Get organized for the holiday season with plans, printables, and Christmas inspiration.  

Understand the rules underneath holiday giving

Gifting Guidelines: Understand the Unwritten Rules of Gift-Giving

Christmas is coming! Do you understand the unwritten rules of gift-giving?

Each of us carries within ourselves a set of rules about gift-giving. Seldom acknowledged and rarely discussed, these rules determine what we give, how much we give, and to whom we give. Despite living only in our minds and expectations, the unwritten rules of gift-giving govern everything from the office Secret Santa exchange to the family's morning under the Christmas tree.

Gift closet for an organized Christmas

Gift Closet Guide: Get Organized for Christmas Giving

We should all have a friend like my friend Joyce. No matter what the occasion, she comes up with the perfect gift--even at short notice. 

Her wrapped packages are lavish and lovely, her cards are sweet and well-chosen--and she does it on a budget and without last-minute dashes to the shopping mall. Her secret? 

A gift closet.

It's a concept we love here at Organized Christmas: a dedicated space in the household to store gift items, gift wrap and cards. A gift closet holds a stockpile of gift items and everything needed to wrap and present them.

Make a plan for housework at the holidays

Christmas Chaos? Make A Plan For Holiday Housework

For many families, the Christmas season causes more than usual chaos on the home front. 

Do you shove stacks of mail and magazines into dark closets to hide them from drop-in visitors? Does your dinnertime schedule fall off the rails when faced with multiple evening rehearsals? Does Mount Washmore raise itself to new heights in the laundry room, only to be scaled in panic an hour before the Nativity play?

Christmas planning center

Settle In: Create A Christmas Planning Center

When planning for the holiday season, why try to wing it, on the fly? 

Making lists on the go often finds them scattered in your wake, never to be found again.

To stay centered as you plan the holidays and get into the seasonal swing in comfort, find a place in your home to create an activity center devoted to Christmas planning. 

A dedicated spot to make gift lists lists and track menus keeps holiday planning on track.

Seven Tips for Sparkling Christmas Letters
Tips for holiday letters
Cynthia Ewer October 30, 2021

Christmas is coming, holiday cards and letters fill the mailbox--and it's time to write your family's annual Christmas letter. 

Want your letter to stand out from the crowd? Looking for ways to spice up the same-old, same-old Christmas greeting?  Try these seven tips for a sparkling holiday letter.

Start off on a positive note

It's a trend you can count on! Roughly 95% of holiday letters begin with a sentence like this: "I can't believe the year has come and gone so quickly!" While we all feel this sentiment, it's not the happiest way to begin a holiday letter.

Santa Savings: Make a Holiday Budget For a Debt-Free Christmas
Print a Christmas holiday budget
Cynthia Ewer October 29, 2021

For many families, Christmas comes not once a year, but lingers on for months! Credit card bills arrive shortly after season’s end, not to be paid off until the following summer. Nearly two-thirds of American families don't know the true cost of their own Christmas celebration--and if they did, they'd be shocked. That much ... for a single day?

Fight the seasonal spending spree with the financial tool of choice: a Christmas budget. Try these ideas to create--and keep!--a holiday budget to save money on Christmas.

Master Gift List: A Holiday Shopper's Best Friend
Print a master gift list
Cynthia Ewer October 28, 2021

Every family has one: a gift-giver of extraordinary flair and creativity. Year after year, this paragon finds just the right gift, large or small, for every friend and relation, and all without breaking the bank. 

Her “just because” offerings are tiny jewels, she’s hip to the latest teen trends—and she never, ever hears the double-barbed response, “Oh, you shouldn't have--you really shouldn’t have!”

What’s her secret? A master gift list.

Before The Season: Focus on Holiday Values
Focus the celebration on your own values
Cynthia Ewer October 27, 2021

What do you really want for Christmas? Our ideas may differ in the details, but most of us want much the same thing: a seasonal celebration focused on faith, family and friends. 

We want the excitement of the season without the disruption that too often comes with it. We want to draw closer to those around us, not to be thrust apart by hectic schedules. We want to enjoy as well as to prepare, and to keep the Christmas season in a manner that is joyous and spiritually centered. 

Christmas Countdown Calendar

Christmas Countdown: Print Calendar and Checklists

Will you follow the Christmas Countdown this year? Beginning Sunday, October 24, we'll prepare for the holiday season with daily messages, weekly assignments, encouragement and fun. This six-week get-organized program will take you to the start of the holiday season, prepared and ready for Christmas.

Your road map begins with the Countdown calendar. Setting out each week's focus, it'll keep you motivated and on track to an organized Christmas as we work the Countdown together.

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