Looking for less stress and more joy this holiday season? These 7 helpful tips will help you stay organized all holiday season long!
Believe it or not, the holiday season will be here faster than you can say Trick-or-Treat!
So the big question is this—are you ready?
Because, if you’re anything like me, this is about the time of year, (before all the craziness has started), where you swear to yourself that THIS year will be different. THIS will be the Christmas you’re finally super organized and have all your shopping done early, the Thanksgiving where you don’t have to make fourteen trips to the grocery store, including one right before the store is closing on Wednesday night. THIS will be the year you stop running around like a crazy person and instead enjoy cozy nights at home in front of the tree.
THIS will be the year of less stress and more joy.
And then November happens, and things start getting hectic, and before you know it December is here and the real chaos begins, and by the time January begins, both you and your budget are overspent.
Sound familiar?
Believe me, I get it! In fact, I used to feel exactly the same way!
And one very big thing I’ve learned over the years is that early planning is a key ingredient to having less stress for the holidays.
I thought it might be helpful to share the steps I use to organize my holiday season in order to stay on task, stay under budget, and keep stress to a minimum.
7 Ways to Stay Organized All Holiday Season Long
STEP 1: REFOCUS YOUR PRIORITIES
The first page of our life-changing FREE LWSL Holiday Planner is by far the most important–so important, in fact, that if you are only going to print out and use ONE page of the planner, this would be the one that would have the biggest impact on your holiday season. I definitely recommend that you involve your family in this one as well. When my kids were younger, my husband and I would fill it out together, but now that our kids are a little older, we can do it as a family. It’s especially important to take everyone’s thoughts and ideas into consideration, both for the things you want to do and for the things you don’t.
STEP 2: LOOK OVER THE HOLIDAY CHECKLISTS
You shouldn’t feel like you need to follow these checklists step by step, but they can help give you a general idea of what your own timeline should be for planning your meals and activities throughout the season. Go ahead and cross out any items that don’t apply to you–it’s okay, you don’t need to do everything!
STEP 3: FILL OUT YOUR NOVEMBER & DECEMBER CALENDARS
Take the time to mark out all the important dates that you already know about–church events, school concerts, parades, parties, etc., then take time right now to block out a few days just for your family, especially for the things you all agreed about wanting to do this year. Because here’s the thing–if you don’t intentionally make time for those items now, when things get busy later it will be easy for that time to slip away. Make them a priority by getting them on the calendar! I also recommend that you block out time for gift & grocery shopping so that you don’t feel pressed for time later on.
STEP 4: SET YOUR HOLIDAY BUDGET
Be realistic about what you can afford to spend this year on everything from food to gifts to travel and activities. The reality is that there is nothing more stressful than facing a pile of bills come January. Avoid that frustration early by being proactive about telling your money where to go. If funds are tight, be honest with your friends and family, and even your kids, and put the focus on spending time together, not spending more than you can afford.
STEP 5: CREATE YOUR HOLIDAY MENUS & SHOPPING LIST
The grocery stores always have the most amazing sales in November and December, and with a little pre-planning it is possible to keep even the most lavish menus to a reasonable budget. That’s why it is so important to start with you menu planning early. Decide on your Thanksgiving, Christmas & baking recipes as soon as possible, then create a master grocery list that you can bring along to the store each week and stock up on the items you need as they go on sale.
STEP 6: PLAN YOUR GIFT LIST
Take some time to jot down notes about who you will need to buy gifts for this year, what your budget is for each person, and what you plan to buy or make for them. There are detailed gift pages for family members and close friends, as well as an extended gift list for those other important people you’ll want to remember–teachers, neighbors, babysitters, etc.
STEP 7: ORGANIZE YOUR CHRISTMAS CARD LIST
Christmas cards are one of my favorite holiday traditions, but I’ll be the first to admit–they are a LOT of work (not to mention expensive!) In fact, for the first time ever my husband and I are considering not even sending them out this year. While that decision is still yet to be decided, it is important to make sure you stay organized when it comes to your card list. If you only have a few cards to send, our holiday card planning pages are the perfect way to keep track of your list.
To recap, here are the 7 ways to stay organized all holiday season long:
- REFOCUS YOUR PRIORITIES
- LOOK OVER THE HOLIDAY CHECKLISTS
- FILL OUT YOUR NOVEMBER & DECEMBER CALENDARS
- SET YOUR HOLIDAY BUDGET
- CREATE YOUR HOLIDAY MENUS & SHOPPING LIST
- PLAN YOUR GIFT LIST
- ORGANIZE YOUR CHRISTMAS CARD LIST
And that’s it! This is really all it takes to plan and organize a (relatively) stress-free holiday season, and to keep yourself organized all season long! All seven of these steps can easily be completed in an afternoon, and a few hours of effort early can be the difference between chaos and calm this year. I challenge you to give it a try and see for yourself! GET OUR FREE HOLIDAY PLANNER HERE
Other helpful resources:
- Your Holiday Stop-Doing List: 10 Traditions It’s Okay to Skip This Year (Plus 5 Worth Keeping)
- Why Aren’t You Happy? How to Take the Pressure Off This Holiday Season
- Are You Overspending on the Holidays? 6 Big Signs (and What to do Instead)
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I found this article too late – Christmas is coming up tomorrow! And it’s been a crazy two months and I haven’t had time to do a few things I had planned for December. Still, I downloaded a holiday planner and I think some lists can be used for more than just the holiday season. Thanks for your tips! I am leading a more meaningful and peaceful life heeding them.
I am also having issues receiving the planner…I tried at least 4 times and nothing’s shown up (I checked the spam folder too)
I’m also not getting the email with the holiday planner. Glad to know it’s not just me. Hoping it gets fixed soon. This is a great resource. Thank you Ruth!
I’ve tried to several times in the past week to access the holiday planner and I get the message that it will be in my inbox any time, but it hasn’t shown up in my email.