For those of you who have been following along, you may have the holiday season wrapped up - if so, congratulations!  If not, you are not alone.

My goal was to be ready by December 1st but life gets in the way sometimes and it did… so I still have a list to complete and thought I would challenge all of you to join me in a December Dash.  From now until next Friday - lets get as much done as we can so there is still lots of time left to enjoy the holiday season.

Lets map out what we need to do and then make a list that is doable.  Some of us have extra busy days during the week so we will need to tak advantage of the less busy days and…. maybe consider getting up extra early for a week knowing the payoff will be HUGE!

Christmas in a Nutshell….

Gifts: Buy and Wrap

Food: Buy, Prepare, Store

Decorations: Outside, Inside and the Tree!

Festive Gatherings: Concerts, Parties, and Outings

Connecting: Cards, Letters & Emails

OK, grab a piece of paper and make a list of what your Christmas requires.  This is a good time to consider what you love and what you don’t like at all.  Drop the stuff you don’t like.  Don’t say yes to invites if you really don’t want to go.   Don’t bake more cookies than you need and don’t feel obligated to buy more or bigger gifts than necessary.  Food shopping can be scaled back if you think about what you really eat and focus more on the fun and less on the food!  Make the recipes you LOVE and take advantage of the ready made that will work in a pinch.

Now, I can’t tell you what to do or when to do it but I will say that you can get a good chunk of your list done if you challenge yourself and bread the day up into themes.  Don’t go to bed until you have something done!

So - in keeping with my weekly routine…

Friday (TODAY) is family day.  I know I have the countdown stuff to finish up - you know the chocolates the kids get to each at breakfast all month long!  So my goal for today is to get the advent chocolates and the other countdown surprieses I have planned for the kids  ready before I go to bed.

Saturday is my baking day.  I am fortunate that I did our baking a few weeks ago while visiting my mom (I did hers at the same time) so that is all in the freezer.  I do however, have some gift baking to finish so that is on my list for tomorrow.  When that is done I just have to put the labels on and they are ready to go.  I have picked up my cookie tins and have the sitting ready when my husband takes them, filled, to his office.

Sunday is my shopping day.  I am always amazed at how you can start shopping early but still find yourself with a long list.  I am going to look at my list and decide if anything can be dropped.  I can’t afford to buy it all this weekend but I am going to get the tricky stuff out of the way and the following week I can finish up the easy to find items.  I am also looking ahead to the items I may need for the holiday season - anything that will keep can be picked up.  The stuff that spoils can go on my list and be purchased closer to Christmas.

Monday is my wrapping day.   Yes, I have stuff to wrap, more than I want but that is life.  So, me and my DVD are hanging out on Monday so we can get the gifts wrapped and put into bags.  I have to pick up some black garbage bags.  I reuse them each year and last year the bags had done their job and now need to be replaced.

Tuesday is my ME day.  I don’t really have any projects that I want to have done for the holiday season so I am going to take this day to do the final decorating in the house.  If you haven’t decorated yes consider picking a day and doing it all.  Then put the boxes and bins away and you are done!

Wednesday is my catch up day.  Considering this entire week is a catchup week I will simply put something into this day that will let me get caught up.  I know that I have some junk here and there so I will make it an anti-clutter day.  I also have some tomoato butter to make for my Dad so I will put that on in the morning so it can be jarred before I go to bed.

Thursday is my organization day.   This is the final day of the December Dash - and the plan will be to look at my list and not see much left.  I can easily plan what we need to do in December (parties, outings) and the final grocery list for the holiday meals.  If you still have a lot left on this day take advantage of a few minutes and make a master list of what you NEED to do and make it a goal to get as much done before you go to bed.  Stay up late if you have to - you’ll be glad you did.

So - are you in?  Lets DASH our way to enjoying December.

Go NOW!

Whether you have been getting ready for the holiday season for several weeks or you are just joining us today  - you will be happy you are on board the get ready early train!  My overall plan was to be ready by now but I have learned that it is just not possible - focusing on the end of November is more realistic and I have modified my plans to correspond with my old goal date.   Of course my week is the same, I just have a few more to get what I need to do done so why not join me….

Mondays - this is my wrapping day and I hope it will be your wrapping day too.  Most of us have time on the weekend to shop so Monday is a good day to regroup and get what you have purchased - wrapped and put away.  If you are just getting going you should check to see what you have in the way of wrapping supplies.  If you need anything and can afford the purchase and the time - go out and pick up what you need so you can steal away a little time tonight after the kids are in bed.  If you have been saving gifts for awhile and have a stack - pick a really great movie and spend the evening wrapping. Wrapping in November is so much nicer than wrapping on Christmas eve!   Get it done - if you have a gift in your house WRAP IT!!!!

One thing I would like to say for anyone who has missed it or is just joining us - track your gifts.  DO NOT sign a gift with a special name if you think there is a chance that someone might see it - I remember finding a gift and I was heart broken!  Instead, leave those gifts and you can quickly go through them on Christmas eve when you pull out your bags of gifts.  When you track the gifts you should have a master list of who you are buying for, what you have bought or will buy and something that tells you if the purchase has been made and if the gift is wrapped.  I like to use stickers to identify specific gifts - sometimes I want the kids to open something first or last and the sticker helps me when I get to the putting the gifts under the tree stage.  Just make a note of what the sticker looks like and make sure you don’t double the sticker!  Do not use stickie notes - they can fall off and leave you wondering what is what.

One other thing to note - keep an envelope for all gift receipts and make a note on the actual receipt so you can easily find it if you need to return or exchange after Christmas.  Keep the envelope somewhere safe - I like to keep mine in a pocket of my gift wrapping centre.  For those of you who missed it, this is a photo of what I use.  It is just a garmet bag (thanks to flylady for her advice several years ago) and the pockets help me to organize the things I use: tape, scissors, tags, bows and ribbons and the tall rolls or paper, tissue and bags.

Good luck with your wrapping - you will be really glad you got it done - so do it tonight and post your success to inspire others!

So, how ready are you?  Have you started wrapping your gifts yet?  Have you made your card list and located all of the addresses?  If not, there is still lots of time.

Today is my planning day and I have a bit of tracking to do - my days have been busy so I am feeling a bit behind.  Two things I know I need to do, and encourage you to do the same, is to look at the gifts I am giving and make a list of batteries needed.  Keep a tally as you wrap so you have them on hand when Christmas morning comes around.

The second task is to look at your calender and see what activities are planned for the holiday season.  Do you have a dress up event to go to?  Are the kids in a Christmas concert at school, church or in the community?  Decide what clothes will be needed and pull them together now.  If you have a section of the closet for the good clothes, put them together so you know where they are.  Shirts, pants, belts and shoes.  No point it waiting until you are walking out the door to realize the kids shoes are too small.  Which reminds me - if your kids haven’t had this stuff on for awhile, try it on and replace anything they have outgrown.  Knowing you have the clothes ready will take some stress away when the events come around.

If you are still getting going do one thing today (after you write your battery list and sort the good clothes) make a list of each person you have to buy for and what you would like to give them.  Then make a master shopping list.  One column for gifts to buy.  Put anything you don’t have on this list.  Check off anything you have already purchased.   Now, think about what you like to do at Christmas time.  What will you need?  Christmas Crackers?  If yes, put that on the list, a second column Xmas Stuff to Buy.  Maybe you need napkins or candles.  Do you need wrapping paper?  All of this goes on the Xmas Stuff list.  If you have time, work out what you will eat during the holiday season.  What will you need?  If you can buy it in advance add it to your Xmas Stuff list.  If not, create a third column and title it Last Minute Purchases.  The fresh turkey or milk can go on this list.  Go through each meal and add the ingredients you will need to the appropriate column.  When you are done you should have a master shopping list with all of the gifts you will need to purchase (I have a 4th column for gifts to make), food and festive items and last minute shopping items.  This master list can be kept with you so you can pick things up a little at a time.

Have fun!

Helen

It’s Monday and technically the last week of my countdown! I am still trying to get the majority done by the end of this week but I think my goal was somewhat unrealistic, which may be why I usually try to have things done by Dec 1st - just too much going on to get it all done. So, if you are joining us don’t feel behind - anything done in advance is great.

So - if you want to follow me today is all about wrapping gifts. If you have made or purchased a gift get out your wrapping supplies and get things wrapped today or tonight. I have to wait until the kids are in bed but look forward to getting some stuff wrapped. My mother-in-law and I were away shopping this past weekend so I have a stack of things to wrap. I am going to put a movie on and take advantage of the time alone! If you haven’t purchased anything be sure to make a list of the supplies you will need and if you can get out, pick some up so they are in the house. If you have older kids you can ask them to help with the wrapping!

I haven’t shared much in the way of photos lately so I thought I would share some of what i have been talking about.  Last week I talked about my sick bucket and my feel better basket and I thought I would expand and share some photos!

SICK BUCKET

The sick bucket is just a plastic tote that I keep things set aside for when one of us is sick. I think I started it one time when the kids were little and I was sick but had no soup, crackers or gingerale. The bucket has changed over the years but the staples have stayed the same. I like to include a few treats for the kids, right now there are word puzzle books but when they were little I would have a stuffed toy and some coloring books and crayons. The bin also contains jello, kleenex, a mini bell to call when they need something, some Johnson’s menthol cream and some I keep Popsicles and small ice cream containers in a bin in my large freezer - marked do no eat unless you are sick! I am thinking of sticking some small webkinz into our sick bucket because I work from home and a sick kid at home who can sit for awhile, can sit beside me on a second computer and play quietly.

FEEL BETTER BASKET

The feel better basket is really a first aid kit but I look at it as first aid for the heart. When my kids were little I liked to take the basket down (used to be high in my linen closet, now it is lower so we can all reach it) and stop what I was doing to really show them that I cared - no matter how big or small the hurt was. From the photo you can see I have the usual band-aids, creams and thermometer but I also include some chocolate and bubblegum band-aids and some suckers too. I have a scanner on my printer so I cut the band-aid boxes up so I can scan the front (I like to have lots on hand, the regular and the character and colored ones) and print them onto sticker paper. The band-aids can be put into an envelope (see the brownish ones) and the sticker helps to show you what you have on hand. This makes it fun and easy to go through and the envelopes take up a lot less space than the boxes do.

WRAPPING “BAG”

My Christmas wrapping paper station bag was inspired by the flylady some years ago. I like that I can take the garmet bag anywhere in the house and then put it away quickly too. It holds everything I need to wrap gifts including tape, scissors and the tags (in the smaller pockets) - and the usual, tissue, bags, and paper. I took this idea and transfered it into my daily wrapping so I have to of these bags for easy gift wrapping. Both hang in my storage area when I am not using them.

Well, it’s project day today.   This is the day of the week I pick something that I have been avoiding or need to get to before the end of the week.  As I prepare for the holiday season, my list includes things that will help me get ready early so I can just enjoy the holiday season with my family.

If you have been counting down for a few weeks you may have accomplished a lot of tasks, but if you are just joining us you may want to take a minute to make a short list of the MUST DO tasks and pick one to do today.  Not sure what is on your list  - or maybe you have too much?  Decide what is most important this holiday season and pick the tasks that will lead you in that direction.  If playing games with the kids and baking is on your list then having the games easy to find may be a task.  Setup a game cupboard and sort through the games, keeping only what your kids really enjoy playing.  For baking, having supplies is important so add some ingredients for a favourite recipe, to your shopping list.   I have a baking cupboard, I find it makes baking less of a chore and I can see what I have by opening this cupboard.  If you have room for a baking cupboard, and don’t already have one, consider grouping the baking supplies so you can enjoy some favourite recipes this holiday season.

Another thing worth putting on your list is the linen closet.  The holiday season often brings two things - company and illness.  I can’t tell you how many times my kids have come down with something during their school break.  Having clean linens ready for company and a midnight bed change makes these tasks a little easier.  I put the sheet set into the pillowcase so a set is easy to grab.

So what am I doing today?  Well, I am still sorting out the cupboards I have been cleaning out - and by taking this from here and that from there I was able to setup the undersinks and hall closet without buying wood shelves - which I had planned to do.  I saved some money and lots of time!  When I am done with this my goal is to restock my “feel better basket” and Sick Bucket.  I will share more about both of these later this week along with some photos!

OK - go make a list so you are one step closer to being ready for the holiday season!

Oh - and by the way, I didn’t get my Xmas DVD done yesterday - did you ever find time flies when you have kids.  With the Presidential coverage and hockey, choir and errands I didn’t get to it.  So it is on my list for next week

Hey, it’s Tuesday! I actually love Tuesday because it is the only day I have set aside for me to work on personal projects. Most weeks I want to work on something related to scrapbooking but often I find myself doing something else. Well, in light of my goal to have things organized before the end of the month, tonight will be kind of scrapbooking. I am working on a CD to send with our Christamas cards to get some of our friends up-to-speed on what we have been doing … not this year but for several years. You see, thanks to facebook (have you joined the CPO facebook page yet? If not, jump over and signup so you can be part of our face community too!) we have discovered a number of old friends who we have fallen out of touch with and that prompted us to make a list of long lost friends so we can reconnect.

So what are you doing today? If you have been working hard on getting ready for Christmas take the evening and do something fun just for yourself - hey, maybe make your own Christmas wish list and stick it on the fridge!

Have a happy day!

Sorry - haven’t posted in a few days - I got to the end of last week, doing well for Christmas and realized that I had forgotten Halloween.  So, we had to do a little work to get a couple of costumes pulled together and my daughter and I had an afternoon planned the day of Halloween (not really sure what I was thinking there!) - anyway, we made it through and I have learned from it

OK - so back to Christmas.  If you have been waiting for Halloween to end before jumping into the holiday season - now is the time.  Our goal here is to get ready for Christmas so we can enjoy it.  No more wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve - no more baking at the last minute and no more crazy gift shopping at the last hour (unless of course you enjoy doing that!).  So, from now until the end of November (my goal is actually the Santa Claus Parade mid November) you can accomplish so much and have time to do a craft or bake some cookies with your kids…. just for the fun of it!

If you want to follow along, today is Monday and it is wrapping day.  If you have purchased anything in the way of gifts wrap them and don’t forget to keep track.  Read back for some ideas on how to track your gifts and how to identify what’s what!  If you haven’t a gift to wrap, and haven’t already checked your supplies - go look at what you have and make a list of what you might need.  Remember tape, bows, paper, gift bags, tissue.  There are lots of “green” wrapping ideas out there - be creative and go green this holiday season!

Our house is a little sick today so I am passing on wrapping but have my supplies in order and am working away a little at a time.  We have one batch of our baking done and now that the fall/halloween decorations are away - I am able to clean a little so I am ready for decorating for the holiday season.  Right now, I am looking at a huge mess in the hall where I decided (at 5:30am this morning) that a closet needed to be cleaned out.  So, I am off to finish it and head to bed.

OK  - now go wrap!

Helen

It’s Project Day!  Each week I have a day set aside to do the things I either don’t have time to do, or avoid because I don’t want to do them.  During my countdown to Christmas I use this day to do things that will help make the holiday season easier for all of us.  I had planned to work on a closet that needs shelves but a more important task is getting my office moved.  We still have to paint and it is a complicated move - daughter to our room, our room to lower level, office to upper level…. so that is NOT getting done today but I am going to switch and setup the desk so the move will at least be easier.  My husband is taking over the old office along with the treadmill and hockey table (the one noone plays with!) and I am using his old desk when I eventually move my office upstairs.  So, today the goal is to get the other desk setup so I can work there, get my current office cleared out so he can move his stuff in and finish getting my scrapbook stuff out of the way.  Once this is done, I will have gotten rid of a lot of junk and feel a lot more organized!  Wish me luck!

If you don’t have a plan for today look around and pick something that will make you feel more organized and move you one step closer to being ready for the holiday season!

Helen

For those of you who are following along, I hope you got some wrapping done yesterday.  I know SarahN prefers to wrap all at one time, and I think if you have found something that works well for you, like it does for Sarah then you should stick with it.  For me, wrapping all at once, especially on Christmas Eve was just not working.  So if you find another way works better, share like Sarah did so we can all learn from one another!

OK - now on to today.  Tuesdays is my scrapbooking day but I have decided to work on organizing my scrapbook stuff instead of actually scrapbook photos.  I am moving my office so the scrapbook portion of my room is a little crazy right now.  So, tonight I am going to prep the scrapbook portion of my office so I can easily move it later this month when the painting is finished.

What are you doing?  Remember, if you are making gifts they will get done if you carve out a little time for the creation of each item.  So, if you don’t have plans today or tonight, consider tackling one of the projects so you can get another task crossed off your list!

Enjoy your day.

Helen

It’s Monday again! See how fast time goes! For those of you reluctant to jump in to Christmas prep, think back to years past and consider some of those rushed feelings - maybe missed opportunities - or the feeling of exhaustion! We are not celebrating right now, simply doing some of the things that can eat up our time and prevent us from the things we most want to do with our families during the holiday season. So…. why not join us as we begin a new week!

This past weekend I had the opportunity to join some friends at a Crop (scrapbooking day) and I spent most of my day creating a fun countdown calendar for our family to enjoy this holiday season.

We do the usual countdown with chocolates (I have a cute felt hanging countdown that we have had for years) but this one is small and will be used to encourage us to dive into our collection of holiday story books.

Even though my kids are now 12 and 12 they still LOVE picture books, especially at Christmastime. So, inside each little drawer I will put a slip or two of paper, or maybe even a small photocopy of the book cover to guide us in our selection of books. We always read but I think this will be fun surprise each day for all of us. If you are interested in making this project, watch the CPO memory section for step by step instructions, coming next week!

OK - on to today… it’s wrapping day and a great opportunity to get a jump on the one thing many of us leave until the last minute. If you prefer to shop at the last minute or have your budget setup to shop in December then today can be used in preparation for your wrapping. Do you have supplies? Make a master list and add it to your shopping list so you can pick things up this week when you shop or pick things up a little at a time.

For those of you who have been making gifts or picking them up a little at a time - pick a time today and get your supplies out so you can get these items wrapped. Some of these items are a surprise so find a spot that you can store them. I use black garabage bags that can be easily recycled year after year. I find sorting by person is easiest and I use some inexpensive string or yarn which is color-coded so I can easily see what is what. I keep a master list of the gifts so I know what I have purchased, what is wrapped and I even use small stickers to help me identify what is in the package because I like to put things under the tree in a way that helps the opening order! An example of my list might be Name|TonkaTruck|Purchased|Wrapped|*Santa Sticker.

If you have an unwrapped gift in your house - please wrap it. When you can pull out your finished bags on Christmas Eve, open and place under the tree - then sit down and enjoy a quiet moment before heading to bed, you will be so glad you did!

Enjoy your day!

Helen