Hi there! Christmas is just around the corner and to help you avoid the stress that comes with the holidays I’m also sharing some of my tried and true tips for Christmas planning made easy. You’ll be glad to know that I’m not here to just tell you to cut back and do less because that’s hard when there are fun traditions to do, fun events to attend and fun gifts to buy. Of course this may be something to consider if you find yourself doing these things out of obligation. However, even so, this can be difficult. For example, my daughter plays with me that she won’t come home from University if I don’t have a hot chocolate station. It’s a tradition after all, you tell me. Well, how can I stop that?! Ummm of course I will!
So instead, my way of “doing it all” is to prepare and start early! November I go hard and December I relax and enjoy being with friends and family. Oh and watch a Hallmark Christmas movie or fifty, ha! So no I’m not a big woman, I’m just organized and that for me is the secret to less stress and chaos and more ease and fun. So read on for my Christmas planning tips and a link to my 2021 Free printable Christmas Planner which will help you stay on track this season with everything you need to do.
Be Intentional:
As I said above, I want to emphasize that when I talk about the word simplify I don’t mean removing everything from your system. Where’s the fun in that? And holidays should be fun and special. They don’t have to be caught and fired again. It really comes down to finding out what things make you happy and what you don’t. It is recognizing the things we do out of obligation and then giving ourselves permission to stop doing those things OR find a new way to do them. We all have this pressure we put on ourselves about how we think things should be. Maybe it’s the way you’ve always done it or maybe it’s the influence of friends and social media.
Whatever it is, all I’m saying is take some time each year at the beginning of the season to reevaluate what you’re doing and why you’re doing it so you can be intentional about it. Because honestly no one can do it all. Something always has to give. And personally I would like to be the one to say what that “contribution” is before it is defined for me.
For me that meant giving up “Christmas” decorating. All the Christmas decorations always felt crowded (I doubt that word) to me and stimulated my senses. So I decided to do things my way. Now I decorate for the winter instead as soon as we get snow (usually in October or early November). The comfort of natural materials, twinkling lights and battery operated candles (not on timers so they all light up at once!) is calming and peaceful to me. Then in December the only decorating left to do is to put up our Christmas tree. It’s simple and cute.
What can you rethink and do differently this year to reduce stress and chaos?
Manage Expectations:
Every holiday season comes with new challenges to face. Family pressures, work stress, financial instability, illness and many other contributing factors play a major role. These things can be difficult to control and often out of control. We could easily let them trample our holiday spirit. One way to deal with this is to meet these big challenges with new expectations. It can be very difficult to give up traditional family traditions and not feel sad or resentful about doing so. But it can be done and new cultures may emerge from it.
Ten years ago my husband lost his job and we had to move to a new state and city where we didn’t know anyone. That first Christmas here, just the five of us, was hard. We used to celebrate with a big family around us. We were all very sad going into that first Christmas alone. However, do you want to know what happened during that time? We found ourselves making new traditions and one of those new favorites remains to this day 11 years later…spending all Christmas day in our new matching jammies! We don’t even dress up for Christmas dinner. And now when we have company for Christmas dinner, they have to bring their pajamas too. Yes, the law, ha! Many of our current family traditions come from that place of necessity.
In difficult situations, it may be difficult to lower expectations or find the good, but, no matter how small, there is always something to be thankful for. Constantly wishing things were different can make it very difficult to find the good. Please take some time in the next few weeks to consider your expectations or let others decide for you. Or even what you expect from others. Be true to what you are capable of and what your circumstances will allow and be open to new opportunities and cultures. You might just find a peaceful and enjoyable vacation that was more than you could have imagined!
Be prepared:
To help you organize and prioritize holiday plans I’ve created a free printable Christmas Planner that you can download below. The 2021 updated version of the one I released last year. There are twenty-two different pages in the set including two different covers depending on your preference. I know some like to call it the Holiday Program and others like to call it the Christmas Program. Whatever you choose, I’ve got you covered (see what I did there?)! And I totally share with you FREE as my Christmas gift to you all. I hope you like it!!
Pages include:
- Two Covers
- Family Traditions
- Acts of Kindness
- Christmas Gift Ideas
- Advent Traditions
- 12 Days to Give
- Holiday Essentials
- Christmas Party Planner
- Weekly Menu Planner
- Christmas Eve Menu Planner
- Christmas Day Menu Planner
- Baking List
- Grocery List
- Clean & Organize
- Gift budget
- Christmas Presents Bought
- Budget for the Holidays
- Weekly Planner
- Nov/Dec Calendars
- Notes
I set up my Christmas Planner binder using a little white bond again pocket pages (affiliate links) from Amazon. This helps keep everything organized and in one place. A little planning ahead of time will mean the difference between a stressful holiday season and one you can always enjoy. I know which option I like for sure!
Start by writing down the major events you hope to attend and do on the calendar. Then take each event and make a list of all the little details you need to take care of to make that day happen. As an example let’s take a Christmas potluck party at a friend’s house that you want to attend on Saturday, December 12. Here’s what needs to happen before then:
- Because you will be playing a gift exchange game, you need to buy a $10 gift to bring.
- You need to figure out what dish to make for the potluck.
- You need to buy potluck ingredients and prepare the dish.
- You would like to bring a small host gift to give to the host so you need to buy it as well.
- It’s also a holiday sweater party so you need to find and/or buy something to wear.
So as you can see there are some details to work out. BUT what most people do is to mark a big event on their calendar and carry a mentally a list of those things that must be done in advance. What happens when you are busy and overwhelmed? All those tasks you’ve been trying to remember are forgotten and you’re left scrambling to do everything at the last minute. You arrive at the party confused and exhausted and just want to go home and crawl into bed. Am I right? Trust me I’m here. Details are important because they add up quickly especially if you have a lot of events to attend. Keep that in mind.
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Download your FREE printable holiday planner HERE.
Once the file is open in Dropbox, click the three dots in the far right column and click Download.
{for personal use only please}
Getting everything out of your mind and on paper is one of the best ways to fight stress. I hope this little organizer will help you and simplify your list so that only the things that bring you the most joy remain.
Please also refer to my post on holiday menu planning made easy to help you be more prepared this Christmas.
Use Gift and Budget Apps:
In my quest to help you have an organized Christmas made easy you need these two apps in your life. I’ve used these two apps every year to make my life so much easier and I can’t recommend them to you enough. They help you with both gift shopping and tracking and staying on budget. They are mental saviors! You can check out that post on the right HERE.
Use the PUPA Movement:
And don’t forget to add your free PUPA Movement printable to your binder. What in the world am I talking about? I created this strategy to help you get used to it collecting and placing the things in your house prepare for a clutter-free vacation. You can read all about it and grab your free printable PUPA HERE. Nice and useful, go check it out!
Christmas Crafts:
Every year I like to make Christmas presents for my girlfriends, but I’m a huge procrastinator and over the years I’ve found myself leaving everything to the last minute. But I finally figured out how to stop procrastinating and accomplish my projects. Seriously if you are hoping to make some gifts this season, follow my method HERE so that everything can be done on time without stressing about it. It really works!
Open songs:
To help you get in the spirit, check out Org Junkie’s Favorite Christmas Songs playlist on Spotify. I add new songs every year but Johnny Reid’s Heard the Bells on Christmas Day still holds the top spot. Well it’s Carrie Underwood’s new Christmas CD (affiliate links) it has good competitors. Enjoy!
If you click the circle in the upper right corner of the player below, it will open the playlist directly from Spotify.
So there you go, I think you have everything you need now to help you have a planned Christmas made easy. Let me know how you do and if there is anything else I can do to help!
Happy holidays!
If you found this simple Christmas post helpful, do me a big favor and share it with me. Thank you!
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And if you need gift suggestions for the neat freak in your life, check out all of my editorial favorites HERE.
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