How Do You Plan Christmas?

[DSR147]

How do you plan Christmas?

Do you make notes as you go along, or do you leave it all in your head and just make mental notes?
Do you organise your notes and if so, how?
Do you set aside a specific time?
Do you have any planning rituals or things you do to get you in the planning mood?

I'd be interested to read on how we all vary in this area. I myself tend to organise notes into specific folders, catergories and even colour code stuff. I usually like to set aside good chunks of the day to plan, especially in the mornings. I tend to get up early, have a good breakfast and get down prompt with my notepads, folders and pens, Christmas music on the stereo behind me and plan away to my hearts content.

Let me know how you do it!!

[caninemom3]

For me, celebrating Christmas is a sequence of events or traditions that occur every year !!. I begin by putting out my nativity scene usually the first week in November. I then put up my tree on Thanksgiving Day and we have been going out shopping on Black Friday but am not sure about this year !! Very early in December it is my sister's birthday so I go to her house and we celebrate her birthday and put up her tree at the same time !! Everything else just kind of (Hopefully) falls into place from there ! :tree:

[MerryCarey]

There's a Christmas Planners group (http://mymerrychristmas.com/forum/group.php?groupid=12) on this forum, led by Gingerbug, that you might be interested in joining to share some of your tips.

I keep a binder that has a list of everyone we usually give to or exchange with, with space under each name to fill in suggested gifts. I also try to keep lists of what we actually gave people in previous years, so we don't repeat a gift. We buy gifts throughout the year---if we see something that suits someone on our list, we go ahead and buy it and keep it in our "gift stash." About this time of year we pull out the gift stash and fill out the shopping list so we know who we still need to buy for. We try to buy the remaining gifts in October and November because parking at the local malls becomes impossible throughout the traditional shopping season.

[whitney37354]

I keep a running list on the computer of people I buy gifts for and my Christmas card address list. On December 26, I erase what I bought that year, and start fresh. I try to keep an ear open throughout the year & listen to what people say they would like to have and get that when I have the opportunity. I keep a Christmas bin in the garage to hold gifts. DD starts making her wish list after her birthday in June, so I've already done Santa's shopping for her this year. I usually get clothing for nieces & nephew. Shopping for parents is harder, then there are stocking stuffers that we draw names for. I usually address Christmas cards in October, wrap gifts on Veteran's Day, put the tree up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Christmas Eve has become a time for me, DH & DD to spend together, preparing our house for Santa's arrival on Christmas morning & making cookies. Christmas morning is spent with DH's family & Christmas night with my family. We get a short break at home on Christmas afternoon. I am an organized person by nature, but I try not to make things harder than they need to be.

[Maureen]

Yeah......well...........I'm pretty much a "fly by the seat of your pants" kinda girl!!!

I think being too organised takes some of the fun out of it - at least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

[frostyman]

We don't plan a lot, most of it just happens.

[DSR147]

Yeah......well...........I'm pretty much a "fly by the seat of your pants" kinda girl!!!

I think being too organised takes some of the fun out of it - at least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

I plan in some detail, but make sure things flow on the day. I don't want it to be regimented.

[Mumof2]

I write a lot of things down,kinda like a check list/guideline..Sometimes things pop in my head and I write it down asap.

[snowytree]

We always get the Christmas tree the day or weekend after Thanksgiving. We have been doing this since our kids were very small and now we have 2 teens and an 11 year old. Also, in the 2 weeks prior we will have a weekend where we make cookies and give some to neighbors. As well, my husband and sons put the lights on the house Thanksgiving weekend.

[novelist]

:cry:OH! I"m getting so excited about the holidays after reading everyone's posts about getting organized! I'm a very orgainzed person, and thankfully so,otherwise i don't know what would happen if i let my husband plan it ll! Anyway, as I buy christmas gifts, I make a list and keep it in an envelope along with all receipts from my purchases. I always stock up on holiday wrapping paper, gift tags, and chrsitmas cards. The middle of November, we bring out all our christmas totes, and put them in our deck room. The day after Thanksgiving, i get busy early in the morning decorating my house. Sometimes we get anxious and put the tree up a few days before thanksgiving, otherwise we wait until the weekend after thanksgiving to put it up. In December, i bake christmas cookies and freeze them, taking them out a few days befoe christmas for us to enjoy.

[sugar142286]

When it comes to me planning the holidays, I love to start listening to music and watching shows/movies in November. I am a junky! My family sort of has the same routine every year. My husband and I both have very busy work schedules - he is a firefighter and I am an RN - so we both work different shifts and work over the holidays, so we sometimes just have to actually celebrate when we can, but technically celebrate for months! I love Christmas! cheesy

[rukiafae]

wow... some of you are a lot more organized than me (and I consider myself pretty organized!)

for me, its all in my head. I do keep a list of gifts/giftees, and a list of ideas for my kids but thats about it.

I start decorating thanksgiving weekend and usually start shopping sometime in november to get it all done in time.