I have some tips and tricks you can use to make a goal plan this fall for the holiday season and enjoy more stress-free time with your family.
I started planning for my 2019 holiday season in September. Yes, you read that right. September is actually the best time to start thinking about the holiday season. I’m still looking at the next quarter and planning ahead. That’s because in the past, around Christmas, I’ve been usually running around checking things off on my to-do list and cursing myself for not being prepared.
But not this time! If it’s in the plan, it’s important, and it will get done. Everything else is NOT important, and I am not going to worry about it.
I am starting to draft my schedule for the season by going through the following:
- Work Calendar
- Kids’ School Events and Activities
- Social/Community Commitments
- Birthdays to celebrate
- Fall Cleaning – Outdoor and Indoor
- Commitments to friends and Family
- Workout plan
- Vacation plan
- Putting away seasonal clothes
- Planning for a family holiday photo shoot
- Buy and wrap gifts early
- Meal planning
- Seasonal decor
- Christmas activities
- Take lots of pictures for next year
Work Calendar
I checked my work calendar and marked important work commitments in my home calendar. These are commitments with my teammates at the beginning of the year that will help us balance work and life better.
Kids’ School Events and Activities
I am checking my kids school calendar and listing the activities they have planned for next 3 months. There are major events such as a Pumpkin Patch Party, pumpkin painting with their grandparents, a yearly parent-teacher meeting, a Thanksgiving potluck, a Christmas party, etc.. I have to mark time off at work ahead of these events so my teammates can know my availability. Some of these events need parent volunteers, and I like to be a part of them. This is important to teaching children that a sense of community and volunteering is a much-appreciated value. I checked with the grandparents to make sure they are available for pumpkin painting. Oops – I don’t want to forget the book order for the Christmas gift exchange. I ordered that on Amazon. Another item on my checklist ticked off!
Social and Community Commitments
I have committed 4 hours of social work every month. I want to get that scheduled and communicated early, so it’s not forgotten.
Birthdays
Yes, birthdays are fun. There are a few birthdays coming this quarter in our family.
I usually do this at the last moment, or sometimes I even forget to do it. I’ve picked up a dozen simple birthday cards, tissue wraps, and gift bags. I restock them every time I go to the Dollar Store. My Dad’s birthday is in November, and he loves hand-making crafts, so I’m going to get lessons for us together at the local pottery shop.
This time I’ll write something special in the cards and send it to my friends for their birthdays. Seriously, how much time does it take? Five minutes to write a card? I’ll keep the cards handy and post them when it’s time. Why did I not do this before? It’s a such a simple thing, and shows the people I love that I care.
I have talked about my son’s birthday with him, and he wants a CAT! I’ll get to that later. It will require research.
Fall Cleaning – Outdoor and Indoor
I love the smell of fresh wood in the house, and especially in this season I like to order tea tree oil and Cedar Wood oil to freshen up the mood.
I must confess, I don’t like to cook and clean, but a clean house and homemade food brings me happiness. So I called our handyman and gave him a list of things to be taken care outside, such as some outdoor lights after October 15th for Diwali, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
As far as outdoors is concerned, the lights are the same, but I am switching the wreath and few other decorations that are easy for me to add just in time.
I have pulled out the boxes of indoor decorations and I’ll have my husband and children help me put them up.
I called the cleaning lady and gave her a list of things that need to be cleaned.
Commitments to friends and Family
I am going to use my planner a lot to tackle these items. (If you need one, you can get a copy of it here.) But in this post, I’ll oversimplify these events.
Halloween
We are trick-or-treating together with a friend’s family this Halloween. Here is my to-do: We are having dinner at their place, so we’re planning to take some Panera sandwiches and soup. I know it may sound like I am suggesting that we eat out, but that’s the best advice I can give. We can eat homemade food most of the time, but when it’s a special day, try to keep it light and eat out. I don’t want to forget the stroller and water bottle for trick-or-treating this time.
Last Halloween it snowed, so I must check the weather and bundle up if needed.
Thanksgiving
We are inviting two families to come to our home. I’ll use my planner to tackle the cleaning, décor and meal planning.
I would like to say that I’m going to inspire you to prepare a delicious Thanksgiving meal. But I am going to fail you here. I am lazy. I love playing with my children more than cooking a meal that is overwhelming to eat, finding containers to store the leftovers, then waiting for two days and trashing them. Our family does not do well with refrigerated/frozen meals. I am ordering from Hyvee. It’s hassle- free, and I get to choose the menu and portion sizes. I know, I’m terrible.
Christmas
We are meeting at my brother’s house for Christmas. I am drawing up a gift list and, as much as possible, ordering everything ahead of time on Amazon.
Friend time
I promised a day out with one of my friends, when the children are in daycare. I am going to call her and make it happen this time, so I can have some fun time as well.
The rest of this topic is covered in the next post. Click here.
