Organised Christmas people - tips for next year!

[1AngelicFruitCake]

Please help
No matter how hard I try I still seem to be shopping last minute, wrapping on Christmas Eve, not having spare presents for neighbours who pop round. What are all of your secret tips? I’ve never shopped in September for example but should I?

Placemarking to make notes later

If something worked particularly well this time, make a note for next year. The year I discovered meat thermometers was a revelation...

If we get a dine in meal, with a free bottle of wine or box of chocolates, I put them away in my Christmas cupboard. I use these for emergency gifts.

I buy all year round and put it all in my present cupboard. Especially in sales/Black Friday etc. I use present bags like these

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Christmas-Gift-Bags-Santa-Printed-Packaging-Xmas-Treat-Foil-Drawstring-Bag-/383780842172?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338268676&toolid=10044&customid=Cj0KCQiAwqCOBhCdARIsAEPyW9nGlhgITvDMPR-qssAp1BwuUJlILfeErg1Cd0u05vBHHpGGrQgxO_YaAvoyEALw_wcB no scissors or tape required and can be reused. QVC often have packs of them

For neighbours etc I make cheese straws, with a bottle of wine, or cheese and jar of chutney - if you don’t have time just the wine/cheese/crackers

I pre prep roast potatoes and freeze them. Cook a ham the day before, along with cauliflower cheese, bread sauce and jelly and custard for the trifle. My husband then cooks the turkey and veg and reheats everything else, I do the stuffing.

I’ve been reading for tips.

This year I’ve followed TOMM Christmas and added in all the other things I do eg buy Christmas PJs. I’ve written as ticky notes on my phone so I can reuse it next year.

I’ve definitely started to strip back to things which are essential or I enjoy. I only send four Christmas cards and DH is similar.

I need to be more organised with Christmas food next year and I need to review this year.

Agree with writing a list of those who have sent cards as you take this year's cards down and then using that as your list for next year.

Also list on phone.

Picking things up as you see them or think of them or when there is an offer on (both presents and food/drink)

Put money away each month into a separate account so you can start shopping when you see things instead of waiting for November's paycheck.

I’m mainly needing the organisational help bot giving it on here but have done a few things this year that have really helped us.

Not sent cards - I’m now down to 2 apart from family

Not done Elf on Shelf or Xmas Eve boxes

Someone else in family is cooking meal and hosting

No presents for any adults apart from a small gift we do by Secret Santa

No new tree or house decs - stick to old ones and reuse

Class collection for teaching staff Xmas gift with no individual gifts

Also no gift tags - different paper and wore initial on gift

No Xmas pjs

No Santa visit - dds didn’t miss it at all

No special dinner on Xmas eve

No pet Xmas stockings for dogs or cats

I totally get why people do these things but was all adding to the work and stress for us

No outside lights on house/garden

No panto trip (due to covid but tempted to keep not booking as it was so relaxing not to have to book / sort with extended family)

Reading that back I sound like Scrooge. Dds told me it was their most awesome Xmas ever though

I think the main thing is buying and wrapping presents as early as possible. I do it in October but some go earlier than this.

Once you've done this, everything else seems much more manageable.

Also I would plan a very simple Christmas dinner. You don't need 3 different kinds of meat, 10 sides, soup, 2 choices of starter and 5 kinds of dessert. You are not a catering team. It's just a nice meal.

I just do a turkey, roasties, stuffing balls and then a couple of kinds of veg, along with gravy and cranberry sauce. I make one dessert. I focus on quality, rather than quantity/diversity. Most of these things can be made in advance.

Spare presents for unexpected drop ins? Just don't. Nobody could possibly expect a gift from you when they are dropping by unannounced/last minute. If they do expect a gift then that's ridiculous and it's their own issue, not yours.

Essentially the key is to plan ahead for the important bits and stop putting so much pressure on yourself.

I have very bad organisation skills naturally OP but really like being organised. The thing that helped me most was a Christmas spreadsheet.

I keep everything Christmas related in one place and you can make multiple tabs and refer to last year's info as well. I already have a tab for 2022 so I could write down ideas/improvements while they are fresh in my mind!

I have young children so I cannot realistically buy main presents far in advance. But, I can budget and from the last couple days of August I have a big flare up of Christmas excitement and start to plan gift ideas of stuff I have seen. And I still do shopping for them very early in December, it was almost all done by 2nd December this year. If you have a spreadsheet you can also write down now a list of your neighbours etc so you know how many of those biscuits you need.

With regards to wrapping, the earlier you shop the earlier you can wrap and get it out of the way. I am a chronic Christmas eve wrapper and I can't tell you the difference it has made doing it early. I was still wrapping a few bits on the 23rd but it was still a massive improvement. Do you have your own DC or is it just friends family and neighbours you are buying for?

Oh and this year I also made almost all of my veg sides on Christmas eve and it made a huge difference to Christmas day as well!

Absolutely loving this thread.

• this was the first year I paid attention to the bargain prequel threads and the run up to Christmas bargain threads. I managed to resist a lot of the popular purchases and found it good for website ideas and watching sales.

• this year we spent a little extra on the M&S pre prepped potatoes and veg which really helped this year. I think when my DDs are a bit older I'll go back to prepping and doing my Nigella roast potatoes but I was actually the most calm I have ever been hosting for 8 people!

• I tried to fully follow the Organised Mum but didn't set pressure on myself and if I didn't complete everything on the set week I just made a note for the following week. One thing I enjoyed was wrapping a lot earlier! Christmas eve was so much more relaxing 🎅

WrappedInRed that's the key, isn't it?
Do what you can to make things easier on yourself. The more relaxed we are, the better it seems to go! :-)

I’m going to start early. I’m going to get cheap cards and wrapping paper in the next few days and store it in the loft. I already know what we are getting our parents (afternoon tea vouchers) and I’m thinking of buying our nieces a gift early too. Last year they got sequin cushions and this year they got blankets. If I can find something similar that won’t matter if it’s stored for several months I will get them those.

This is an amazing thread, I love it!

I already use the Santa's Bag app, but can anyone recommend a book planner please? To put more general ideas and notes, cards etc in. Many thanks

It's definitely the little shortcuts that make things easier. Mine are:

Don't wrap stocking gifts.
Prep and freeze
Buy a few good quality fresh items eg gravy or stuffing.
Ask people to bring something if you have guests - a cocktail for everyone, cheeseboard, a starter, entertainment etc.
Buy gift wrap and cards now, take a pic and put it in the loft. Buy any new or replacement citations now, and get rid of anything broken as you put everything away.
Buy booze as it comes on offer throughout the year- these double up as last minute pressies.

@YetAnotherUserNameForMe

This is an amazing thread, I love it!

I already use the Santa's Bag app, but can anyone recommend a book planner please? To put more general ideas and notes, cards etc in. Many thanks

I like a presentation folder. Doesn't look so fancy but does the job.

Save each month towards Xmas.
Shop early.
Wrap early.
Book christmas days out as soon as they open - put a calendar reminder on your phone.
Keep a master list on your phone of what you have got for who.

I wrap gifts in November and put them in plastic boxes in the loft. I mark each one with a discreet code but one flap in tiny letters so I know what it is if the tag falls off.

Tips I've applied over the years. Master list of all xmas related foods, dont need it all every year but can refer to list and write shopping list from that. Online food for non fresh items delivered 21st, booze/soft drinks etc. Gift list app on my phone. Colour code wrap and sticky labels, dont fall off. Next year I might do brown paper with a few red/green gifts and ribbons as this years looked lovely. My biggest win this year was accepting help with food prep, people often offer to help and usually I'd say no, but this year i accepted, poured everyone a glass of fizz and gave them a job, my favourite memory all chatting whilst peeling veg and meant I wasnt frazzled, and it all felt very relaxed.

I'm loving this thread. This year has been one of the most enjoyable Christmases for me because I was more relaxed than usual. I was determined to get all the presents bought and wrapped by 1st Dec and while that didn't happen I was a lot closer than usual. Next year I plan to:

• make a list of decorations/lights etc I'd like to buy next year while putting them away this year.

• sort through and pack away the decorations properly. Last year I let my husband do this and it was chaos in November when I tried to get things out that were needed first. I'd like to use the suggestion above about numbering boxes so they are organised and easily reachable

• I've got the Santas bag app which was really good this year and as we go through the year I'm going to allocate ideas to people I'm buying for, either things I've seen or received and enjoyed and things my kids have had that have perhaps been unusual and well loved. I'm going to do some big orders of these things in September and October and again aim to have all presents bought by 1st Nov.

• follow the prequel thread on this board through they year, maybe weekly and see how I get on.

• I'm going to make a list in my planner of my shopping list for food and drinks, separated into things that can't be bought early and a list of the actual food shop for the few days before Christmas.

• Also,make some notes in my planner of what worked well this year and what activities and days out I'd like to do next year as I tend to get too excited in September, book lots of things and then feel a bit too tired and stressed to enjoy them as much as I should!

Also, going to re read this thread to pick up some other ideas too. I love this board!

Saving a bit each month from December onwards so that I could start shopping from August Bank Holiday (surprising amount of discounts around then!)

Ordering presents to be delivered straight to recipients, saved me so much stress and money on postage for extended family.

Having a spreadsheet with list of gifts and running total of spends, helped me avoid the last minute “have I bought enough?!?” panic and overspending.

Keep all your Christmas food receipts and record the total you've spent in a diary. Make a note of what was a hit, a miss and what was wasted so you can adjust the shopping list for next Christmas. This way you don't waste money on additional extras because it's traditional. Obviously your plans might be different but it's to help you remember what was successful and what wasn't.

These Blox diaries are brilliant for record keeping. They have a specific Christmas one (sold out atm but due back in stock soon). The diaries are based on a grid system for lists and schedules.

This is a great thread OP.
Can I ask how do people save for Christmas? Do you estimate how much you need and just set aside so much each month into a normal bank account?
Does anyone do anything different- do those specific Christmas savings plans work or I've heard of people buying Amazon vouchers too. Any good suggestions?