Simple Ways to Plan Ahead for a Memorable Holiday Season

With just over five weeks left until Christmas, many of us are starting to make our plans for the holiday season. It can be an overwhelming time of year, but with a little planning you can focus on how you want to make this year memorable.

Pick Christmas Activities Together

Every season there are certain activities and traditions that we like to do together as a family. Just like we made our Family Fall Activities List, I have been jotting down things that are important to us this season as well. With a two-and-a-half year old and a newborn right now, I’m keeping my expectations low on what we can realistically do. We’ve been trying to focus more on Christmas being a time of celebration than about receiving presents now that Lucy can talk about it, so I’ve tried to plan our activities with that in mind.

Our list this year includes things like decorating our tree together, visiting the Toronto Christmas Market to take a picture with Santa, having my great aunt over to steam the Family Christmas Carrot Pudding and taking in the local Christmas parade. I also like to think of simple ways to help us de-stress during the holidays, whether it’s taking a long walk in the evening or remembering to eat healthy meals to balance out all the treats.

 

Holiday Essentials Shopping List

From pantry staples to hosting duty must haves and household supplies to gift wrap necessities, I’ve got you covered with my downloadable Holiday Essentials Shopping List with everything you need for the holiday season. It’ll not only save you the headache of trying to figure out a quick solution when you run out of something, but it can also save you money by adding these things to your regular shopping list and picking them up when they’re on sale.

 

Decorate your Home Inside and Out

I love having the chance to decorate our farmhouse for the holiday season. The twinkle lights, colourful baubles and evergreens bring back my own childhood memories and I hope to be creating that magic for our little ones too. I’ve always tried to make at least some of our decorations myself, like dried orange slices, felt gingerbread men, a cheeky Santa, clothespin snowflakes and embroidered ornaments (I need to make one for the baby now too!). A nice pot of Christmas Simmer helps to get the house smelling like the holidays and we always love to pop on a little Christmas music too.

Create a Budget and Make a Gift List

I use my Online Holiday Planner every year to organize our Master Gift List, Christmas Card List, Holiday Menu, Holiday Baking and more. I particularly find the gift list helpful with setting our budget and keeping the seasonal spending from getting out of control.

 

Give Your Time to Others

While Christmas can be a wonderful time of year for many, it can also be stressful and lonely for others. Whether it’s donating food and gifts or giving your time to local charities and shelters, we can all find a way to help those in need in some way during the holiday season. This year a group of ladies in my town are putting together gifts for homeless women in our area through The Shoebox Project. I also do a purge this time of year for gently used sweaters, coats and outdoor wear that can be given to the local shelter, along with blankets and towels for the animal shelter too.

 

I hope you find these ideas helpful when looking at how you want to celebrate the Christmas season this year. For more posts on holiday decor, crafts, recipes and organizing tips, check out my Holiday Guide.