Foundations of Christmas Organizing – Part 2 of 3 – Your Christmas Calendar

Does Christmas stress you out?  Do you wish you could enjoy the season instead of just surviving?  Christmas Organizing will help guide you through creating a Christmas plan, including a Christmas notebook.  There are three main foundations for having a less stressful Christmas season:

            Your Christmas Notebook

            Your Christmas Calendar

            Your Christmas Saving & Spending Plan

In this article,we will talk about creating a Christmas Calendar. Your Christmas calendar is one of the most important aspects of holiday planning.  Printing off a calendar or purchasing one that fits in the front pocket of your Christmas Organizing Notebook is a must.  There are five main steps to making your Christmas calendar. 

1. Write down all items/dates that are setin stone; thisincludes birthdays, school holidays, annual Christmas Eve party, etc. – any dates that do not change each year.
2. The second step is to evaluate where you are in your Christmas projects.  Projects would include handcrafted Christmas gifts, ornaments and other items that require forethoughtto get them done.  You need to schedule time on your calendar to work on each project plus mark the due date for each.  Do not forget things like wrapping gifts because that is a big project! 
3. The third step in preparing your Christmas calendar deals with your activities during the holiday season.  Does your family always go to a certain special event every year no matter what? Well, go ahead and call now to find out what the date and time arefor this year.  Most places have big events scheduled months in advance.  Do not worry about seeming silly calling this early – explain to them you are preparing your Christmas calendar and they will most likely marvel at how much you have it all together!  
4. The fourth step to your Christmas calendar is marking all your Christmas related items. Make a list of all the things that need to be done during the holiday season and make sure they get a date on your calendar, not only to work onbut also for completion.  Includedecorating your tree, mailing Christmas cards, mailing Christmas packages, the duedate for the Angel Tree gifts, getting the kids Christmas clothes bought and pictures scheduled.  All these little things creep up on you and will make the holidays seem much more stressful if you have not planned. 
5. The last step in preparing your Christmas calendar is to look and see what dates are left and plan your parties and get-togethers. Wouldn’t your friends be surprised if you called them in October and asked them to “save the date” on their calendars for a cookie exchange in December?  Of course, you will still have to send out formal invitations, and do not forget to mark on your calendar the date to buy and send those invitations!  By this time, you will know if you will even have the energy during the holidays to plan a fun get-together or just accept invitations from others and sit back and relax!  

Now that I have given you fivesteps to preparing your Christmas calendar there is one thing you should not overlook.  Tohelp your stress during this holiday season,you must do what is on your calendar! Even by accomplishing one or two of your tasks on your calendar will help the stress of the holiday.  I hope that I have inspired you to get your calendar going and tackle this holiday season with a game plan!