Monday 5 September 2016

Time to start organising for the C word...



Hello, I hope you have had a lovely day.

For those of you that have been reading for a while you will know that I start organising for Christmas three months before the delightful day actually arrives, I am in fact two weeks late starting this year but I'm hoping that together we will achieve a relaxed and happy Christmas and New Year.

Right let me explain how this works we take all the jobs that need doing and split them up into easy to manage weekly tasks.

Week 1

  • Thoroughly clean and tidy the hall (you can pick any room you like, I start with the hall and work my way through the downstairs of the house first)
  • Make a list of who you need to buy presents for and any ideas you have for that person, also try to work out a budget for each person so that you don't overspend  (For example, my mum - I know I would like to buy her a heated hairbrush I have seen that is £39.99 but my budget for family other than the children is £25.00 each but this means I can look for any discounts or offers on this item)
  • I make one freezer meal per week from now until the week before Christmas so that when things get really busy at school I can just get a dish out of the freezer in the morning and know that we will have a cooked meal that evening without having to resort to takeaways.
  • I also write a list of home made goodies that I know the children will love to eat over the Christmas period and cook one of these items per week and freeze them, for example, a couple of my children love coffee and walnut cake so that goes on the list whilst another couple love Sausage rolls so that will also go on the list to be made.
  • I buy a couple of presents each week (sometimes more) as I have five stockings to buy I normally start with these.
     
  • I write a list of the grocery items that we are like to want over Christmas, I have to admit last year I completed a word document for the items we are likely to want over Christmas and saved it so that this year I just need to update any changes. Then each week I add four items to my weekly shopping list and store these in a cupboard I have already emptied purely for Christmas food. This enables me to do a quick dash to the shops when its really busy just for fresh stuff (I may do an online shop this year to make life even easier).
      
  • I also wrap things as they are bought and give myself dates of when things like Christmas cards need to be written by.
I have followed this plan for four years now, ever since I did a panicky shop on Christmas Eve one year (and for someone who avoids shops whenever she can this was my worst nightmare). It works and it make for a clean, calm happy Christmas.

This year as I am still in the process of decluttering the house I am going to add a weekly task of getting rid of ten items a week. After all we will be adding further items to our mountain of stuff  at this time of year.

Join me, lets motivate each other, I'll regularly update you on how I'm getting on, let me know how you are too.

Take care xx

9 comments:

  1. You leave me speechless with your organization, despite it being the 2nd year that I follow you through this period!
    My plan is... that I have no plan. I understand your need to organize everything in advance, but I refuse to get stressed about Christmas in September. My birthday is in early December so I usually don't start really thinking about Christmas until after that. All I know is that I told everyone that this year I'm not doing a Christmas buffet because I'm on a diet and I want to take it seriously and not overdo it during the holidays, and I'm thinking that we 3 rambunctious kittens we might need to not have a tree either. Maybe we'll celebrate Festivus this year, since all we need is a metal pole :) Good luck with everything!

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    1. I can completely understand that you would not want to start in September. I was discussing this with my mum the other day and I told her I thought I was a bit of a control freak. She reckons I get this from her.
      Brilliant forward thinking about the Christmas buffet.
      I will be trying to bring in healthy options for me. I guess a metal pole is better than nothing. Perhaps you could put festive bows on the kittens xxx

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  2. wow, I start buying for christmas after bonfire night and as for food shopping, just buy extra bit's for christmas throughout December and christmas week, just swap normal food we buy for christmas food, it is hubby's birthday on christmas day so he chooses what christmas cake/tins of goodies etc we get and I do the usual weekly Tesco online shop, for us if we start too early then by the time christmas comes around it doesn't seem exciting or special any more, but one thing we try to do is buy a real tree, just love the smell, Jo x

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    1. I've never had a real tree, although I would like one. Its only really me that notices what is bought because I have a large box in the garage and as extra juice, crisps, crackers etc. arrive I tend to hide it in there and no-one is any the wiser.
      I don't out the Christmas tree up until the weekend after we break up from school but knowing I am organised just stops me from losing the plot. Ha ha xxx

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  3. You are well ahead already having spent your school break cleaning and organizing each room of the house. Do you follow an on-line program like "Organized Christmas"? I try to follow that program. I don't stick to it very well, but I think it helps me. I have already been picking up little gifts for the Advent calendars and stockings. I would have already started wrapping some of those except for my resolve not to do anything in the Craft Room until it is organized to my satisfaction. Soon I will start picking up crackers and baking supplies as they go on sale. I don't hide them, but anything that I place in the buffet is NOT to be touched. I just use my normal household budget to purchase any special holiday ingredients.

    I would love to follow along with you in the next three months. I will do any reporting if there is anything to report.

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    1. I am fairly organised with the home Susan although there is still a lot I would like to get rid of. Unfortunately I do live with a couple of people who like their stuff if it was just me and the little ones we would have a lot less in the house.
      No I dont follow a plan I will have to check it out. I do this purely because of previous bad experiences of not being organised enough.
      You are ahead of me I picked up a book yesterday for one of my sons and I have a few books for my daughter. I saw something today for my daughters bedroom but I didn't have enough change on me and I didn't want to break into a note.

      I also use my normal shopping money for the extra bits for Christmas. It will be lovely to hear how you are getting on xxx

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  4. I love how organized you are with your Christmas preparations! I used to go all out with decorations, etc., but I am trying to scale back now. But I do start making my gifts fairly early, although I don't shop until later.

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    1. The only reason ours is so full on Bless is because of the kids but for now that makes them happy and is worth every second spent doing it.

      I love that you make some of your presents what do you make? I would love to make things but I'm not very artistic sadly. Xxx

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    2. Tara, I knit, crochet, and sew various things and make jam and chutney.

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