Christmas Planning Made Easy – 5 Steps To A Stress-Free Holiday

Christmas is a time of giving, of sharing…and for many of us, stress! We already have day planners full of tasks and chores to get done, and then suddenly the holidays are upon us and we’re desperately trying to find the time to plan. Gift buying, decorating, parties…the list just gets bigger and bigger, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

If you want to have a happy, stress-free holiday this year, here are some tips to help!

1. Plan Early
This applies to gifts, and to decorating. Right after Christmas, the stores burst open with sales, sales, sales! This is the best time to get all of your cards, gift wrap, bows, and decorations for next year…and at a steal. You can find ornaments and even large decorative items for very cheap, since the stores need to clear them all out, so that pricey Santa figurine you were eyeing in November but couldn’t afford suddenly becomes an easy purchase in early January.

Also, keep an eye out for sales throughout the year, especially on other holidays. Mothers Day and Fathers Day are great times to stock up on little stocking stuffers. This also lets you spread your costs out throughout the year…just watch your budget, because it’s easy to go overboard on the little items this way!

2. Make A Giving List
Right after Christmas, make your Christmas card list and gift list for next year and keep it somewhere handy so you can add to it (or take away from it) as the year goes on. I like to keep a copy of my list handy in my purse, so that if I spot a sale at any time of year I can pull out my list and see if anything is worth picking up and saved for a Christmas gift. This method is especially handy when you have clients, colleagues or neighbors you like to buy small gifts for.

3. Make A Gift List
As you pick up little things throughout the year, write a list! Just put the person’s name, and any gift you’ve purchased for them beside it. This will help you keep from buying a ton of things for one person, and barely anything for another! It will also help you come Christmas, when it’s time to wrap.

4. Wrap As You Go
As you buy presents, wrap them! This way, you can take your time and really make each gift look special. Of course, make sure you have a place to store them throughout the year! This way, you will have most of your wrapping done by the time the tree goes up. This leads me to the next tip…

5. Take Pictures!
Keep a detailed record of what you wrapped and who it’s for. The easiest way to do this is to snap a picture of the wrapped gift, and write down who it is for and what it is. You can keep this in a binder, or on a folder on your computer. That way, you’ll know exactly who is getting what, and which present it is!

With a little planning, it’s easy to have a stress-free Christmas!