I was out on the 23rd shopping for last minute stocking stuffers, my husband was out on the 22nd getting our presents and I was up until 3 am on the 23rd wrapping presents so I wouldn't have to do it Christmas Eve. So we {my husband & I} decided that we need to make a plan for next year so that this is not us again.
So I am putting my plan here in blogland for 2 reasons:
1. Accountability - I give you permission to yell at me if I don't uphold my plan.
2. Reminder - I can come back to this next year and make sure that I have a plan to follow.
The Plan:
Shop through the year/Start early: For my husband, mom, dad and brother - no one gives me a list of what they want. So, it is up to me to be creative. For my daughter, I can always pick up stocking stuffers. Throughout the year as I am shopping, I am going to be picking up things as I find them. I will put them in our Christmas Eve box {if they fit} or in our "other holiday" box in our storage area. I have created an Excel Spreadsheet that I can update throughout the year, and created a shortcut on my desktop, if it's not easy to get to, I won't keep up with it.
Create a Decorating Plan: Pinterest is great. It gives you so many awesome ideas for decorating for the holidays, wrapping presents, Christmas card inspiration and food ideas. It is also overwhelming. I have put on my Google Calendar November 1st to start coming up with a decorating plan, for each room. I end up having decorations up until February and put away somewhere else because I don't know what I have or it goes up so late I hate to take it down so soon.
Put Everything on the Calendar: There are some things I can add to my calendar to do. For example: Christmas cards. I have put on my calendar a date to think of what picture I would like to include, when to get the picture done by, when to order cards and now when to have them all sent out by. {Confession, I just sent out my last Christmas cards today}
Start wrapping December 1st: I love wrapping presents. I actually would love to be one of the wrappers at the mall. I just love wrapping presents. However, this year, my present wrapping was the worst it ever was. I was rushed and it felt more like a job I had to do than something fun I enjoyed. It completely diminished my Christmas Spirit.
Create a way to remember the real reason for Christmas: With all of the worldly stresses from this year, it wasn't until Christmas morning, reading from Luke that I took a moment to reflect on why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. It's not for the gifts or the wrapping or the cookies {even though they are good} it is to celebrate the birth of Christ. I will come up with an idea for this and share it here when I have it :)
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