Yes, it’s October. Yes, we haven’t celebrated Halloween, yet. Yes, I am going to be THAT person talking about Christmas before the jack-o-lanterns have even been carved. But friends, it’s all intentional.
A year ago I was talking to a sweet momma at MOPS and she told me she finishes her Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. At the time I thought it was a little extreme, but the more I thought about it, the more it resonated with me. Why wouldn’t I have a Christmas Plan a few months in advance so I can enjoy and be in the moment for the actual season?
So this is the year. This is the year I have a Christmas Plan. As I write this, I am 50% done Christmas shopping and have been readying my pantry and thinking through our Christmas calendar. I want to be present with my people during the magical month of December and having a Christmas Plan will help me in that endeavor.
Plans help us achieve what we want to achieve. They allow us to be intentional with our actions so we can go where we want to go. A plan isn’t always necessary, but sometimes it is. I don’t need a plan for what I’m going to do at rest time each day (although it sure helps). But, I should probably have a plan when taking our family of six to Disney World.
For our family, Christmas is a big deal in our family. It’s a little like Disney World. It may or may not be in yours. If it is, I would argue a Christmas Plan helps make the holiday much more enjoyable and a lot less stressful.
Here is what I am doing to prepare for the magical Christmas season.
Christmas Shopping
I have a Christmas list spreadsheet I have been using for six years now. It outlines in detail who I am buying for, what I am buying, and the cost of the gift. My list has been edited over the years with kid additions, but the bones have stayed the same. Each year I copy and paste the previous year’s spreadsheet into a new tab and then add people if needed. In the past I have done this at the end of October, but this year has been different. I opened it early September and started making plans for my Christmas gift buying.
Like I said previously, I am about 50% done with shopping. The last gifts I need to buy are mostly for my own babes. My hope is to be done before December 1 and I think it’s realistic at this point.
A few things I have found to be helpful in buying Christmas gifts.
#1 Start early.
For years I have shopped year round and kept bought gifts in my ‘GIFTS’ tub. Although I have done that this year as well, I am crossing many gifts off sooner. The earlier I have my list in hand, the quicker and easier my shopping becomes. My spreadsheet holds every person I will buy for along with the gift and cost. This keeps me accountable to stay on budget, to shop intentionally, and helps me avoid impulse purchases at Target.
#2 Get the same gifts for groups of people.
This has been sanity saving for me. I get the same gifts for various groups of people. For example, I enjoy giving small gifts to my MOPS table and giving the same gift just makes sense. We also like to give gifts to some of the kids’ friends. This year they are each getting the same book. This small Christmas hack makes Christmas shopping a bit simpler and I still believe people feel thought of and loved in the giving.
#3 Shop online.
This isn’t rocket science, but it is smart. Most of the shopping I have already done has been online. I have shopped small and shopped Amazon. (Some of my favorite small shops are: Alice and Adams, Littlefield Co., Wax Buffalo, and May Designs.) When those packages come in the mail, I simply place them in my ‘GIFT’ tub that lives in my master closet. I will wrap all the gifts when the time gets closer because it is something I enjoy. My Thursday and Friday afternoons in December will be spent watching Christmas movies and wrapping gifts.
Readying the Home
No, my Christmas decorations are not up. Decorating for December brings me joy, so I am going to wait to enjoy that with my family after Thanksgiving and into December. What I have been doing is readying my pantry and purging unneeded items to prepare for the Christmas holiday.
The Christmas Calendar
We all know the month of December can fill up fast. Last year we made a list of things we wanted to do as a family. This year we did the same and they are currently on the calendar. In October. We won’t be scrambling to find time to do certain activities together because we already know when we are cutting down our tree and heading to the Durham. It’s on the calendar.
Another perk of including the calendar in the Christmas Plan is it allows us to know what we can and can’t do when things come up. If a party comes up in December, it will be easy to tell if we can do it or not. It’s impossible to do everything in December, so knowing what we do want to do and planning ahead allows us to make space for it.
Christmas Traditions
I am a sucker for Christmas traditions. They give me all the warm, fuzzy feelings and I can’t help but appreciate them all. However, I know myself and how I can get overwhelmed easily. I know myself and know I can’t do all the Christmas traditions. I know myself and what will work and won’t work for our family. This year I made a list of traditions our family will do and won’t do. I honestly think there is a bit more power in making the ‘won’t’ list than making the ‘will’ list.
We will…
We will go to a tree farm and cut down our Christmas tree.
We will read as many Christmas books as possible and watch as many Christmas movies as possible in December.
We will go to the Durham and take pictures with Santa and the giant Christmas tree.
We will do a Simple Advent calendar complete with 3 acts of kindness.
We will make a Christmas cake for Jesus.
We will make Christmas cookies (even if Pillsbury makes the dough).
We won’t…
We won’t make any elaborate meals for Christmas day.
We won’t do Elf on the Shelf.
We won’t make it to every party or community event.
We won’t do a Christmas photo shoot with a photographer.
We won’t look to Facebook or Instagram for what we ‘should’ be doing in December.
We won’t do an act of kindness everyday (but it’s a goal when my kids get older).
As someone who sometimes struggles with FOMO, I know this Christmas traditions ‘will’ and ‘won’t’ list will come in handy. If you make a list as well, please know your list will be different than mine and that’s 1000% the way it should be! It’s quite possible a tradition I desire for my family will not be one you desire for your’s. THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY TO DO CHRISTMAS. #amen
I yearn for a little more magic in my Christmas and a little less hectic. I am hopeful having a Christmas Plan will allow me to be more present during the month of December with my people. Tell me: will you have a Christmas Plan for the upcoming season? Do you have any tips or tricks you do to make Christmas a bit more magical? I would love to hear!
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing these. Something I really want to do this year as well. My post is long, but you got me thinking….
I also use a spreadsheet for my Christmas list, but have to find a way to keep it more secure because I had one of my big kids access it last year! 🙁 I love the “will do” and “won’t do” lists. I think we’ll have a family meeting to talk about our ideas for that. The “will” is usually cutting down our own tree, decorating sugar cookies Christmas eve (or the 23rd). I want to start the Hay in the Manger this year, with kids adding strands of hay each day to the manager when they do kind things for others – then the manager is nice and soft when we put baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Day! We also love reading a Christmas book or story each evening (or as many evenings as we can). Our Won’t list will have not doing elaborate crafts each day for Advent, but maybe something simple. We won’t go to every activity or party. We won’t stand in a long line to see Santa.
A tradition we do that I want to continue is having our kids rotate giving one present to each other. They are usually home-made gifts. We usually start these in November, so we can plan and I can help with the younger ones. It is fun to see them thinking about what their sibling might like and working hard at making something they hope they will love.
I usually have my kids write their “Santa” letter right after Halloween. We use the I want, I need, I’ll wear, I’ll read, and I’d really, really love: template letter and I’ll use this to guide my shopping for my kids. I also love shopping online – usually 95% of it! 🙂
We also pick a gift that we work on together as a family to give to teachers, neighbors, family and church friends, etc. This is something small (because we make 50+) but it’s a fun family project. Some things we have done in the past are wrapping paper and tape (with a cute poem), “We Whisk you a Merry-Kiss-mas”, with a whisk and Hershey kisses. “We hope your Christmas is Warm and Bright” with hand warmers and glow-sticks. Last year we did a Yahtzee game (dice in a small container and score sheets).
I love Christmas and I love that you are sharing these ideas now because it is so nice to have a plan and be able to enjoy the season more without being frantic and busy!
Coralee! Thanks so much for sharing your amazing ideas. 🙂 I have always been intrigued by the Hay in the Manger. You will have to let me know how it goes! And I like how you are rotating your kids giving gifts to each other. That is a good idea for when my kids are a bit older. Thanks again so much for all your great ideas! They have definitely been helpful for me!