In my last post a few days ago, I lamented being behind the 8-ball when it comes to Christmas Prep Month (aka, November). My goal this week was to get some of the big check marks off the list so that I could breathe easier. And for the most part, I have been successful!!
I know. It is only November 15th. There is no need to panic yet, Christmas is still well over a month away. But for some reason (maybe the gently falling snow that has been coming down off and on all week? The cold that has settled in and made it feel like winter already?) - I felt compelled - absolutely compelled - to get some serious Christmas stuff done this week.
The biggest of all is the shopping. As of yesterday, I have completed almost all of my gift shopping. My credit card doesn't like it, but... I'll deal with that in the weeks to come. One of my biggest stresses this time of year is trying to think up unique and useful gifts for my family, so I just feel like I can breathe now that almost everyone is taken care of. Perhaps biggest of all are the photo gifts I order for family members every year. After spending a great deal of time uploading the photos and creating the gifts through Shutterfly, it was a huge relief to hit the button the other day to submit the order. It's a job, but I love giving meaningful gifts and making good use of my photos.
Next up this weekend is the decorating, which will be another big relief to have done. My niece Danica is coming to help me tonight and throughout the day Saturday, so hopefully we'll get most of it done. I'm hosting an early Christmas Party for friends next Saturday, so the goal is to have all of that done in time!
Next week will be devoted to getting ready for the party, which I'm really looking forward to. I love having my house decked out and being able to share it with friends! I can't wait!!
The following weekend is our company Christmas party, and it will also be likely last minute prep for the Christmas House Tour which I help organize as a fundraiser for our church. The big night is December 2nd, and it is always such a wonderful, festive event. I'm very much looking forward to it.
So aside from the gift buying, decorating, and party prep, here's what I still have to work on in the coming weeks:
- Christmas cards (a plan is already in motion, just not executed yet)
- Stocking stuffers & gift wrap supplies - I usually take a day off in early December to shop and tie up loose ends, so I'm not worrying about this yet.
- Baking. Gah! I need to get supplies and start the baking!! Hopefully in the evenings next week I'll get a little done, and the following weekend I should be able to do a full-on baking day. I'm kind of eyeing next Thursday evening to run to the city to buy party snack supplies and maybe I'll hit up the Bulk Barn then to get my baking stuff too.
- Gift Wrapping - I"m certainly not worrying about this one yet. I usually do this about a week before Christmas, so I still have lots of time. I love wrapping, so I like to leave it til the last minute!
- Outdoor lights - This one I kinda made a whoopsie. We have way more snow than I expected at this stage of the game, and I didn't put them up yet. But I only throw a few on the little shrub at my door, so it won't take long, I just need it to warm up a wee bit to get er done.
- Watching Christmas movies... LOL! Easily my favourite job. ;) I can't wait to have the tree lit up & settle in to watch all of my favourites. I have a Christmas Movie Marathon plan in place as well. LOVE!!!
- Crocheting - I have a little Christmas gift idea in mind that I want to try out, but just haven't had the time to attempt it yet. This might get shelved until after the House Tour, when my life will settle down a little and I'll have more time.
I think that's about it!! The stressful stuff is almost all behind me, and then I can REALLY start enjoying my favourite time of year. And I can't tell you how excited I am to decorate this weekend. Dan seems very excited and I just can't wait to get at it!
Happy Friday friends! :)
2 comments:
Omgosh. I was just discussing this on my blog too. Every year I plan to have all of my shopping done by August and every November I realize that plan is an epic fail... Baking is not a problem. Plenty of time for that. Shipping is my HUGE problem because it seems like it takes longer every year. I'm not sure why a letter takes 7 days to get from the midwest out here but it does and pkgs are double that in the off season. Pretty soon we'll have to shop AND ship in August! - Good luck with your list of "to do's!"
You're really making me think I've lost my mind... I swear I read this post and commented but obviously no comments have my name... so maybe I didn't...
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