Countdown to Christmas: 7 Days to Go!

Its go time!

This is the time to dig in and get it done. Bake, Cook, Shop, Wrap, and Enjoy everything.

A few things to note...

The deadline to ship packages via USPS to (hopefully) get them in time for Christmas is December 20.

Remember to do grocery pick-up for your groceries to avoid the craziness of the grocery store...seriously, avoid that if possible.

And have fun! What ever happens is going to be good enough. I'm 99% sure that whatever you are obsessing over is not something your family will remember in 10 years. Having fun is of the utmost importance!

Merry Christmas Friends!

What are your Christmas Traditions? Share below!

Countdown to Christmas: 13 Days to Go!

Shopping is so much harder than I thought it would be. But I have received my Christmas cards and all of the pieces of it (return address labels, Christmas letter, picture insert) and we are finished decorating (for now, we might add ornaments to the tree after we see how Ellie handles the tree itself). We got the tree this weekend and I love it. I switched to white lights this year and I think I do love them............

For the next week, the priorities are still the same.

1. Continue shopping. If you have gifts you need to ship, those are a top priority this week so you can get those shipped ahead of the deadline.

2. Wrap as you go (if you can) so it doesn't pile up and turn into a happiness buster.

3. Get those cards out.

4. And continue enjoying the season. Listen to Christmas music, enjoy the Christmas lights, have some Christmas cookies.

What are your favorite Christmas cookies? Share below!

Countdown to Christmas: 21 Days to Go!

With three weeks left to go, it can feel like you have all the time left in the world and none at all. I totally get it. I keep telling myself its only December 4! I have time. And I do, but I want to enjoy the season too.

So this week, I have a lot of priorities.

1. Finish shopping. To be honest, I haven't done much of it, but I want to finish it by the end of this week.

2. Wrapping. As things come in, I want to get things wrapped as quickly as possible.

3. Christmas cards. Its time to get those in the mail!

4. Menu planning. Christmas is in three weeks...we have all the time in the world...no. Plan the menu now so you don't have to do it in 18 days when everyone else is.

5. Baking. If you are a baker, start planning what you want to bake and you can even make and freeze the dough now if you have a chance.

6. And finally, keep enjoying the Christmas magic!

How are you enjoying the Christmas magic? Share below!

Countdown to Christmas: 28 Days!

Four weeks! We are down to FOUR WEEKS.

Ok. Panic aside. We still have a month.

This week you should have several focuses.

1. Shopping. Get as much of the shopping done as possible.

2. Decorate. Even if you don't have your tree and don't plan to get your tree for a week or two, start decorating the rest of the house.

3. Spread some Christmas magic. Enjoy some moments and do something fun. Watch a movie and have some hot chocolate. Go look at lights. Make a gingerbread house. Give a donation to an organization you believe in.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Countdown: 42 Days Until Christmas

I did not get my crafts planned. But I will get them planned and shopped for before next week.

This week's to-do is a biggie.

Black Friday is coming up, so this week you need to make shopping lists and check advertisements to see if any stores have a sale on any of your big ticket items.

If you are a Black Friday shopper or a Cyber Monday shopper (or a Small Business Saturday shopper), you should have a game plan. Getting your lists together will also help you while you are milling around the stores (brick-and-mortar or cyber), you will know what you need to keep a lookout for.

Ok. That is a big undertaking...but next week is even bigger. 

Are you a Black Friday or Cyber Monday shopper? Share below!

Countdown to Christmas: 49 Days

How did last week go? Did you get Christmas lists started? Your holiday traditions and parties scheduled?

This week, the only thing to do is plan any Christmas crafts and purchase the materials you will need to do those crafts.

Easy, peasy...right? If you need to catch up, now is the time to do it. Things will start getting busier in the next week.

What is your favorite Christmas carol? Mine is Silent Night!

Countdown to Christmas: 56 Days

How did last week go? Did you make any decisions about your Christmas cards? Did you make your photography session appointments? Are you writing a Christmas letter?

This week, let's get two more tasks out of the way.

First, start making lists of people for whom you need to purchase gifts. If you have any ideas, go ahead and jot them down, but don't get hung up on that. Make sure to list the budget for each gift. That way, if you are walking through Target in the next few weeks, you will have more of an idea of what you can keep a lookout for.

Second, start listing annual Christmas traditions and parties you usually attend. Do you need hostess gifts? New outfits?

Good Luck!

What is your favorite Christmas cookie??? Mine is the Andes mint swirl, which is like a chocolate Andes mint version of the peanut butter blossom.

Countdown to Christmas: 63 Days!

So, did you get your addresses together? I did! This is a fantastic list to use throughout the year to send sympathy cards, congratulations cards, get well cards, etc. If I hear someone has moved, I will make a note on my list that someone moved with the date. Then, every year, about this time, I pull out the list, check to see what updates need to be collected and it is really easy to just collect a few addresses instead of 60.

Ok. For this week, it is time to start doing some planning. I have two tasks that we need to work on.

#1. Plan your Christmas cards. Are you going to do a photo card or a traditional card? Are you going to get a picture taken or use one that has already been taken? Are you writing a Christmas letter?

If you are going with a traditional card, you can start shopping now and you can probably score some pretty good sale prices!

If you are doing a photo card and already have the photo, start designing your card...again, you can probably score some pretty good sale prices and miss the rush.

If you are doing a photo card and need to get the photo taken...schedule that photo now. Get the outfits together now. This will help you beat the rush and make the days leading up to the photo less stressful.

For the Christmas letter, just decide if you are going to write one.

We are going to do a photo card with a picture that we will be taking over Thanksgiving, so I need to work on outfits. My husband requested Christmas sweaters, so we will see what happens there. We will also be doing a Christmas letter. It has been a big year in our world, so its a good time to update the extended family.

#2. Start working on your Christmas list. Just yours. Pick something you need (I need waterproof winter boots). Pick something you want (This is usually where I struggle). Pick other things you will use...books on your to-read list, movies or TV shows you want in your collection, sports gear, etc.

Good luck!!!

What is your favorite Christmas movie? Share below!