3 Ways to Start Right NOW and Have a Stress-free Christmas!
Every year I used to promise myself that this year would be different. And then there I would find myself, at 2 in the morning on Christmas Eve night (or do you call that Christmas morning?) wrapping gifts as fast as my little elf-ish fingers could move to get done.
Why did this keep happening to me? Year after year this seemed to happen and it always seemed to come out of nowhere. No matter what I did the weeks prior I still found myself facing chaos and stress the days leading up to Christmas. Then Christmas would be consumed by a strong urge to throw-up from sleep deprivation, not to mention the eyeliner smeared on my face from the Christmas Eve service the night before. And then (because of the sleep deprivation) I would barely be able to remember the blessed day when it was all over save for the massive amount of trash to put on the curb.
Can you relate to this? Chances are you can. Are you nodding your head as you try to put out of your head the screaming and sleepless nights you and your spouse endured a few weeks ago, all for the sake of Christmas.
Sister, this year can we get off this merry go-round? Can we enjoy Christmas? Can we take the time to dedicate to celebrating our sweet baby savior's birth? Can we have deep rest and time of love around this holiday? Can we dedicate time to loving on others and ourselves? Can we all claim peace?
Doesn't that sound yummy? Well, don't fall asleep on me girl, there's work to be done now!
NOW?? You said, NOW? Like January (or whenever you are reading this!) NOW?
I am now a firm believer that if you want something done well, then you must make a plan and stick to it. And the sooner the better, friend.
And your plan needs to start now, babe.
I know, I know. It's only January! The tree is still up! Or maybe you're super motivated and it's already come down!
It sounds crazy, I know, but by planning Christmas now, here's what I've found:
You can find things you want for prices you are willing to pay.
(or am I the only one who has stood at Kohl's buying a sweater that was too expensive for a person I barely knew and didn't even think they'd like all in the name of making sure they had something to open?) I know I am not the only one. I can't be.
You will be able to take time to think gifts through, to find something perfect for the people you are buying for.
(see the above sweater story for any confusion on this).
You can budget your money monthly rather than hundreds in December.
By planning for Christmas year round you have the luxury of having a huge amount of time to think through and find THE perfect gift for each person. Not only that but you'll also get the perfect gift for you which is saving money!
Buying red plastic tableware on Valentine's Day is a perfect example! I once bought an entire box of red plastic silverware on clearance for $0.19 at Target. And not the cheapy stuff but the heavy duty kind that costs $3.99 at Christmas time. Now, this kind of $3.80 savings may not seem like a lot now but when you have the time to snag deals for TONS of items on your list, well, the savings will totally add up!
And that my cute little elf-friend is what I'm talking about in how we are going to save some moola this year!
You'll find yourself back in love with Christmas.
Remember the feeling you got when you were a kid at Christmas? Well, believe me, that is still buried deep inside of you. It hasn't gone away. It just has been muffled by all the noise and busy of a stressful holiday...Girl, let's unearth the joy, the excitement, the magic of Jesus' birth!
You will have time to relax, truly relax in your leggings and slipper socks on the couch, drowsily watching Rudolph with the kids, rather than praying it will end soon so you can check "spend time with kids" off your list. It will be heavenly. Baby angels will sing. You'll love it, I promise.
If those aren't reasons enough, then girl, I don't know what to do with you. But here's something I know...we gotta get crackin' now.
First things first, talking planning means we also have to talk about a planner.
Happy Planner has a Christmas planner, Michael's has a Christmas planner. But more impressive, there are SEVERAL online that are FREE as a bird. Girl, check these out. Here are some I've found for you:
Free Downloadable Christmas Planners
The Cottage Market (this one's my fave!)
With these downloadable divas you can print off as many pages of which one as you want.
Step #1 Now make yourself a Christmas binder.
Somewhere the kids won't find it. Or label it something sneaky like "home tax records" because nobody wants a snoopy-snoop.
I have floated between years on if I want to carry something else with me or not. Some years I have a dedicated "Christmas binder" and some years I put together a Christmas section in the back of my planner.
Which ever you want to do sweetheart, you do you!
The papers are just to keep you organized. I keep detailed lists of things I need, things I've bought, and most importantly how much I've spent. This will help to eliminate the problem of running out of wrapping paper, or forgetting you already bought tape and winding up with 14 rolls of tape. Or am I the only one with tape anxiety who has done this?
I am warning you, the first year you do this you will straight up feel like Buddy the Elf. When you're buying a Christmas gift in May you feel like shouting "Santa! I know him!" in the aisles of the Target. Because it can feel absurd and crazy and over the top.
Print off pages that you think will help you. You don't have to use them all now. You can print multiple pages if you need. The most important thing is to find a system that will keep you organized as you go throughout the year.
But trust me, once you get this down, Christmas shopping becomes something you do on the side but in no way will be your main focus throughout the year. By now, for me, it has become second nature. It is something I keep as a possibility for items I find throughout the year.
Step #2 Think of Your Ideal Christmas
What do you want this upcoming Christmas? All glitz and glam? Tons of gifts? A choice handful of the perfect gifts? Do you want a quiet affair? 12 parties of Christmas? What is your scene? Spend time thinking through what would make the best, most peaceful situation for YOU and your family, then think about what you would need to pull that off.
Or, backwards, think about what has NOT been working and think how you can make sure that THAT never happens again. For me, this started with, "how can I make sure I never have to stay up late on Christmas Eve again?" Then I worked backwards to figure steps out to ensure it didn't happen.
Write this mental picture down if you want or just store it in your heart. Whatever you do, make sure you have a strong understanding of what you're looking for out of your holiday and keep that at the front of your mind when you are preparing. Bounce everything off that idea to make sure it all aligns with your vision.
Step #3 Start Looking for Gifts Wherever You Go
One summer I was antiquing and found some old shoes. Now normally I would never buy used old shoes. But these were little girls rain wellies in their original box and...they'd never been worn. What made me look at them again? They were made at a local factory that my Great-Grandparents and my Great-Great Grandparents had worked at. I knew my mom would love them because of that. So I snatched them up. They were a hit of a gift but if I hadn't had Christmas shopping in the back of my head that July I would have passed them by simply as old shoes and I NEVER would have bought them.
My point being: you never know when or where you'll find something that someone will truly treasure.
Keep an eye out for clearance, sale, tag sales, whatever. You never know when and where you'll find THE perfect gift for a steal.
So let's get planning.
Figure out what system for Christmas planning works for you and make sure to have it accessible throughout the year.
Make sure to check back to see what you can do to plan for Christmas!
Read all about storing and organizing your decorations for Next Christmas.
