Holiday 2021 Prep
Good morning folks! Happy Monday to you! So…the holiday season is here. It is time to get prepared for all the goodness that’s coming. This time last year, I wrote about how to lessen the stress of the season with “Holiday Shopping: Lessen the Stress”. You can read that blog here: https://sandradahl.ca/seasonal/blog-post-title-three-wxa3p-0QaUS
I think anything that you can do prior to the holiday season will reduce the panic, stress and anxiety that sometimes comes at this time of year. If you haven’t already done so, get yourself a planner, or at the very least, a notepad so you can take notes!
If you are familiar with my blog, you know that I am a huge advocate of planning and organization. Not only is it what helped me get through my two degrees, but also helped to steer me in the right direction when I started my online business. It helps to declutter the mind so you can spend less time worrying about the future and be more present in the moment and actually work on things that are worth your time.
So you may or may not be into goal setting. If you aren’t, (or if you are, but haven't set goals in particular for the holidays), then maybe this blog will help you get a head start on planning for the upcoming season. Remember, the information and advice within my blogs is here for the taking. If you don’t agree with something, that’s fine - take what you need and leave the rest.
1. Budget
Money is always an issue around the holidays. You never seem to have enough. The trick here is to have a budget and stick to it. (Read the blog linked above). There have been years where I had extra money and I wouldn’t stop spending. I thought to myself, so-and-so has done so much for me, and they deserve this, this and the other thing. Or, you may find it really easy to shop for one person in particular, so you end up buying them tons of stuff and not much for anyone else. (I have done that before!) You may also think you need to buy something for everyone. Before you do that, have those critical discussions before you start a budget. For instance, if you don’t buy for someone, they don’t buy for you; make it simple and stress-free. Beware of holiday office parties and gift exchanges. Some can be as low as $10, but if you have many “Secret Santa’s, that money can add up, and some limits can be as high as hundreds of dollars. If you can’t afford it, don’t participate. For family gift exchanges, don’t feel guilty if you can’t buy for everyone. A couple of years ago, my husband’s family started picking names and only buying for one person. (In my experience, parents usually always buy for all their kids and grandkids). However, if your kids are older, perhaps they would be okay with drawing names from a hat.
If you have young kids, it’s sometimes really frustrating. You may want to get them the world, but in my experience, half of the toys I have bought my kids for Christmas were forgotten about within the first month after the holidays. As kids get older, they want more expensive gifts. In that case, make it known that they either have to save for half themselves (i.e. using allowance money or from part time jobs), or it may be the only gift they receive. Also, consider asking a relative to pay half (i.e. grandparents or aunt/uncle) and it can be from both of you.
Technically (in my opinion), Christmas shouldn’t be about money and having to buy things for people; handmade gifts are especially nice. However, companies have turned Christmas into a huge marketing campaign and it’s just easier to pick up something rather than to make it. Start thinking in terms of handmade crafts or gifts. Especially when there are elderly people in your life - most likely they have already accumulated everything they need in life - make them a handmade dishcloth, craft, letter, or ornament. Never underestimate the power of a homemade gingersnap or chocolate chip cookie.
2. Clean & Organize Your Home
I LOVE decorating for the holidays. It’s my favourite time of the year (besides for summer). Before this happens in our house forever, everything needs to be tidied and organized first.
For the most part, all of our holiday decorations are in the kitchen and living room, which are our main living areas. As soon as we start adding decorations, it instantly starts to look more cluttered because we’re adding more things. We have a pretty small house, so our place already looks cluttered with our belongings. However it’s nice to make sure everything is dusted before those decorations come out.
For instance, this year, one of our goals was to declutter all the DVD’s on our living room bookshelf. Originally, when we first got the bookshelf, I really wanted to just have books on it. But, I had hundreds of DVD’s and my family loves to watch movies. So, it didn’t make sense to keep them in a container in the basement. As the years went by, we kept buying more movies until the shelf started to overflow. In addition, our toddler daughter loves to play (and destroy) the cases. So, to combat this, we decided to recycle all the cases and keep the discs in a huge carry case. Well, 1000 movies later, the bookshelf is almost empty except for my books I have on the top shelf, and it helps to maintain the clean look of our living space.
3. Brainstorm your Holiday “Fun List”
If you have time off at the holidays (and hopefully you do!), you might want to take advantage of it and enjoy some quality family time. This may mean travel to see loved ones, Christmas Shopping, watching movies, sledding, building a snowman, ice skating, skiing, singing carols, looking at neighborhood Christmas lights, or other fun holiday activities in your area.
I would recommend talking to your family about the kind of things they might want to do. (That way you don’t have a disagreement on your hands when the time comes for the outing). Cross off the things that your family doesn't want to do and go from there.
The next step is to PLAN OUT YOUR FUN TIME! Yup, you know I’m going to say get your planner out. This is where you take the time to sit down and literally plan when you will do these things. Write down:
Your time off work
dinner plans
kids days off school
holidays
scheduled fun times
kids play dates
That way, especially if you’re kids are older, you can make sure you have time scheduled for family time. (If it works better for your family, use google or apple calendar so your kids don’t forget when to be home).
4. Travel Preparations
I love making lists in my planner, and you might need to make some if you are planning on heading out of town over the holidays. Especially when it comes to flying, there are a lot of restrictions. You might want to write a list for:
Things to do before the trip
Packing list
Shopping list
Arrange for pet sitters or pet care facilities
Itinerary and travel plans
Things to do when you arrive
Christmas and/or the holidays is such a fun time. A lot of people don’t work over the holiday, and it’s nice to celebrate with loved ones. Take this time to show gratitude and appreciation toward your close circle of friends and family. Eat, drink and be merry, but please be safe and don’t drink and drive.
Merry Christmas!
Sandra 💝
