If You Want A Better Christmas, An Early Start Goes A Long Way

If You Want A Better Christmas, An Early Start Goes A Long Way

Did you find last Christmas a little underwhelming? Perhaps you didn’t get to spend enough time with family or you weren’t entirely happy with the presents you chose for your loved ones? It happens to all of us at some point, and often the reasons it happens are the same for most of us: we didn’t get as much time as we would like.

Next Christmas is still a long, long way off so you don’t need to start preparing immediately, but here are a few tips on using the whole year to make sure you’ve prepared the kind of holiday season you and your family deserve, little by little.

If You Want A Better Christmas, An Early Start Goes A Long Way

• Building your Christmas budget

It’s a sad truth that pretty much everything we want to do during the holidays, from taking more time off to buying Christmas gifts for the home, can cost money. If the winter holidays are a big deal for you and your family, then you may want to start budgeting for them right from the start of the year. Putting aside only a little here and there can quickly see you building a Christmas fund that makes sure you’re in no panic once the season arrives.

Take a look at pages like How to Set Up Your Christmas Budget and organise your approach to saving a little at a time. You might be surprised by how easy it turns out to be when you’re chipping away at it a little at a time.

• List out everything you need well before the big day

Are you checking a list? Checking it twice? Well, if not, you could be leaving yourself open to a last-minute Christmas Eve panic. It’s easy for any of us to forget something until the last moment. For that reason, make sure that you list out everything you need before Christmas day, including gifts to buy, things to do, Christmas supplies to buy, any DIY projects, any parties or events you’re organising or helping with, who you’re sending Christmas cards to, what food you need to prepare, and so on. A Christmas notebook can help you keep track of all your plans and needs in one space, making it easy to check, jot, and mark off as and when you need to.

• Keep track on a calendar

As mentioned, the time running up to Christmas can be pretty hectic. Your plans can more often than not go out the window simply because there’s so much to prepare. To stop that from happening this year, then you should start planning the approach to Christmas in advance, at least a couple of months out from the big day. Take into account not only the days you have to spend buying Christmas gifts and supplies and setting up the day but other seasonal obligations, such as going to any seasonal plays that your kids might be in. Sure, it might feel like you’re being a little pedantic, but it can help you stay calm when the season comes.

• Start building present inspiration now

So, perhaps you feel like you didn’t manage the kind of gifts that wow or warm the heart, last year. Your loved ones might have been polite enough to make it super obvious, but sometimes you can just feel when a gift didn’t land. If that’s the case, then spend more time doing a little “research” on the loved one you’re getting a present for. Do some digging and get a better idea of their likes, then use pages like The Ultimate Techie Christmas Gift Guide to make sure you’re hitting those likes appropriately. Talk to them early in the year about things they want and start keeping a list. If they get what they were looking at, tick it off the list. If they don’t, save it for Christmas.

• Organise a big Christmas party

Do you feel like you didn’t get to see enough of your friends and family? Perhaps you didn’t have enough time to get around to every door and to see every face. There’s one way to make that much easier: bring them all to you, instead. Hosting a Winter Garden Gathering can show you how to set-up a quick Christmas get-together that provides the perfect opportunity for everyone to meet when, closer to the big day itself, everyone might be busy with the immediate family. Even if not everyone attends, it will tick a lot of names off your list, allowing you to visit the others much more easily.

• Make sure you send any deliveries early

It’s a long way before you need to worry about mail delays for Christmas presents just yet, but if you plan on sending any cards or gifts to loved ones overseas, then it always pays to be aware of how hectic things can get for the Post Office come autumn and winter. You want to get your presents sent off in advance of the Christmas panic. Get your stamps in advance and send your cards and gifts with plenty of lee-way. Inform your friends and family that the gifts are sent as well, so they know to expect them a little early. You just have to trust that they won’t peek until the big day!

• Take a little extra time to yourself

One of the most common issues come the holidays is that they simply end too early. You might find yourself back to work before you’ve really had any time to yourself. If you’re able to, try to arrange a few extra days than you usually do for yourself. If you’re self-employed, this might mean saving a little extra to pay for those additional days. Otherwise, you might have to come to an arrangement with your boss, such as working a few extra hours during the year. It’s important to take a break when the opportunity comes around, especially if most of your Christmas is dealing with the organising.

Sure, it might be a long time until Christmas yet, but the tips above can make sure you’re more than ready when it comes.

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