[Free Guide] 12 Tips on How to Organise & Plan For Christmas🎅
Christmas is a big event irrespective of how you celebrate it is important to plan for Christmas. So the question during this time is; how can I organise and plan for Christmas? Even if you are trying to avoid or ignore it, it still comes with busyness and expenses unheard of at other times of the year.
To get us in the spirit, here are 12 tips on how to organise and plan for Christmas.
How to Organise and plan for Christmas in November
Make a list and check it twice
In order to organise and plan for Christmas, you need to follow a budget.
Organising tip to plan for Christmas
Getting good-quality items can be done through op shopping or going through your own decluttered items. Buying in November is a good practice. You can shop online, look for bargains, and find alternatives before the Christmas time pressure really hits.
Plan for Christmas with your Christmas Cards
I have lived in Australia for decades, and for decades, I have been getting Christmas cards in January. If you send them to Europe or the US 8-6 weeks before Christmas, you give the international snail mail somewhat of a fighting chance.
Plan for Christmas - Write your cards and send them off
Once we get all those cards, let’s get comfortable and write the things.
It can be short and to the point, or you might want to write a nice story of the year that has been.
Address the cards (something I dislike, so I either print the addresses or work on them in batches with a cuppa), and to complete this cycle, we need to put them in the letterbox.
Pick a time and day to do this. Otherwise, you'll carry them with you for days or weeks. You’ve done all this work, and the last thing you want is to forget to post them.
If you have come this far, congratulate yourself on following your plan for Christmas and becoming organised for Christmas. It is very different if you start early, work well, and are systematic, one thing at a time.
A note on Cards: How to organised and plan for Christmas via post
A great way to put all this into action is to allow for time in your calendar. For me writing Christmas cards is not a hard job. I can do this in the afternoon when my energy is low. Getting stamps and posting the cards can be done in the morning when I am out for coffee. In this way, I integrate these steps into my daily schedule so they almost fit in seamlessly.
5 weeks out from Christmas
we are moving closer to Christmas and it is now important to do two things in your plan for Christmas;
check you schedule and have a gift wrap station set up or ready to go.
How to organise and plan for Christmas, get your first presents.
You’ll probably have to hit the shops several times before you get all the presents you need. Start with the first few presents, remember we made a list of gifts a little while back. One of the keys to organising and working on your plan for Christmas is buffering your shopping over a couple of days. This hopefully means you don’t feel rushed, you enjoy the experience a bit more. Make sure you break for a cuppa or something to eat. As it is getting closer to Christmas, we want to be clear on what we want and need, but also take some time out to relax and not let the busyness get to you.
Minimalist plan for Christmas – you don’t have to buy things
This goes without saying but you don’t have to buy stuff to give a gift. You can go for a minimalist plan for Christmas, a no gift Christmas or an experience gift. A lunch out, coffee with a snack, an online course are very valid gifts. An experience and time with you might be so much more valuable than another thing. Some presents can be nice, but we live in a world that is suffocating with stuff already try meaning full gifts.
Organise and plan for Christmas 4 week out
Set up a gift-wrapping station
If you followed our earlier tips, your mail has already been completed, and you can now focus on buying presents and wrapping them. If you create a little station or, at minimum, have all the things on hand for an evening or afternoon of wrapping gifts, then life will simply be more organised, and the whole process will feel nicer. You simply follow your plan for Christmas week by week, day by day.
Having these basic things ready to go means your plan for Christmas is activated to new heights. Your Christmas Organising takes on a new dimension. I find it easier to feel the joy of giving and the spirit of Christmas when I do things slow and steady and I have what I need at my fingertips. Planning my December and setting up a packing station for my Christmas Organising definitely helps.
Four to five weeks out from Christmas
Plan your December and plan for Christmas
December is a busy month no matter whether we like it, agree with it or try to avoid the pull towards "end of year busyness". Over the years I have tried all options and no matter what I try there are more social events, more presents to buy and more commitments than any other month in the year.
Based on December being that much busier than any other month for most of us, I therefore recommend you plan your December really well – with a strong calendar based system covering what to do and when you have an opportunity to do it. To start our December Organising, have a look at your calendar utilise that outlook calendar to plan for Christmas, a digital calendar is allowing you to check and update your schedule whilst you are on the run.
In your plan for Christmas it is important to be as specific about the day and time you shop for gifts as it is for the day and time you cook the food. If you don’t, you run out of time and it becomes this mad rush which as aspiring organisers we don’t want to participate in.
How to plan for Christmas – early December three weeks out from Christmas
As you plan for Christmas, Think about the menu
Several weeks out start thinking about your Christmas menu.
Who will be at your place?
Where will you go?
What will you cook?
Will it be simple enough, or are you putting a lot of pressure on yourself?
This can also be a good time to test a recipe before there is time pressure closer to Christmas. Do a run through your ingredients. What can you buy beforehand? What needs to be bought very close to the day? I don’t know about you, but grocery shopping very close to Christmas is not one of my favourite things to do. If possible, I avoid going to the shops by being prepared just that little bit earlier.
As part of your plan for Christmas, you can even set up a Christmas Grocery list that you order online. Once you are used to online grocery shopping, you’ll be hard-pressed to spend more than 30 minutes on groceries.
From this year on you will organise and plan for Christmas decorations.
Like everything organising it depends on the volume and what the items are.
Firstly, decide on how many Christmas decorations you want to use every year. Our plan for Christmas decorations, it is rather minimalistic. We have a tree and some decorations that go on the tree and around the house. We have a colour scheme I love the colour and that is it.
I store my seasonal items in a see-through bag (from a doona cover), one red sports bag that holds the Christmas tree and one box for the beautiful angel on top of the tree. If you have more items, try to keep the storage solution the same. Where possible, have see-through boxes so at a glance, you can see which Christmas decorations box you need. Have the boxes the same size; it just allows the brain to relax and look at a small tower of Christmas boxes and call it all my plan for Christmas decorations (only needed between date – and date).
If you haven’t done this before, select only the Christmas decorations you truly love and enjoy, and make your home feel warm and fuzzy. Get rid of the mismatched Christmas art the kids created 10 years ago if it falls apart. Alternatively, make it a pride of place if it is new or a beautiful family sentiment.
A final tip is keep the items sealed of at least 10 months of the year the items won’t be used so protect them from dust, dirt and creepy crawlies. Keep all your Christmas decorations together so it becomes this go to spot come November / December.
How to organise and plan for Christmas -Decorate the house
You are now crystal clear on the Christmas decorations you have and like. Let’s decorate that home of yours.
Some of you might have started early. I like to decorate the house in December. In the Netherlands, where I am originally from, we tend to start getting trees around two weeks out from Christmas. The reason is that most people have fresh trees (which only last three weeks), and we have another national festival earlier in December (Sinterklaas).
Personally, as the time for decorations is limited, it is somehow a bit more enjoyable. The house is lovely and decorated for just a few weeks and because it is only for a short time, you appreciate it that bit more. (Or maybe I am a sentimental European at heart).
If your house is full of clutter and it is December
I recommend you only do one of two things as you are focusing on your plan for Christmas;
Simply ignore and keep going
Pile similar things together (put it in boxes if you have to) and hide it…..so you can deal with it once the Christmas hype is over.
These are probably different tips than you expect, but there is enough pressure for most people to do the Christmas thing, the socialising, etc. Trying to have your house organised before Christmas whilst we are already in December is a recipe for stress and burnout—don’t do it!
As soon as Christmas is over, we have several weeks of getting our bearings and dealing with our house in the final week of the year, and the first few weeks of the New Year, part of your plan for Christmas might be to deliberately push things out till after Christmas. This is a time when you will be in a much better headspace to actually organise and declutter, as the external pressure from family, friends, work, and society is easing off a bit.
The plan for Christmas - Two weeks out
Organise Christmas gifts
Get your last presents and wrap
Rather than hide the gifts you have bought, I think it is nice to see the pile of presents grow under the tree as part of your plan for Christmas. You can, of course, also keep them out of sight and get them all out on the big day. If you have been buying gifts a few at a time, as I suggested as you did earlier on this page, you can now your plan for Christmas and the gifts come to fruition as you see the volume of gifts (and your efforts) grow under the tree You would have given yourself enough time to wrap and enjoy the experience. At this stage of your plan for Christmas, continue your wrapping, and make sure you write the names on all gifts (very embarrassing for Santa if, on Christmas day, it is unclear who the present is for). Make sure you check off all the gifts on the list you created earlier.
Less than a week out in your plan for Christmas
Get your Groceries and sort out meal times as part of your plan for Christmas
I remember like it was yesterday; a young newly migrated girl decided she needed something from the supermarket (it was something specific; you couldn’t get it from the local corner store, and clearly, this was before I was organised or had responsibilities). This day was, however, the day before Christmas. Once I arrived in the supermarket, it was like a scene from a movie, one where the world is coming to an end. People had trollies full of food, toilet paper, tissue, etc. There was no Christmas spirit whatsoever; it was a frantic, stressful experience.
Now maybe, I have romanticized my childhood Christmas’s in Europe, but I can’t remember people doing that. Clearly you might need a handful of things closer to Christmas day, but try and get 95% of items well before - I remember my mum and grandma activating the presents plan for Christmas weeks before and enjoying a day out in the process.
See all this organising to plan for Christmas as a way to organise Christmas gifts to yourself, you will be reducing stress, anxiety and just an awful shopping experience the day before.
Note: If you have to go to get groceries, be very strategic: go early in the morning or late at night.
A lot of this grocery business ties in with your meal plan in step 7. You need to be clear on what you are making. If you can make it ahead of time, do this and double-check that you have all the ingredients before you start.
How can I be organised and plan for Christmas - find meaning and relaxation for yourself
This is not often discussed, but see if in this plan for Christmas, you can find your meaning and what makes you feel content this time of year. Make sure you do lots of it. This again might be the priceless gift you give yourself for Christmas.
I’ll be honest, the older I get the more I move to bah humbug, so I need to really work on this last tip for an organised Christmas. At one of the events I attended pre-Christmas, the lady who was presenting encouraged us to do some mindfulness and get in touch with ourselves and the meaning surrounding Christmas. This is a great thought; to check in with yourself, to pause and ask what is nice for you to do during these days. Whilst you do all you need to do; organise Christmas gifts, prep the food, decorate, write cards etc. Make sure you do something that is enjoyable for you.
Leading up to Christmas I enjoy this time of year more if I take it slow and do one thing at a time.
During Christmas, I actually like to work through these days (on the computer) a bit - it is quiet, I can focus and it’s what I enjoy. Another nice thing might be on Boxing Day to go for a walk, duck down to a coffee place that is open, read a book, watch a movie or do some journaling. This time of year is meant to be a time to relax, enjoy and regroup.
If on the other hand you like being part of the fray, socialising, and meeting friends and loved ones make sure you do plenty of it. Go back to tip 6 in which you plan your December. When will you meet the lovely people in your life, and for how long?
Plan for Christmas - The days after Christmas
Wrap up Christmas decorations, when you are ready. Check if you still like all your decorations. This is a great time to get new decorations or Christmas cards for next year at half-price. When organising you need to think about how you use the items and how accessible they need to be. Provided you have covered the Christmas decorations in easy-to-identify boxes or storage solutions. You don’t have to worry that much about easy access. You can put it away in a tricky corner or nook of the house, as you will only get the items out once a year.
How to organise and plan for Christmas in summary
In summary to all our 12 tips, organise yourself a little at a time, find your meaning and what makes you feel content and do lots of contentment-inducing activities* for yourself. I am sure you worked hard all year, take some well-deserved me-time. This counts especially for those who have family and friends over, make sure you recharge in the mornings or evenings, this might be the priceless gift you give yourself for Christmas.
*Note that I use the wording; “contentment-inducing activities” rather than happiness. I think wanting, searching and needing happiness which is a fleeting emotion at best. Is a recipe for not feeling too great over the Christmas break.
The same counts for perfection, if for whatever reason things aren’t perfect. Ask yourself how many of your “normal” days during the year are perfect? Shake the pressure for this day off and do something you like, just for you. The thing about Christmas is, it will come around again. Next year, you can do all these tips again and even better.
Have a good one!
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