I. Love. Christmas.
Check out new advent calendars in my store!
And you can too. I promise. You just have to get organized, start early, and flood your life with the joyful stuff so the stressful stuff just rolls off. How do you do this? Well, I’ll tell you how I do it….
Start RIGHT NOW. 😉
1. Make a list of everyone you would like to give something too in an ideal world, even if it was just a candy cane. You won’t be gifting everyone, so don’t freak out if it’s long.
2. Buy each of these people a card. You can make them or buy them cheaply after Christmas for the following year, but either way, don’t underestimate how amazing it feels to get real mail. Start sending those greetings to spread the cheer!
Make (or buy) ornaments for your small gifts this year!
3. Choose a food gift that you can make yourself and add that to the card for some of the closer friends and family on that same list. Make 3 different truffles or a few different cookies or mini pumpkin loaves! This doesn’t have to be a huge tin. We did 4 homemade candy bars one year and not only were they were a huge hit, they were small and inexpensive to ship.
Red wool and glass glitter tree cards!
4. Finally, make a small unisex gift for the closest friends and family on your list. We have done ornaments, small framed block prints, and t-shirts in the past. We only send all three things (food, card and gift) to our friends with families. Everyone else usually gets one or the other.
5. While you do all of this stuff early in the month, turn on Hallmark Channel movies, ABC Family, and Fa La La La Lifetime! The more obvious the Canadian accents in these terrible movies, the more campy they are. But that is what is so awesome about them! If you can’t handle the cheese factor, just put on a Pandora Christmas station or an old Christmas album on your record player.
Carve a stamp and print your own cards!
6. Throw a party mid-month. Yeah, I said it. Make it really cozy and simple, or elegant and huge. Either way, you will be so happy you did it. You can’t always expect everyone else to make the season great for you….sometimes you just have to GIVE, GIVE, GIVE.
Simplify your life with my All-In-One Tag, Topper and Ribbon Sets. All you have to do is tie a bow or secure with a little tape- everything else is done for you!
Our calendar could be your calendar too!
- Before Turkey Day, have your list made, broken down, and food and gifts planned out.
- Right after Turkey Day, start filling out your cards and decorate your home!
- December 1st: Finish filling out cards
- December 2nd and 3rd: Make your party menu and grocery list
- December 4th and 5th: Make your handmade gifts
- December 6th-8th: Make your food gifts, wrap everything up and ship it all out with your cards
- December 9th and 10th: Shop your party groceries, prep any party food you can ahead of time
- December 11th or 12th: Christmas Party!
- December 13th-Christmas: Relax, enjoy the season, shop for your family gifts or bigger stuff and wrap it all up for the big day!
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