I don’t know about you, but Christmas is my favorite time of the year! Here is a checklist for preparing for the Holiday Season.
One Month Before (Directly After Thanksgiving)
- Take stock of your decorations, dishes, and glasses. This is a great time to make sure all the Christmas lights are working properly, toss any broken ornaments, and replace any decorations. Make sure you have enough serving platters and wine glasses that you will need for your special meal. This will give you plenty of time to buy more, if necessary.
- Wrap presents as you purchase them. This will save you time on Christmas Eve.
First Week of December
- Decorate! Decorating the Christmas Tree has always been one of my family traditions that we do every year. Being together as a family has always brought so much joy during the holiday season. My husband and I love that our whole neighborhood starts decorating their houses right after Thanksgiving. It gets everyone in the mood to decorate!
- Mail your Christmas Cards during the first week of December that way you get them out of the way so you can focus on decorating and enjoying the holiday season.
- Finalize your holiday menus. If you will be the one hosting and serving the holiday meal make sure you plan ahead what you’ll be cooking. Start your grocery list.
Second Week of December
- Shop for nonperishable items.
- Ship out-of-town presents. In order to make sure they arrive on time make sure these presents are shipped out this week.
One Week Before
- Clean your house. This is a good time to deep-clean your house to make sure everything is really cleaned well for when guests come. Make sure you clean out your fridge, organize your house, and clean the floors.
- Buy batteries for children’s toys.
- Pick up your ham or turkey.
Three Days Before
- Shop for fresh ingredients.
Two Days Before
- Buy fresh flowers
The Day Before
- Finish your last-minute wrapping
- Start Cooking. I prepare all my casseroles the day before and chop up any ingredients ahead to make it easier for the day of Christmas.
- Recharge any batteries for cameras or video recorder.
The Day of Christmas
- Finish cooking.
- Sit back and relax. Now is a perfect time to enjoy your family, friends, and a delicious meal!