Shoo those Humbugs Away!!

So if you’re reading this on the day it posts, it’s 2 days before Christmas and I am furiously baking, wrapping and (some embarrassment here) decorating. Truth be told, I may not even be done shopping. We have two parties and church tomorrow, church and relatives on Sunday, a trip to visit relatives next week, not to mention work and a house in short sell. It would be very easy for me to give up and go back to bed (believe me, I thought about it).

I can blame a lot of my stress on poor planning and a lack of funds until the last minute. It’s possible that better planning and (hopefully) more stable finances might help next year, but how do I keep my sanity and not lose my cool in the here and now? The following is a list of tips I have gleaned over the years to make things a little easier at the last minute. If you are stressed and overwhelmed this holiday season, I hope some of these will work for you too.

Make a list of everything you need to get done. Be general – buy presents, wrap presents, decorate living room, bake cookies, etc.
Next, on a separate sheet of paper, Word doc, Task List or whatever you use, break down the individual jobs. For buying and wrapping presents, I use the Master Gift List at Organized Christmas:
If you are decorating, list the rooms you need to decorate and what boxes you need to take out of storage. For baking, list which goodies you’re going to make, then break them down by ingredients.
Next make a shopping list based on your ingredients list and gifts list. Be realistic – you’re probably not going to be able to spend as much money as if you had spaced the buying out throughout the year, but you can still get everyone something they will appreciate. And if they like goodies – even easier since you are already baking. (Sorry, family and friends – now most of you know what you’re getting from me).
Make a timeline. With two days left I am spending today baking, wrapping and decorating and tomorrow I will be buying any presents that are left and finishing wrapping. I like to really break down the timeline on my baking so nothing gets missed. Here’s an example of my baking timeline:
Enlist the help of your loved ones. Delegate what you can. Art is a much better wrapper than me, so I will let him do most of that. The boys like to decorate, so I will let them put up some garland and lights.
Lastly, make sure to take some time to relax and take care of yourself. In the morning, I will do my devotions, pray, and exercise before I start my baking timeline. In the evening I will hang out with Art and the boys and watch some TV while we wrap presents. Later on I will go to bed early and read a good book by myself.