gifts Archives - Marissa Henley

I thought I should check in with my Christmas-By-December-1 friends . . . how’s everybody doing? We went on vacation for a week before Thanksgiving, so I’ve had to cut myself just a little slack this year. I have a couple of loose ends to tie up, but for the most part, all my gifts are purchased and wrapped, and one has even been gifted. (You know who you are, waffle girl.) I’m tracking down a few more addresses, but the bulk of the cards are in the mail. My house is decorated, which is extra special because my sweet friends decorated for me last year when I was receiving chemo–and that was so great of them, but this year unpacking all those boxes myself made me smile. 🙂 Plus, I made these red sparkly letters to put on my mantle (inspired by Pintrest), and I love them.

I have no Christmas cookies stocked in my freezer and no plans to do a ton of baking this year. (Sorry, people, we went to Disney World instead. It was worth it. But you’re not getting little tins of baked goods from me this year.) But my kids and I are three chapters into “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” and seeing Will’s reactions to hearing about the Herdmans for the first time makes me even happier than decorating my own house.

If you have made the effort to get most or all of your Christmas preparations finished, what are your plans for December? I have made a list (thanks again, Pintrest) of all the things I’d like to do with my kids. I made this frame look festive and wrote the list in dry erase marker on the glass:

Most of these things will probably happen in the week after school gets out. But we’ve already started memorizing Luke 2, and we snuggled under blankets by the tree tonight to read about Imogene Herdman finding out what everyone weighed in the health office.

What are you all doing to make Christmas special this year? After all, the purpose of getting our preparations done early isn’t to sit back feel prideful about it. The purpose is to focus on the birth of Christ and celebrate with our families in a way that honors our Savior. I’d love to hear your ideas!

P.S. For any of my blog readers who aren’t on facebook, I had my scans last week and got a great report. Praise the Lord!

I know, I know . . . you’re just trying to get through Halloween and Thanksgiving without having chest pains every time you walk into Hobby Lobby and are ~~forced to think about how Christmas is almost upon you, with all it’s stress and busyness~~ reminded about the upcoming celebration of our Savior’s birth and all it’s wonderful traditions and fun!

A couple of years ago, I discovered a new (to me) way of preparing for Christmas that has revolutionized my experience of Advent, the month of December, and the celebration of Christ’s birth. I have started planning to finish all of my Christmas preparations–shopping, wrapping, mailing cards, etc.–by December 1. I’ve found that it makes a huge difference in my energy level and enthusiasm by the time Christmas arrives if I’ve spent the weeks leading up to it enjoying Advent activities with my family rather than running myself ragged, fighting crowds at Target and wrapping gifts until midnight.

The key to this strategy is planning. The way I plan is by making a long list of everything that needs to happen and then work backwards, scheduling it out and figuring out when I need to start each task. For example, I can’t mail Christmas cards until I have a Christmas card. I won’t have a Christmas card unless I order one. I can’t order one unless we take a family photo. I can’t take a family photo until everyone has color-coordinated outfits to wear. (That’s just how I roll.) So each of these tasks is on my checklist. That way, I don’t get to the end of November, realize no one has anything to wear in a family photo for the Christmas card I want to mail out next week, and go running to the mall on Black Friday to try to find something. (Nightmare!)

I apologize for not getting this post up sooner. I started my preparations at the end of September. But it’s not too late! Every bit you get done ahead of December 1 will mean less stress for you in November. Sit down right now and make your list!

To help you, click below for an example of my checklist to get you started. Once you try it, you’ll never go back!

December 1 Checklist

Are You Ready?

Just 67 days until Christmas!