Christmas Countdown

I found these great tips for Christmas over at Simplemom.net. They are posting a new article every Friday counting down the weeks till Christmas. Only 9 weeks left!

Love Christmas, but hate the chaos? I’m with you. It’s a shame that the holiday created to focus on the birth of Christ somehow means overspending, crowded malls, and constant busyness. It shouldn’t be this way.

I’m all for holiday traditions, but only if they’re done sanely. Each year, Simple Mom starts exactly 12 weeks before Christmas and delivers one small task to do each week. In doing this, we’re eliminating the need to do these tasks all at once in December, which makes the holiday of peace much too stressful. You can still enjoy the height of the season and relish in the little delights that Christmas brings. You just need to plan ahead, so that those things don’t make your end of the year a chaotic train to Busyville.

Plan ahead, and enjoy the season sanely.

2009 Checklist

12. Prepare Your Holiday Budget – October 2
11. Gather Your Addresses and Plan Your “Greetings” – October 9
10. Start (or finish!) Gift Shopping – October 16
9. Make Plans to Give Back – October 23
8. Inventory Your Decor and Watch for Sales – October 30
7. Finalize Your Family’s Holiday Calendar – November 6
6. Prepare a New Family Tradition – November 13
5. Get Your Christmas Cards and Address the Envelopes – November 20
4. Decorate for Christmas – November 27
3. Make Meal Plans; Batch Cook and Freeze Meals – December 4
2. Make and Freeze Cookie Dough and any Food Gifts – December 11
1. Prepare for guests, or Prepare to be a Guest – December 18
0. Celebrate! – December 25