Tips to Help You Prepare for the Best Christmas Ever
I can’t even believe the Christmas season is upon us yet again! Every year, I become so excited when it rolls around. I often feel like a little kid during this time of year who exudes a childlike innocence during this beautiful season. However, I also realize I’m an adult, so I find it’s important to be as prepared as possible. Especially if you are hosting, getting a game plan together is imperative to your success. Join me as I share some tips to help you prepare for the best Christmas ever.
Plan out the recipes you’re going to use ahead of time.
First, let’s talk about a favorite part of the season: Food. Our worlds revolve around food, especially when we near the holiday season. While we love food, it can also be a great source of stress. Many people are hosting dinners and parties which always involve eating. If you’re a control freak like me, you like to be in charge of the food and oftentimes will make it yourself! While that can be a great thing, you don’t want it to stress you out.
A tip is to begin planning your food as early as possible. If you make the same recipes year after year, this makes things a good bit easier since you know what to expect! You can even go a step further and list out all of the ingredients in each recipe you use along with the quantities. This way, when it comes time to plan for holiday gatherings, you already have a list of what grocery items you’ll need when making the food.
RELATED: Check out my Classic Thanksgiving Menu + Grocery List (Free downloads!)
Have physical copies of the recipes.
Ok, so part of why I included this tip is because I am very much a “pen and paper” gal. I’m pretty old school and love having physical copies of recipe at my fingertips. There’s something nostalgic about it that reminds me of baking with my grandmother. One of my favorite things I own is called The Mennonite Community Cookbook, which features of TON of great Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. I actually have my grandma’s copy with all of her little notes throughout it.
Anyway…Nostalgia isn’t the only reason I feel it’s better to have hard copies of the recipes you’ll be using. For one thing, it makes it easy when planning. You can make notes, highlight, cross things out. You can do that digitally. Another reason is that it removes the distraction that is technology. After starting my own blog, I understand why recipe posts are so long and why there are a million ads on someone’s website. However, it’s still annoying to have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to get to the recipe and just as annoying to keep clicking out of ads and pop-up boxes. With a physical copy of a recipe, it’s a lot easier to focus on the recipe you’re making.
Stick with beloved, tried and true recipes. Or keep new recipes simple.
It seems like time is not on our side during the holidays. There’s often a sense of feeling rushed and like we’re under a lot of pressure. As fun as it is to try new recipes, if you’re hosting and are in a time crunch, it’s probably not the time to do that. Honestly, it’s best to stick with what you know and build on that. There’s a time and a place for new recipes. If you’re trying a new recipe that requires four ingredients and ten minutes of prep time, it’s probably ok to try them out for a gathering; however, if you see a beautiful, five-layer peppermint mocha mousse cheesecake on Pinterest, you may want to save that for a lazy Sunday afternoon. The goal is to keep yourself as least stressed as possible. New recipes are fun, but not when they create anxiety.
Mix up cookie dough ahead of time and freeze it
This is a tip I started using in the last two years and it’s a game changer! I will typically bake at least 10-12 kinds of cookies and most of them are drop cookies. This works really well for chocolate chip cookies, white chocolate peppermint, peanut butter blossoms, and almost any other kind of drop cookie. It’s also very easy. All you do is mix up your cookie dough, roll the dough into balls, flash freeze on a tray lined with parchment paper, and then put into Ziploc bags. You can keep your frozen cookie dough in the freezer for up to three months and it makes things so much easier.
What I typically end up doing is just pulling out a few of the balls of dough and baking only what I need. It saves so much time and then I have fresh cookies for almost any event! You can also just bake your cookies and freeze them but I feel like the cookies don’t stay all that fresh in the freezer for very long. If you plan to do this, I wouldn’t keep them in the freezer for more than 2-3 weeks.
Procure supplies during off times of the year.
If you are a newer hostess like I am, you probably don’t have many supplies. I’ve only been hosting for about a year, so it’s taking time to build up my arsenal of hosting supplies. If you wait until close to the holiday season, supplies can become expensive. To avoid this, procure supplies throughout the year, during months where there isn’t much going on, like in March and June. You can also look for supplies right after a holiday. They tend to get marked down as stores sell the excess inventory. In any case, it’s a good idea to take note of what you need and buy throughout the year. That way, you have the supplies you’ll need for holiday gatherings.
Use organization tools like checklists, calendars, and schedules
I am an organizational freak! I love organization tools and use them frequently. It’s helped me stay in control and have a plan so I don’t get stressed out. I typically start by mapping out my calendar for November and December to figure out what events I’ll be hosting or attending. From there, I determine my food lists, grocery lists, timelines, checklists, and schedules. It really helped me with Thanksgiving this year. You can check out all of my organizational hacks I used for Thanksgiving in this post.
Take inventory of decorations you already have.
This one requires you to get out your decorations a little early. If you love Christmas as much as I do, this won’t be a problem! Between Christmas last year and this year, you probably don’t remember what decorations you have. A good idea is to take inventory of the decorations you currently have.
You can do this a few ways. The first way is to separate your decorations into different boxes either by room or item category (Lights, figurines, ornaments, etc.). Then, write or type up what’s in each box and/or what room the decorations get used. Tape it to the side of the box and then you’ll clearly see what you have. Another idea is to take pictures of how in space in your home is decorated. I tend to stick with the same scheme each year, so having pictures to reference each year makes decorating a breeze!
Plan this year’s decorations.
After taking inventory of your current decorations, it’s then a good idea to plan how you’ll decorate this year. This is especially important if you plan to make any changes or if you’ve moved. Going from a smaller space like an apartment to a bigger space like a single family home will potentially require more decorations. You know your space well and can probably envision how you want it to be filled. When in doubt, Pinterest is always a great source of inspiration!
Purchase nonperishables early.
The beauty of planning early is that you know exactly what you need. Most people who make food for holiday gatherings use nonperishable items. The great thing about them is they last a LONG time. If you have the space to store them, there is nothing wrong with buying canned goods and other nonperishables at least three to six months ahead of time. Some will even keep for more than a year!
Create a gift list and set a budget.
You may already be on top of this, but it can’t be said enough. Creating a gift list has mentally saved me. I usually start this in early November at the latest and build on it as I found out what my loved ones want. I used to go WAY overboard with gifts and would buy them on a whim. I love giving gifts, probably more than receiving them, so I wanted as many gifts as possible. The problem I ran into is that I spent entirely too much money on many gifts that were never used. Now, I buy fewer but more meaningful gifts. I also do my best to stick to a budget, but as a gift giver, this doesn’t always happen! I recommend pricing out how much your gifts will cost and setting aside money throughout the year for them.
Stay on top of cleaning and decluttering.
This is possibly the tip that will get the most excuses. We live in a society that is SO busy and where most married couples have husband and wife who are both working. Then there are the kids and their activities. However, we are called to take care of our homes (1 Timothy 3:4-5, 1 Timothy 5:14). I believe part of this involves physical care, just like we care for our bodies.
I don’t think my home needs to be spotless, but think of how much more peaceful you feel with a clean home. You don’t need to spend hours a day cleaning. However, simple tasks like tidying up and making sure the dishes get done before bed can go a long way. Work to carve out 10-15 minutes a day. Trust me, you probably have the time, you just need to manage it properly. You will thank yourself when the holidays get closer and you aren’t stressing over cleaning.
Turn to local calendars and guides to plan for activities for your family.
This is a fun tip! Here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, we love our Christmas and holiday activities. Unfortunately, there are so many that you probably don’t have time to hit up all the local events. A fun idea is to make a list and pick your favorites. If you have children, this is a great way to involve them. Have them each pick one or two activities they really want to go to. You may even want to consider expanding your search and taking a day trip outside of your local area.
Enjoy the season and resonate in the reason for celebrating.
Last and most importantly, take some time and remember why we celebrate this season. Despite all of the commercialism and consumerism, we celebrate our Savior, Jesus Christ. When you strip away all of the secular reasons to celebrate, Christmas becomes much more peace filled. The gifts, cookies, and decorations are added merriment. God sent his Son for us in the most humble way and it’s imperative that we honor Him throughout the season.
I hope you love this time of year as much as I do. We get to celebrate the birth of our Savior while enjoying all that Christmas has to offer. If you found inspiration in this post, please check out my other posts. And stay tuned for more holiday cheer to come throughout the season! Cheers and blessings.
