The holidays are a wonderful time of year, but they can also be very stressful. This Christmas guide will help take that stress away and let you enjoy the holiday season even more!
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Christmas Checklist Digital Download {FREE Printable and Digital Versions}
Here’s a Christmas checklist that I made to help make your Christmas planning easier!
This is the FREE printable version and how it looks when you print it out to fill in!
This is the digital version and how it looks when you go to fill it in on your computer!
Both versions are included in the digital download below! To use the digital version open in Adobe Reader and start typing. To use the printable version, open PDF, print, and start writing by hand.
To download my Christmas Checklist FREE Printable and Digital Version, click here, then save the PDF file to your computer.
What’s on Your Christmas To-Do List?
First you will want to figure out what you need to do for Christmas. What are your traditions? What do you want to do? Are there any new things you’d like to add this year?
Here’s what’s on my Christmas list so far. I hope it will help you with your Christmas list and Christmas goals.
1. Write Christmas List and Set Goal Dates. Write a list for everything we want to do and take care of for Christmas this year by Thanksgiving!
Add anything necessary to the Christmas checklist. Then set goals and dates to achieve them by.
2. Put Up Christmas Trees and Decorations. Put up and decorate Christmas trees by Thanksgiving!
We will do this after Veterans day, but we will put up the Christmas trees before Thanksgiving. We typically have a big Christmas tree and one or two small trees at our house. Then we also help my Mom and Dad put up and decorate their Christmas tree.
Until this year, we always put up our Christmas tree(s) on Thanksgiving. However, it made Thanksgiving feel more stressful and hectic. It was always nice to have the tree up during part of Thanksgiving day, but putting the Christmas tree up on that holiday took away from Thanksgiving itself. By having putting the trees up earlier it means the decorating will be done and able to be enjoyed on Thanksgiving day. It releives the stress of having to do it on a holiday when we would rather focus on spending time having fun as a family on Thanksgiving. Plus, it often feels like December flies by and the decorations are being taken down before we know it. Also, as a blogger, it’s lovely to be in the holiday spirit while I’m putting out Christmas posts.
3. Christmas Cards. Update Christmas card list, create, e-mail, and print out cards by December 2nd!
Tom and I like to get a Christmasy photo taken and create a Christmas photo card. Then we e-mail it out to our family and friends who aren’t in San Diego. We then will either buy Christmas cards, make, or print out the Christmas card for our family and friends in San Diego. This year I want to e-mail and print out the Christmas card we create to make it less stressful.
4. Christmas Gifts. Complete Christmas shopping by December 6th!
We’re pretty big on Christmas gifts in our family. I love to buy a well-thought-out gift or figure out a really nice experience to make each gift special. When it gets too close to the holiday, though, it can sometimes get tough to make it as special as I’d like.
In the past, I wouldn’t think about Christmas shopping, gifts, or planning until after Thanksgiving. It just felt too early. Then everything would feel rushed, and before I knew it Christmas was there. Now my thought is that the Christmas season can begin as long as Halloween is finished and there is no decorating until after Veterans Day. Ideally, I’d like to complete my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving.
5. Wrap and Prepare Christmas Gifts. Finish wrapping and prepare Christmas gifts by December 6th!
I will wrap and prepare all Christmas gifts as soon as I’ve bought all Christmas gifts. Then put gifts under the tree to add a festive feel until they are ready to be gifted.
6. Buy Gifts That Can be Shipped for Family in England. Complete buying shipped gifts for family in England by December 6th!
We’ve often waited until we were visiting England or our family was visiting us to exchange presents. It often meant a holiday would get skipped in between everything, or it just didn’t always go as planned. Now we’re going to buy presents online from places like Amazon that will ship directly to our family’s address in England. This saves time, the hassle of mailing it ourselves, or having to worrying about it fitting in our suitcase on a trip to England.
7. Figure Out What I’d Like. Figure out a DVD or two that I’d like and any presents to add to my wish list by Thanksgiving!
Usually, I have no idea what I’d like when I get asked what I want for Christmas. I will think of some things that I’d like for Christmas so that I can actually give a definite response when asked.
I love one of my parents family traditions of giving a DVD or two in our Christmas stocking. My mom will ask us before Christmas what DVDs we’d like. I usually am scrambling to figure out what I’d like and get my list to her in time. I love getting my favorite movies and workout DVDs that I can use as research for creating workouts at Fit Body Full Life!
8. Plan Get-Togethers with Friends, Family, and Any Parties/Events. Figure out get-togethers and parties/events by December 1st!
Decide on any who’d we’d like to see before the holidays and schedule get-togethers with them. Plan or schedule in any parties/events we’re throwing or attending. We typically don’t throw parties much, so it will usually be parties we’re attending.
9. Plan Christmas Eve Meal, Christmas Day Meal, and Any Holiday Treats. Plan meals and treats by December 10th.
Figure out what we’re having, if we need to substitute any ingredients, alter any dishes, and who’s helping with what. We also like to make certain holiday treats, so we’ll need to figure out when we’re making those and what we need to make them.
10. Plan Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Family Celebrations. Plan what are we doing by December 1st.
We typically open presents on Christmas Eve night and spend both days with family. On a year where Tom and I are traveling to England for Christmas or my brother, sister-in-law, and niece are traveling to North Carolina for Christmas, we will figure out when we will celebrate Christmas together with my parents in San Diego. Also, plan when to Facetime with family that’s abroad depending on where we are for Christmas.
Figure Out Your Christmas Goals
In the Christmas Checklist, I put by with a line after each item. This is where you can put your goal date to accomplish each item by.
You’ll notice by each item on my list above I made a goal with a deadline. Once you have your Christmas list, figure out a timeline that you’re comfortable with, something that will make you feel on top of the holidays without adding extra stress.
You don’t have to worry if you somehow are slightly off with achieving your goal date, but setting goals will help you accomplish things quicker than you would have without setting them in the first place.
Shop Early
I find the most stressful part is Christmas shopping and sending out Christmas cards. I always seem to be doing them at the last minute.
First, select who you want to give presents to.
Then, write what idea or ideas you have for their gifts next to their names.
Next, start shopping! The great thing is you can now shop online so easily you don’t have to fight the crowds. If you’re wanting to go to the stores, though, it’s especially important to start early.
Great Places to do Christmas Shopping Online
These are some of my favorite places and brands to shop! They are great for making Christmas shopping easier and shopping online for Christmas gifts (for others or even yourself!)!
iTunes
How Will You Plan Ahead This Christmas
In the past, I’d been a mixture of planning ahead and leaving things until right before it had to be done. I now am planning ahead for the holidays from now on! It definitely feels much less stressful and I get in the holiday spirit even more!
What are your plans for Christmas? Will you be planning ahead for the holidays? Do you tend to plan ahead or leave things until the last minute?
Have fun!
Connect with me, @ChristinaChitwood, on social media:
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Twitter @ChrissyChitwood
I look forward to reading your comments, seeing your photos, and chatting with you on social media!
Photo Credit: paylessimages
Thanks Christina, this is a good list of things to do in Xmas, I alway have a plan for Christmas early but I always forget something. I hope this year will be better
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Agreed. I have waited much to long in previous years to start Christmas shopping. I found my self to be so stressed out and ready to snap when in line at the stores. Its been many years now and I typically start Christmas shopping in September – October to relieve stress. I would start off Christmas any other way!
This is a great idea, especially if you have so many things to do (three trees by Nov. 15. – really?) but honestly Chris: did it work? was it a stressfree Christmas? 🙂
Great ideas buddy.
I really like the ideas. These are some of the exiting and interesting things to do on a Christmas events.
Also, such ideas will leave great impact on others too.
Thanks for providing such amazing ideas. 🙂