Preparation is key when it comes to Christmas so if you put a bit of effort in before the festivities start, I can promise that it will take the pressure off you and make things go more smoothly. So we have put together some tips which I hope you’ll find useful…
Cards
It is always best to get these written and sent towards the start of December if at all possible. The longer you leave it, the less likely it is that they will reach their destination and you will feel constant pressure to get them done. Allow yourself an evening of card writing. Set yourself up in your living room with a glass of mulled wine, a favourite Christmas film and even a box of chocolates if you fancy it. Make sure you have some gorgeous Christmas cards, a few different pens and your address book! You can choose to get personalised Christmas cards or more generic ones. It is completely up to you. There are some absolutely gorgeous designs out there these days.
Wrap as you go along
Rather than save everything up to wrap on Christmas Eve, it is so much better to wrap as you go along. Set aside a bit of time each week to wrap whatever you have and keep it all stored in the same place. Keep your wrapping tape, gift tags, pens, scissors and of course wrapping paper all in the same place so you don’t need to look for them every time you want to wrap something.
Also when it comes to wrapping, we use different wrapping paper from that ‘special someone’ for each of the children so as not to confuse things. If you really wanted to save more time, you could choose to use gift bags instead, but that’s completely up to you. Personally I think brown wrapping paper with a gorgeous gift tag works really well.
Gift Tags
If you take my advice and wrap your presents as you go along then you’ll want to make sure that you have your gift tags ready too. Whether you choose to use personalised Christmas tags or generic tags. Try to use a fancy pen if you can. Maybe you have a glitter pen or an old fashioned fountain pen? Make sure you leave enough space for all of your names if you have a large family. You might also consider using some ribbon or sprigs of holly alongside your gift tags too? A friend of mine has also been known to spray her gift tags with some gorgeous room spray which gives them a lovely long lasting aroma. Whatever floats your boat…
List list list
Lists are your friend. You need to track everything, write it all down and I promise you will thank your future self. Honestly, the times where I haven’t used a list have always ended up in confusion. You think you will remember what presents you have already bought but with everything else that is going on at Christmas, it is so easy to forget.
I have a list for what presents I bought as well as a list for each child including all of the gifts I think they would like to get. That way, when a family member or friend asks me what my child would like for Christmas, I can have a look at the list. I also have an ongoing grocery list in the lead up to Christmas which I add to whenever I think of something we need. If you use an application like Evernote, you can share your list with other people who have the app. My husband has it and we are both able to add to the different which is fantastic. Or at least fantastic if he actually used it! We spotted this personalised Champagne and knew it would make a fab gift for a few of our friends!
Online slots…
I get my groceries from Tesco and booked my slot for the Christmas shop ages ago. As a priority subscriber, I am given early access to booking the Christmas slots and it is so worth it. In general, I like the Christmas shop to come on 23rd December which feels like it is not too early for all of the Christmas food to arrive but not too late either. We are usually winding down at this point and it is so lovely to have out favourite festive food and drink arrive. It also gives me enough time to run out to the shops and buy any replacements that we may need if anything doesn’t arrive. Hopefully this won’t be necessary but you never know!
I hope you found these tips useful? I go by the motto ‘fail to prepare – prepare to fail’ and although it would be a bit harsh to think I have ‘failed’ Christmas, I do think there is some truth in it as the more you prepare in advance, the easier it will make things for you…