Christmas To-Do Tips

Here is a list of Christmas organizing tips that I share each year. Maybe it will be helpful to you!




Plan:

• use a 3-ring binder to create a Holiday Planner
• record addresses under "Greeting Card List"
• track gifts under "Gift List (don’t forget teachers, mail person, etc.)
• include your favorite holiday dishes under "Recipes"
• prepare for dinners and banquets under "Meal Calendar"
• record social events under "Holiday Parties" (with date and time)
• record plans for your own holiday gatherings under "Guest Lists"

Involve Guests:

• when planning your party, ask your guests to bring something
• don’t forgot to keep a menu planner of who is bringing what
• give the kids duties such as collecting the coats or passing out appetizers

Shop:

• to reduce the stress on your grocery wallet, shop in large batches
• buy non-perishable foods over a 2 to 3 week period
• shop online from the comfort of your home
• buy presents for out-of-town friends and relatives first; wrap and ship them early to avoid paying high shipping charges
• pay attention to items people mention they want
• cross off each gift as you give it or know they have received it
• use this as your shopping list as the holiday season begins

Wrap:

• pull out what you still have from last year; take inventory to see if you need more of anything
• keep all of your gift-giving supplies in one place
• set up gift center nearest the point where you normally wrap gifts
• set up a long under-bed box for rolled wrapping paper
• set up smaller tubs for tags, bows, ribbon, etc.
• be sure to include scissors, tape, and a pen
• also store the gifts you plan to give in the same place
• set up one storage tub for "kid gifts" and another for "adult gifts"
• make sure to include a flat surface for wrapping

Organize recipes:

• get copies of recipes from friends or family
• cut out recipes from magazines or newspapers
• make photocopies of recipes from cookbooks
• include dividers for each section (veggies, bread, desserts, etc.)
• put each recipe into a sheet protector page in the right section
• store either with your cookbooks or holiday decorations

Decorate:

• take photos from several angles and points within your house including shots of table setting, mantelpiece, and other focal points
• take a full shot of the exterior
• cull out anything you no longer want and set aside to donate
• make notes on the back of each picture about items used
• store pics with your holiday decorations or include labels to remember how you had things laid out

Getting the Xmas Cards Out

Want a tip about Christmas cards? I used Shutterfly to create and order our cards, and they ship with envelopes. I love anything self-adhesive, so I print out the "to" address labels on Avery label sheets through my printer (type in information in a Word file), use return address labels that I peel-and-stick, and use, of course, self-adhesive Christmas stamps. Makes the assembly line process for 50+ cards super easy.

My other tip is to print out on regular paper the grid of addresses (from the computer file you use for the labels; mine is in Word formatted to print out on labels) so you can reference the list. Since you often send cards to the same people year after year, putting the names and addresses into a computer file once saves time the following years. You can edit the address or delete names easily.

3,000

Wow, according to SiteMeter, this blog just hit 3,000 visit(or)s! I wanted to let everyone who reads this that I appreciate that, and hope that what I write is helpful in some way at some time. As any blogger knows, you always wonder in the back of your head if anyone is actually reading what you write!

The interesting thing about tracking visitors is that you can find out information about who's reading. For instance, out of the last 20 visits, the viewers were from Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Kentucky, Georgia, Iowa, Ontario, and Michigan. Thanks for reading, and here's to another 3,000 if you can stand it!

Cyber Monday Funday!

Today is Cyber Monday, the close relative to Black Friday. If you are looking for online deals, today is your day. Even entering in the term "Cyber Monday" will get you started in the direction of savings.

Did you partake in the Black Friday or weekend shopping sales? I did and, phew, am I tired. We hit the stores all 3 days of the holiday weekend, but the majority of items we bought were for us or the household, not Xmas gifts. Having the shopping done for Christmas allows me to take my time strolling through the stores at a normal time of day, picking up what I want for me or our home. It was great!

Don't forget both for today and any day you do online shopping that you should always open up another window and search for promotional codes for the store site you're on. I find discount codes 75% of the time that give savings to an order I would have paid full price for anyway. Many times I wait until the checkout pages to do this, and then copy and paste the codes to see if any work. Some coupon sites to check out: http://www.retailmenot.com/, http://www.couponcode.com/, http://www.couponcabin.com/ and http://www.couponshack.com/ Many of these also list Cyber Monday deals.