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!

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!

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.

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

My week is so busy that I have found Sunday is my best day to pick up my groceries. This is also the day when I do a few errands to drop envelopes into the mailbox and at this time of year, I also take a bit of time to check a few gifts or holiday items off my shopping list.

Today my focus is just getting groceries - so I have my list with the ingredients I need over the holidays on hand. I will not buy everything but I will pickup a little at a time so I am not going out to buy a huge amount of stuff at one time.

When I get home I put the freezer stuff away but I keep it separate so it is not consumed - a bag or a basket is a good idea - if you have older kids who help themselves or a family who help with meals (I don’t!) then you might want to leave a note too!

As for the dry stuff - I recommend keeping these items together in a bin or a shelf where you know they won’t be consumed or used. When I get around to Wednesday, my project will be putting some shelves in a closet that I would like to use for storage like this . So for now, I am putting a basket into the closet in my room and will tranfer when I have my weekly project done.

If you are buying gifts be sure to keep a master list of your gifts and check off what you have purchased. When you wrap the gifts on Monday you can store them knowing you have an updated list which will save you wondering later - or worse, unwrapping because you can’t remember!

Whatever you do - just do something. When December rolls around and you are able to sit and enjoy your family and home you will be glad you did! A little at a time makes a HUGE difference!

It’s week two already! If you are just joining us don’t worry - the point to my countdown is to get things done early - not to be perfect or put pressure on yourself!

Today is Wrapping Day. If you have purchased any gifts today is the day to wrap things up so you are not left with a pile of gifts to wrap on Christmas eve! I know - we have all been there and wish we had planned ahead - now is the time! If you do not have a gift to wrap you might want to use the time to work on your gift list if you didn’t get to it last Thursday (my planning day). Think about your budget, who you have to buy for and make a note of each person. If you are a computer savvy person you might want to make a small spreadsheet so you can check off or cross of items as you purchase them.

Another task worth jumping into today is making sure you have wrapping supplies ( we did this last week but you might have got busy and put it on the list…. tackle it today!) Think about what you need and add these items to your shopping list. Cloth bags are becoming more popular as are paper gift bags. Both items can be reused so they are good choices. I also like the big gift bags that can wrap a BIG gift for a child. The bags can be put away each year. Don’t forget tape, gift tags, bows and ribbons if you use them, and tissue if you like to put it into gift bags.

Have fun!

Helen

The weekends are usually pretty busy as I am sure they are for all of you - so I keep weekend pretty simple during my Christmas prep time.  Saturdays is dedicated to baking because it is the day where I have the potential to be at home for longer than an hour.  Each year we bake cookies and jarred cake for gifts and I like to have them all done early - leaving me time to enjoy baking new recipes with the kids.  This year I will be visiting my Mom and Dad mid November so I am going to do all of my shortbread that weekend so I can do my moms at the same time (she is busy taking care of my father and it will be a huge help to her - and when you are making dozens of cookies what is another 10 dozen!)  My recipe freezes well so they can all go into the freezer!    So…. if you have baking to do and your recipe can freeze then I encourage you to carve out a day when you can jump in and get it done - the mess will be put away and you can try one of those recipes you have been wanting to try!

Sundays - well I usually do my grocery shopping between hockey games so I am adding a few things to my list from my master list and will do a little gift shopping on this day as well. I know people who do their shopping in one day each year, go away for a weekend or do like I do - whatever works for you is what you should do.  Just try to do as much as you can early so you are not running through stores and standing in lines at the last minute.

TIP: I keep an envelope for all of my Christmas receipts so returns and exchanges are really easy.  Be sure to write what the item is, at the top of the receipt, so you can find it easily when/if  you need to.

Have fun!

Begins Monday! Yes, I know I am crazy but I just like to have the stuff I HAVE to do done so I have time for the stuff I WANT to do! So, if you are looking to get ready early this year - join me beginning monday when I share my 15-Minute mom approach to getting ready for the holiday season! Anyone who has it all figured out…. well drop by and post your tips so we can all benefit!

Sneak peak… if your holiday decorations and wrapping paper are behind a big pile of STUFF you have to go through… take a few minutes this weekend to clear a path because on Monday you’ll want to make your way to that area of your storage space!

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend with your family!

Helen

This is what arrived at my door yesterday! How cool is that! I actually won something! The set of 3 Holiday Mini Scrapbooks by Colorbök will soon be turned into a keepsake for each of my kids. Emmy has claimed one of the kits as I only need two for what I have planned…. Oh, and if you are wondering where I won this cool little prize, Lisa Bearnson had a little giveaway on her blog and I was one of the lucky winners!

So what do I have planned? Well, like many of you, I have bought ornaments for my kids since they were born. I try to find something that captures who they are at that very moment in time - of course as time goes by the stories are harder to remember so I am going to use these kits to make a booklet for each to go with their box of ornaments. That way when they get older they will be able to see a photo of the ornament and a little story about how it came to be part of their collection. I think I will have to add some paper to the kit but I can easily trace some of my holiday scrapbooking paper - so it should be easy to add to each year.

For those of you who want more info on this project, watch CPO’s Memory Making section for details on the project.

OK, so for more on Christmas… I know that Halloween is still around the corner but a few years ago I decided that I didn’t want to spend my entire holiday season getting ready. That is how my October planning started and this year I will share it with those of you who might want to get ready before the big day - leaving more time for family, friends and fun. My goal is to be ready for the holiday season by Global TV’s Santa Claus Parade which is near the end of November. Even if you are not interested in getting ready that early - you can still join me in getting organized and post comments and ideas to help me and other families improve on their holiday organization plans!

So come back beginning Monday for a daily task and together we will be decorating our trees with Santa and our favourite annual parade!