Pick up stocking fillers as you see them - I always use the poem:
"Something you want
Something you need
Something to eat and
Something to read".
So always a book, some lovely fresh fruit and nice sweets, something useful like socks (can be fancy ones)/knickers/pencils for school....etc and fun bits.
Something to DO on the morning is always a useful fun thing - like a colouring in activity or making a lego/duplo set (small one) or similar. Something to keep them occupied for a few minutes while you prepare brekkie or deal with visitors.
Almost all of those can be bought ahead of time - except the fruit.
Xmas Eve hamper in our house has new PJs for all (DD, DH and I), often new slippers or slippersocks for DD (and DH and I have existing festive ones popped in clean), naice hot choc (we get the blocks of choc on a wooden spoon) for each of us, a bath bomb each (Lush Christmassy ones are out in about Oct) for DD and I, and the copy of "Twas the night before Christmas" for bedtime story. It is different for some families (more craft things, dvds, sweets, Christmas fleece or crockery etc) coming out earlier in the day - but after dinner and then lighting the Christmas candle, we take out the stocking and hamper - DD sets out milk and cookie and carrot, then we open the hamper, run DDs bath, fresh PJs, hot choc downstairs (and a quick check on Santa's progress on NORAD) and back up to bed with the book. Again, most of that can be organized in advance.
In terms of food, if you are going to your Mum's, ask if she wants you to bring anything early - and try to steer it towards things like drinks or something you can buy rather than HAVE to make. Maybe you could get the cheeses, if you eat them.
Book your online delivery slots ahead of time, not for Christmas week necessarily (but do if you want to avoid the stores), but do a pretty big shop the week before. Get all the heavy stuff, cleaning things, drinks, jars/tins etc, so you don't have to get those. Book a few deliveries around the birth too - to make it easier for DH. And remember things like bin bags, paper towels, coal for fire, washing powder, dishwasher tablets etc. Even if you don't normally use them, things like paper plates, paper towels and disposable tablecloths can be useful to make life easier as a once off.
Try to stock the freezer with meals you know the family will eat before the birth. Either things to put into the oven, or ingredients ready for DH to use - depending on his ability and your DCs fussiness. Even just things like chicken breasts already chopped into dice before freezing can make a fast dinner with a jar of sauce and rice/pasta. When that space is freed up again, and as you get back on your feet and start cooking family dinners - to double batches of a few things and freeze half for the Christmas period - for days when you all want to go out and not have a lot of hassle cooking on return. Or when visitors descend and you need to feed either extra people or feed the family later than expected.
If you have the inclination, make a few mince pies etc and freeze those. DD loves to make cookies for Santa - some years we have time on Christmas Eve to make a fresh batch but I always make sure we've done a batch earlier in the month and frozen half - so I can slice and bake a few from freezer on Christmas Eve if time is against us or DD is too hyper to concentrate.
It's still way too early to plan diaries much - but try to think about it with DH now just a little. Do you want a day or 2 just yourselves and have anything you'd love to do as a family? Do you have to see everyone and will that be at home or travelling? Do you need to stay over anywhere? Just to make sure you can build in the time for travelling, and for being your own family, in the mix before all DGPs make their requests, 20 different parties are planned that your presence is required at (before you even knew they were planned), and 12 different cousins have planned to sleep over at yours. (OK - doomsday scenario - but just make your plans ready to head off other requests by saying you are already busy then but this other time might be good to meet up....). Especially if DH will not have huge amounts of time off.
In our house, we have always had a Christmas story for bedtime in December and have a half a shelf of Christmas books. And a few Christmas DVDs as well for bad weather afternoons. You can sometimes pick up nice stories at this time of year quite cheaply in discounted sections of bookstores. It could be a nice cosy time after tea when you are feeding the baby to read together, maybe DCs taking turns to hold the book if your hands are occupied?
We also have some crockery that comes out in early December - a couple of mugs and a plastic plate, bowl and glass set for DD mainly. And a Christmas fleece blanket for snuggling under (DD loves fleecy blankets all year). The advent calendar has a small chocolate treat daily, and either a free printable colouring sheet (from the web), a small toy or a note with either something we'll do that day (prep chore like "tidy your toys" or outings like "go shopping for Daddy's present") or a treasure hunt around the house. I get those ready ahead of time, and have a loooong list of options for things to do (various crafty activities, tidying chores they can help with, outing ideas etc) and a large bundle of colouring sheets. The choc figures are usually 3 nets of choc snowmen and santas from Aldi or M&S - although 1 year DD found the stash and I had to add a stonkingly expensive set of chocolate nutcrackers for the last week from a deli as all other figures were sold out everywhere!!
Overall - ENJOY!!
