As of today there are only 101 days until Christmas! Now before you start swearing at me I want you to know that I don't expect you to run out and do your Christmas shopping now. I just want to direct you to a web site that will send you emails each day from today until Christmas to help you prepare for the holiday.
For the past couple of years I have been getting 101 Days to Christmas emails and some of them have been very handy. I love the Christmas Planner printables. What I like is that you only print off the pages that are pertinent to you.
Another good Christmas planning site is Flylady. She starts at a much more reasonable time of mid-October and wants you to be prepared for the holidays by December 1st. She likens it to going on a cruise for the month of December. While others are running around, stressed to the max, she wants you to have the time to spend with your family. Perhaps making cookies with the kids or going for a drive to look at all the lights.
Today I want to add my own Christmas planning tip. If you are planning on having any sort of renovations done to your home before Christmas, now is the time to start arranging it. It's time to call the contractors, plumbers, drywallers, etc. and set up a time before November to get your project done. Please do not wait until the beginning of December to call your plumber for a bathroom renovation. Mr. P runs a plumbing company and every year we get a few people that call just a couple of weeks before Christmas wanting to have their bathroom renovated. They want it finished by Christmas Eve. He has never been able to do it. He's too busy installing new taps and other minor repairs that people have left until the last minute before their own celebration.
Get these renovation projects done by the beginning of November so that you are not adding to the stress of the season. You don't want to be on a ladder, painting the dining room the night before Thanksgiving because you left it too late! And I don't want your home to look like this on Christmas morning!
Make a list of all the projects that you would like to have done around the house and then choose the most important ones. Remember that many of these things were good enough last year and they will be good enough this year. That particular tip has been learned through years of experience (we're having a party, let's paint the kitchen cabinets!). I always want to renovate something before a big party!
Does anyone else feel as though, as soon as the kids head back to school, someone has yelled, "On your mark, get set, go!" to all the rest of us? Now until January is truly the busiest time of the year!
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