My Top 10 Tips for Holiday Planning

With the Holidays sneaking up on us faster and faster...

I guess it is time to start planning!

So, let me know ... How do you do it? Do you write lists and mark things off or do you just wing it all the way through? I used to just sort of go with the flow... but these days, lists seem to be a best friend of mine!!!

That being said, my Top 10 tips to holiday planning are as follows:

(Please feel free to add to my list, as I know I will forget some things!)

Number 10 - Go ahead and start getting idea's for gifts. That includes writing my list of who all I need to buy for. Budget out how much we will spend on gifts and then start watching sales advertisements and comparing prices between stores.

I make sure to write this down in pencil, as gift ideas change and you may need to add names to the list.

Number 9 - Enjoy spending time with my family. As the hustle and bustle of the holidays are supposed to be for enjoying your family, sometimes things get so rushed, you have always got to have time for family.

Number 8 - Buy wrapping paper / gift bags/ gift tags. I like to wrap as I go. That way, it isn't waiting to be discovered. Not to mention if you wrap a few here and there, it isn't such a big task as having to wrap everything at one time.

That being said, I also use a wrapping system.
Gifts that are going to be taken out of town go in a totally different wrapping paper than the ones that are to be opened at home. Also, Broxton has fun "kid" wrapping paper to distinguish his from the other gifts. I like the different wrapping paper technique as you can scour all the ones left under the tree to make sure the "out of town wrapped" gifts are not left there before you head out.

Number 7- Start that holiday card list. You know what I mean! I have mentioned before that I love Christmas cards! I work and work on my list to make sure everyone is included. I get my address book out, write down my list. Make sure it matches to the correct address... I double check to make sure I have not forgotten anyone.

That leads me to Number 6 - Decide on what type of cards you want to go with. Do you just buy a box from the store? If you are looking for stylish holiday cards, be sure to head on over and check out Storkie Chirstmas Cards!
Now that I have a family, I love the whole idea of the photo cards and this one sums it up!
If photo cards aren't what you are looking for, they have several other options, you just need to visit their site and see what all they have available!

Number 5- Figure out your plans... Are you going to be out of town for several days? Is your house the meeting place? Are you the host/hostess? These are great questions that you need to figure out soon! If you are going to be out of town for a few days, you need to see about someone watching over things for you. I always hear that the holidays are when people like to rob houses the most... As they know there are lots of presents and that people travel. Speaking of travel, make travel arrangements! Book flights, book your hotels / rental cars... whatever you need. And write it all down where you can easily find it with your confirmation numbers.

Number 5 leads me to Number 4- If you are going to be hosting people, you need to make sure you have the house decorated the way you want it. Not only the decorations, what about the dishes and what not to serve on? Also, are you cooking everything, or are different people going to be bringing different items? I say invite family and friends over for a decorating party... That way you have help and its fun! As for cooking, I would ask for everyone to bring a dish or two... as we all know I am not a great cook and I can admit it!

Number 3 comes from the questions of Number 4 - If you are cooking everything, when are you cooking and what are you cooking? There are several food items that you can prepare in advance, so that you are not left trying to cook everything the night before. As I already mentioned, you do not want to be rushing to get things done to the point that the fun times of the holidays are not taken advantage of.

Number 2 - Make sure you have a great camera. Or at least batteries that are fully charged. Or charge up your camera. Whatever way makes sure that when perfect photo memories come along, you are ready to capture them! If you don't have a decent camera, put it on your list!

Number 1- Enjoy family. Yes, I know I mentioned it before... But it really is important. Start traditions... Make new traditions. Continue on with the traditions you already have. Watch a movie. Hey, watch several movies. Pop popcorn. Drive around and look at lights. Whatever it takes... Enjoy in the magic around you... WITH your loved ones.

Okay, please add to the list...
As I know I forgot things...

(This is just another reason I start now, to give me plenty of time to make up for everything I forgot!)

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I wrote this blog post while participating in the Storkie holiday blogging program. I received compensation for my participation. All opinions are 100% mine