Christmas Planning

Christmas planning tips smooth the way to a calm, joyous holiday season.  Try these ideas to make it an organized holiday season.

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.

November 4, 2021
Settle In: Create A Christmas Planning Center
Christmas planning center
Cynthia Ewer October 30, 2021

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.

Print a Christmas holiday budget

Santa Savings: Make a Holiday Budget For a Debt-Free Christmas

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.

October 29, 2021
Print a master gift list

Master Gift List: A Holiday Shopper's Best Friend

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.

October 28, 2021
Autumn Calendar Check

Autumn Calendar Check: Schedule Now for an Organized Christmas

When you think about Christmas from a few weeks away, there’s a luxurious feeling of “plenty of time”, but as December draws near, the season’s pace quickens exponentially. Where did the time go?  

Take major action against the seasonal time crunch with a pre-season scheduling session. The goal: to arrange for all those little appointments that slip the mind so easily.

With the Christmas calendar as a guide, consider scheduling these important pre-season tasks:

September 30, 2021
Printable Christmas planning pages

Ready for Christmas: Make A Christmas Planner

As we get ready for Christmas, we’ll be making lists (and checking them a lot more than twice!), holding discussions with spouses, children and parents, and drawing up a holiday budget. 

Too often, we record our plans piecemeal, consigning them to a confused clutter of scrawled envelopes, jotted notes and cryptic calendar entries—none of which make it to the shopping center with us when it’s time to buy gifts.

September 17, 2021
Print Christmas calendar

Simplify Your Holidays With A Christmas Calendar

Ask any mother of young children: time pressure creates a unique stressor during the Christmas season.  Holiday events, school functions and holiday parties crowd December days; service projects, travel and worship activities double.  

To keep holiday stress at bay, a calendar is a must-have tool for an organized Christmas.  Even if you never rely on a family calendar the other eleven months of the year, December's busy days call for a dedicated calendar for smooth sailing.

September 16, 2021
Start early for an organized christmas

Too Early To Think Christmas? Starting Now Makes Sense

Summer's in full swing--and baby, it's hot outside! Need a diversion? Late summer is the perfect time to look ahead to the holiday season! 

Start Christmas planning now, and you'll reap abundant benefits come December. But not everyone agrees. Citing "Christmas creep"--the tendency of retail stores to display holiday merchandise while it's still summer--many people resist the idea of starting early for an organized Christmas.

September 1, 2021
Organized Christmas? Try a Holiday Plan
Holiday plans for an organized Christmas
Cynthia Ewer August 29, 2021

What's the best road to calm and joyous holidays?  It's all about the plan!  Preparing for Christmas with the help of a step-by-step plan makes quick work of seasonal chores, and leaves plenty of time, energy--and money!--to celebrate the season.

Here at OrganizedHome.com, we're home to two of the Web's oldest holiday plans: the Christmas Countdown and the Holiday Grand Plan.  

Which plan is right for you?  Check out these options to get ready for a stress-free Christmas:

home improvement for the holidays

Holiday House Fever? Cure It With A Home Spruce-Up Exercise

Autumn is here.  Look around the house. Does your temperature rise when you see stained carpets, smudged switch plates and faded window coverings?

With Christmas on the horizon, it's tempting to dive right in to a long list of home improvements. Stop! Wait! Biting off more than you can chew on the home front is a sure-fire recipe for holiday stress. 

October 16, 2020