How to plan Christmas?

Although we usually start preparations for Christmas in December, it's worth planning everything now. Today I have prepared for you a plan of such preparations, thanks to which I believe that the preparations will be pleasure and not madness.

So where do you start not to go crazy and enter the New Year with debts?

1. Budget

In my family home, the whole year was saved for Christmas - every month a predetermined amount landed (and even continues to end up) in the piggy bank. Thanks to this, the holiday budget was quite specific in advance, and thanks to the savings, we did not have to start the New Year in the red.

Determining the budget for Christmas is extremely important - in fact, only after answering the question of how much we can and want to spend, we can proceed to planning the remaining points.

If you already have the amount you want to spend on Christmas, divide it into smaller budgets for holiday expenses:

• pages,
• decor (decorations, Christmas tree),
• gifts and their packaging,
• clothes
• and above all a festive menu and drinks.

And most importantly - stick to a specific budget once!

2. Christmas cards

If this custom is still alive in your family - congratulations! If it has been forgotten, isn't this year perfect for Christmas cards to come back to our homes?

3. Theme

Decorations, Christmas trees, gift wrapping ... Before you go on holiday shopping, where from all shop windows you will be tempted by beautiful decorations in rainbow colors, before you start your computer and you will be chased by products from online stores that you have visited, and newsletters with promotions will start flowing to your e-mail life - it is worth having a plan on how to decorate your home for Christmas, what decorations you already have and what decorations you want to buy. Be sure to choose the leading colors to which you can add a leading theme. How to do it? You will read in a separate post on this topic. And remember - stick to the budget set for this purpose. Ideas for decorations that will not strain your wallet and clutter your home will be perfect here. Every year I use twigs, baubles, candlesticks, ribbons, cords for this purpose ... Check here my ideas for the holiday table.

4. Cleaning

The most important thing is to involve the whole family in cleaning. It's good to start now and arrange the cleaning for the whole month, thanks to which the days before Christmas will be a pleasure, not a torment. Personally, I divide the house into zones and spend the next weeks with them. What distinguishes Christmas cleaning from ordinary ones in our home? They are combined with a reduction in the amount of possessions and their better organization. If the topic interests you, check it out how I introduced minimalism to my dressing table.

5. Menu

Before you start preparing the Christmas menu - agree with your family and loved ones where and in what composition you spend this Christmas. Ask yourself whether they will be financed only by the hosts, or maybe in the form of contributions, where everyone will bring their 2-3 of their signature dishes - this model is perfect for large families and limited budgets. It cannot be concealed - hosting a family of 20 on Christmas Eve and one or two days of holidays is a considerable expense.

What does my guest list look like?

I open my spreadsheet and in the first column I list all the people I will spend this Christmas with. The next columns are Christmas Eve, First Day of Christmas, Second Day of Christmas - in them I mark who I am seeing on a given day, which allows me to generate a nice quantitative summary and is a way to create a gift list.

Thanks to this, you will also see how many seats and tables you need for a given day, which will help you plan your home space.

6. Gifts

Although I have already met Christmas without gifts, if it is not yours - make sure you write down a list of people you want to give. Take a look at the budget you have prepared for this purpose and distribute it as needed. Before you go shopping frenzy, try to find gift inspiration online. If you decide to shop early enough, doing them remotely is also a great idea - it saves a lot of time, nerves and money. In December, I will certainly prepare a post for you with gift inspirations.

7. outfits

I recommend that you complete your Christmas wardrobe early enough - sets in which the whole family will feel good and buy only the missing elements. This way you will prevent unplanned and impulsive purchases of clothes at the sight of Christmas promotions. We also have a custom for a Christmas photo session, for which I complete outfits and gadgets - I am going to do such a session this year in early December to use the photos to build a festive mood, and maybe also for Christmas cards.

Personally, I like to have Christmas accents also during Christmas preparations, so a year ago I bought Christmas pajamas for myself and Santa - they were perfect for decorating the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve morning.

8. Christmas tree

Once you have the theme and the Christmas plan, you can plan: where and when the Christmas tree will stand and who and how will decorate it. If you are holding Christmas Eve at home and you prepare all the dishes yourself, it is worth considering preparing the Christmas tree a little earlier than on the Christmas Eve morning. This year I am seriously considering putting up a Christmas tree in early December - the scent of Christmas is one of the my favorite ways to deal with autumn blues.

 

And how is your plan for Christmas preparations? I'm waiting for your comment

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