With the food planning out of the way and
already scheduled, you now can fill in the blanks in that schedule with
cleaning tasks. So make a schedule that includes tasks such as:
-Clean bathrooms
-Vacuum floors
-Clean counters
- Wash windows and glass services
-Clean dining table
-Clear off surfaces
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Enjoy your day by following your schedule!
And here is a FREE PRINTABLE Holiday Calendar that you can use as a guideline to plan your holiday season!
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This guide is a lifesaver for holiday planning! The step-by-step approach and the idea of creating schedules for both food preparation and cleaning are so practical.
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