I am one of those that absolutely loves Christmas. It is the most fun time of year and I love all the hustle and bustle that goes with it, but I don’t like being crazy stressed. I posted a similar post last year that you all enjoyed, so I added a few more tips this year.
Gift Giving: This is always a major point of stress for most of us. I always start a little early and try to find a few presents as the year unfolds that I think people will like. That is all well and good, but if I buy things too early then I forget where I put them, or I wind up with a mess like I have here in the corner of my guest bedroom.
At this time of year I like to get everything out of the bags and pull them all out of the closets and see what I have. Time to take inventory and see what else I need to buy. I lay everything out on the the bed in the guest bedroom, so I can see it all. (This is where I can close the door and keep it all a secret)
For guys, I have some shirts that I put in a sack by size, so I know what I have for each person.
Now for the girls –
An assortment of placemats and chargers for ladies on my list and I love adding napkins to go with these, so that will go on my shopping list. I also need one more set of placemats.
An assortment of candles, candle holders, memo pads for stocking stuffers. I also have a really pretty silver tray and a wood and marble chopping board. You can see a really fun mink ball key chain for a teenager on my list.
For that hard to buy for man on my list, I found a gorgeous silver and ebony duck hanger and shoe horn. I always feel good when I get the hardest person on my list taken care of.
Now that I know what I have left to buy for everyone on my list, I can concentrate on just those few things and have all my shopping done before Thanksgiving. Just a few things to add for the adults and then I can have fun shopping for toys for the grands.
Recycle What You Can – I have a lot of paper left over from previous years. I also have a few black and white gift boxes, so those could be added to the mix if I just coordinate all my ribbons. Maybe shop for some black, gold and white pretty grosgrain ribbon.
I hate to wrap gifts, so getting that done early is a real plus for me. We have a really large landing at the top of the stairs, so I put a small 4ft. work table at the top of the stairs so I could set up a wrapping station. There is plenty of room to walk around it so it isn’t in the way and I can wrap a few presents at a time and then have that chore all done. The table is big enough to hold all my assorted tissues, ribbons, tape and scissors. I have a variety of paper on the floor underneath and boxes and a bag for trash on the side. Perfect.
This corner of the loft/office is the perfect place to stash all those wrapped gifts. They’re not in the way and part of this dreaded chore is done. With the papers I had on hand and the gift bags I already had, I was able to stick to a gold-black and white theme.
You can make gift wrapping really easy by using white boxes and white gift bags you can find at the Dollar Store and one color ribbon.
Start Early: If you are one that likes to decorate the whole house, then start before Thanksgiving for some rooms. Bedrooms, offices, lofts – these are all places you can decorate before Thanksgiving and save the living areas as the grand finale.
I don’t go all out in the bedrooms, but a hint of Christmas is what I like.
Just a hint of Christmas in here too. I do have a small tree on the dresser at the foot of the bed.
Another small tree on the wicker trunk, a santa and some carolers. That about does it for here.
Let The Baking Begin It is time to get a ton of baking done before Thanksgiving and Christmas. Make a bazillion cookies, breads and candies now and put them all in the freezer. You will be thrilled when all you have to do is place them on a pretty tray or package them up for gifts.
TIP: Cookies and Breads freeze really well if you wrap them in foil, then place in a freezer zip top bag. Candy Bark freezes well too and makes a great gift for neighbors. Powdered sugar cookies don’t freeze quite as well and neighter does fudge, so make those last.
Adding your Christmas Decor to the Patio and Backyard before Thanksgiving is one way to get a big job done early. You and your guest well love having a preview of Christmas.
TIP: Take a look at previous Christmas pictures to remember how you decorated in the past. Then use those same items in a totally different arrangement this year. Or if you are really pressed for time, just do the same thing again, it will only create fond memories of the past and you won’t have to recreate the wheel.
Since we only have a few days after Thanksgiving until the lst of December, I know most of us are really going to be in a pinch to get all the decorating up in a hurry. If your major shopping, wrapping & baking are done, then you are really home free. All you have to do is the tree and main living areas. So plan now while you have a little free time and then just sit back and enjoy.
Such great advice, Marty!
Funny you hate to wrap gifts – oh my gosh, it’s my favorite part!!!!
You fly me to your warm and sun and I will wrap everything for you – then you and I can enjoy a glass of something lovely and sit by your pool. Got a deal????
It has snowed and Friday night’s high school playoff game was 22 degrees. I am packing to come over now.
Hugs.
Oh my gosh, that is so cold. I would love to have you. How fun would that be. Marty
love all your ideas marty. i have done absolutely nothing….but I do have a plan for when I start decorating and shopping in a couple of week.
Love all these great tips Marty. I buy all year around too. Makes the gifts more special and I can put more thought into them. What a great idea to have a space to lay them all out on the bed so you know what you have for everyone. As I get my gifts I put them in gift boxes and mark the end of the box with the person’s name. Just makes it easier when I go to wrap. Have a great new week ahead. Enjoy AZ weather. We got 5 inches of snow Ugh Ugh Ugh!!!! Way to early for this stuff.
Hugs,
Kris
Such great ideas! I started early this year and have vowed to have it all done before Thanksgiving so I can spend the holiday season experiencing it rather than surviving it. Now I need to figure out where I can put a wrapping station in my home. That is a must.
Nancy
Happy Veteran’s Day to all…We don’t buy gifts anymore as our adult kids choose to make it easy for everyone so we celebrate the way we always do with no gifts and everyone loves it. Hubby and I donate to the animal shelters and the homeless
Thank you for sharing all these amazing tips. I love Christmas, but there’s no doubt everything goes more smoothly and is less stressful when some things [like gift wrapping!] are done ahead of time. I think I too must find a place to set up a wrapping station! Carolyn
I buy some things early if I can and wrap them soon after and put names on them so I don’t forget who I bought for! lol
So you play hide and seek at your house too ? LOL Already I have lost a gift. I put it in a safe place so the cats wouldn’t break it. I love gift wrapping and make some pretty awesome fancy packages. Not so much on baking.
Oh how I hate wrapping gifts, it’s the one thing about Christmas that I could do with out! Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us at the Creative Muster. Looking forward to seeing what you’ll be sharing next week. Pinning!
Robin😊