Tips for Planning a Smooth Holiday Season

Every year around this time most people start to get anxious for the holidays. There is so much going on that it’s hard not to. It may be tempting to just let it all happen as it happens, but that is sure to set you up for a holiday meltdown or two. Just like a vacation or even a small wedding, the holidays go more smoothly when you plan most of the details out. If you haven’t really planned your holidays before and just kind of gone by the seat of your pants with everything, here are some Tips for Planning a Smooth Holiday Season.

Tips for Planning a Smooth Holiday Season

Get a calendar that hangs on the wall. This may seem old school, but it allows everyone to see what days and times are planned for as well as add their own things to it. Having a calendar of November and December allows you to also place reminders for certain sales on it as well.

Start planning your holiday meals well in advance of sales. This way, you can just simply scour the coupons and circulars when the time comes and find the best deals on every thing for your list. Planning your meals also means planning any goodies you plan to make as well. This is the best time of year to get baking supplies so make sure you stock up, too.

Sit down and make a list of those your will be giving gifts to. This sounds strange, but I like to divide the list into people I am definitely buying for and those that I will be if my budget allows. The people you will definitely be buying for include those closest to you and the others are people like your boss, neighbor, hairdresser, and son’s teacher, etc. This way, you can prioritize gifts based on who is on the list and try to have a general idea of who you can squeeze in if your budget allows. This is also a good time to figure out what your budget is. To narrow it down even more, try to make a budget for each person on how much you will be spending. This will help you spend evenly and not overspend, too.

Schedule regular appointments well in advance. Most places like salons, dentists, eye doctors, and even pet groomers get extra busy this time of year. Avoid the holiday rush to get in by scheduling these things a month of two in advance of you needing them. This will save you stress down the road.

Start deciding what can be cut from your normal routine. Sometimes, we get over booked so easily at the holidays that we stress ourselves out and things don’t go as we had planned more often than not. Try not to overbook yourself or your family if you want to keep things running smoothly this holiday season.

Decide when you will do your housekeeping if you plan to have guests this year. Do deep cleaning in advance so it isn’t something you have to worry about the week before they get there.

Cook what you can in advance. Freezer meals are perfect for the busy holiday season. If you can cook some appetizers for that party a week ahead and freeze them, save time and do it! Also, as the big day draws closer, it will be a relief to pull out that frozen lasagna you made 2 weeks ago for a busy night.

For holiday shopping, break it up over several weeks over the course of the season so you won’t have to devote entire days to it. Keep your eye on sales and plan your shopping based on them or do it online to really save yourself some time!

Don’t forget to plan for after the holidays. It’s almost like a huge let down when the holidays are over. It builds and builds and then before you know it, the gifts are unwrapped, the guests have left, and the dishes are done in the sink. Plan for how you will handle the cleaning, mess, and storage of your decorations so you are less likely to just throw them in the shed or garage. Make sure you plan to rest, too! You deserve it!