According to my Facebook newsfeed there are only one hundred days until Christmas (thanks for that Nuffnang Australia). How did that happen? The last time I checked there was just under six months to go and I was feeling pretty confident that I could get everything done in time this year, for the first time ever.
Now though, I’m not feeling so confident. I mean, I’m really not feeling confident at all. I have my Christmas layby put away and I’ve started a few crafting projects, but none of those are complete and there’s so much to do! There goes all my Christmas smugness.
What’s left is a burning desire to get back on track. How do I do that? I have no idea, but just this one year I’d really like to avoid the massive Christmas rush that makes me regret holding the family’s lunch at my house.
Bear with me while I formulate some kind of plan—I’m a plan girl, I can cope with anything so long as I have a plan…and a list, I also like lists.
At the bones Christmas consists of three things:
- Gifts
- Ornaments/decorations
- Food
There are of course, smaller things that need to be decided like what we will all wear on the day and when we’ll visit Santa for photos, but they are smaller things and can be decided on the fly.
In figuring out what I need to work on first there are a few things to consider:
When do I want my decorations up?
This is a big thing for me. In years past our decorations have finally been put up sometime mid-December because it didn’t really matter. The girls were too young to understand (well one wasn’t born yet) and I wasn’t keen on the extra working decorating the house would create. This year however, Erin is four and she definitely knows what’s going on and I want to make a fuss for her benefit so getting the decorations up early…ish.
Once the decorations are up I can spend more time focusing on other things, so this will probably be the first time I need to tackle.
How many gifts do I need to make?
Not just how many, but how involved are they? My crafting plan usually involves creating multiples of the same gift which cuts down on cost and the time involved. This year I have two daughters, two nieces, the children of many friends, and a few adults, more than enough to keep me busy.
Feeding the hordes
To be fair, this portion of Christmas is general Naughty Daddy’s domain. While I do like to make special nibbles the cooked food is usually prepared by him or brought by family members and guests. Helping decide the menu and shop for the food will take up some of my time, but not as bigger amount as other things on my to-do list.
The plan
This is where things get a little hairy. I’m not good with the planning, hence why I rarely do it—okay, so it’s probably a vicious circle—so I hope no one has come here looking for an expert article on how to plan for Christmas. My plan is pretty simple and can be explained in a few sentences:
17 September – 15 October:
These four weeks are to be devoted to creating decorations with a “traditional” theme of green, red, white and gold/yellow
16 October – 10 December:
The focus will be on gifts during these weeks, handmade as well as purchased gifts for all of those on my list.
11 December – 23 December:
The remaining weeks will be used to prepare food in advance and ensure the house in ready for guests.
As you can see, this is a fairly simplistic plan which is what works best for me. If you’d prefer something more structured I suggest checking out the 100 Days to Christmas ebook.
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