Christmas is already the excitement of the preparations. Decorate the house, find the gifts, make the tree, think of the menu, pack the packages. You can quickly be overwhelmed by everything there is to do. To live the month of December in joy and serenity, we have gathered all the organizational advice that will make your life easier. I promise you will enjoy the Christmas spirit without stress.
Take The Time To Make Lists
To cope with the stress that accumulates, nothing like the lists! They will allow you to plan what needs to be done and give you a clear vision of what remains to be accomplished and when.
To prepare Christmas serenely, we recommend 3 lists :
- A list for gifts: before the first name of each person to whom you want to give gifts, take the time to write down all the gift ideas that come to mind. Then you will tick the chosen idea as soon as it has been ordered or purchased.
- A list for the house: find the decor of the tree, put the light garlands outside, install the tree. This is the basis. But if you receive, you will also have to take stock of the tables, chairs, tablecloths and perhaps even the beds and bed linen available to accommodate your family. List everything you need to check and everything you need to do to get the house ready for D-Day. A quick glance will help you know where you are.
- A list for the menu: planning the menu in advance makes sure you find good products and get out of your head all the questions about the meal. To simplify your life, consider putting dishes on the menu that are prepared in advance. It will always be that much less to manage on D-Day. Game casserole for example or homemade desserts can be prepared the day before or the day before without a problem. Also put on the list all the little extras that make you happy: chocolates, calissons, champagne, drinks for children, a cup of fresh fruit, what we snack on as an aperitif.
Have you made your list? Often, your loved ones will be relieved to have a few ideas that will make you really happy. Take a moment to compile all your wishes. The list can be long it will give the choice to those who love you. And then circulate!
Anticipate Gifts Online
Making gifts from your couch is tempting, isn’t it? Now you can find almost everything online, without having to travel.
But to avoid the stress of last-minute deliveries, it’s best to order everything before December 15th. And for children’s toys, sometimes taken by storm if they are “the toys of the year”, the ideal is to order everything in early December.
If you place your orders early enough, you can take the opportunity to order an Advent calendar. There are now all kinds: for children, men, women and even calendars to fill in yourself and personalize.
Offer intangible
Offer intangible, that is to say, shows, services, moments, it’s win-win. The recipient will not be cluttered with new things, you will not have to store and wrap gifts, and the ecological impact of the intangible is often minimal. And in addition to all these good reasons, you can often find these gifts without traveling, online for example.
And if you know fans of decoration or DIY, you can offer them DIY lessons with Leroy Merlin.
The little extra that makes you happy: What if you offered a collective gift? A show to see together, a family weekend in an amusement park or a European capital, a cooking class? The pleasure of meeting in a few weeks will be increased tenfold!
Choosing The Perfect Location For The Tree
The location of the tree is more important than it seems. Why? Because you are going to live with him for several weeks first. And so, it is better that it is not in a crossing area. This will avoid rubbing against it, at the risk of knocking off its thorns more quickly. But as it is also the central point around which you will spend Christmas, it is a question of putting it in the living room. You will enjoy it every evening, by lighting the light garlands.
Do not hesitate to transform the configuration of the living room a bit to make it a place worthy of the name without cluttering the circulation.
Place the tree in a tree bag. It’s practical, easy to remove the tree and you are helping a cause. Stack in the spirit of Christmas!
Create A Home Decor
If you really want to personalize your decor and make some of the elements yourself, there is not a minute to lose!
Plan your DIY sessions to create your homemade tree, charming wreaths or a fake fireplace to welcome Santa Claus.
The little extra that makes you happy: Invite your loved ones, families and children to your creative sessions, planned in advance (Sunday afternoon in December for example). You will have a good time doing the decor all together. Pure Christmas spirit!
Choose A Decoration That We Can Keep After Christmas
Tired of installing a decoration that you have to remove a month later? What if the Christmas decor was all year round? You benefit from a full-time magical decoration and you save yourself the rush of December and the tidying up of January.
To make it work, you just have to choose sober decorative objects, a little magic but not too connoted Christmas. Light garlands, candles, candle jars, stars can light up your interior and exterior throughout the year. On the other hand, the reindeer, the false snow and the red and green decoration, we reserve them in December.
Transform a green plant into a Christmas tree. Like that, we also keep it after Christmas. We promise you that Santa Claus agrees!
Make A Large Storage In The House
About a week before Christmas, it’s time to tidy up the house and clean up before the holidays. You can, of course, schedule a day or a weekend for this but you can also offer the services of a cleaning lady so that everything is neat before the big rush.
It’s also time to put the house in Christmas mode: take out the table and chairs in sufficient quantities. Wash and iron tablecloths and napkins. Prepare the rooms to welcome guests.
Take the opportunity to make the point on held Christmas for the whole family. If you have to do some shopping, do it now because now everything will accelerate.
The little extra that makes you happy: Create your own wreaths with gleaned plants (or bought from the florist if you are in town) such as fir, eucalyptus, berries, lichen. A nice moment of creativity to also share with children.
Anticipate Races And Ingredients That Keep
For your food shopping, make two separate lists. In the first, write down everything that can be bought in advance and stored. In the second, note all the costs that will have to be purchased the same day.
You can already get the whole first list. What is done is no longer to be done. And to save even more time, you can have it delivered. This service is now available in many supermarkets and online grocery stores.
You can organize a gift wrapping session in peace. It’s a good time because all the gifts must have arrived. You can choose papers according to your tastes, bet on simple packaging in kraft paper decorated with plants, or even pack in furoshiki’s, these scarves as pretty as they are useful.
D-Day: Going Into The Kitchen And Delegating
It’s a big day! Do the shopping in the first hour to have time to organize yourself afterward. You can, of course, start the meal preparations. You can also assign a mission to everyone to clear your mind. Paul will take care of opening the oysters, the children prepare the dessert and Tata Louise, who stays for the holidays, offers to manage the entry. In addition, the atmosphere promises to be fun in the kitchen!
It’s time to check that everything is under control :
- All the gifts are there, and well wrapped.
- All the elements of the meal are there and being prepared.
- The decor is finished and the house shines brightly
The little extra that is fun: Establish a family culinary tradition for children. They can make homemade chocolate truffles, shortbread spices, cheese gougères for the aperitif. For them, this dish will have the taste of Christmas and this will keep them busy during this day which promises to be endless until midnight!
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