We are taking a closer look at ways to prepare ahead of time for seasonal celebrations for the coming year. Our future self is really going to thank us!
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Today we are chatting about, wait for it…
Christmas. Yes, we are talking about Christmas in February, a whole 11 months before December. Talk about planning ahead!
If your reaction is anything like mine, I have no interest in thinking about the holidays right when just got through them. “On to the next,” I say!
However, Bethany brought up some really good tips so you are intentional about your future holidays.
5 Ways to Plan Ahead for the Seasons
1. Set up an automatic withdrawal at your bank for a small amount each month to go into a savings account marked as your Christmas fund.
2. Reflect on this past Christmas. What are a few things you would do differently or things you loved and want to be sure you do next year? Record your thoughts on a scratch paper and store them with your holiday decorations. You can also keep a doc on your computer or write them on your calendar for this coming year.
This is really a great for any event like parties or travel. I keep a doc on Google Drive that I record notes from our camping trips. Things like our favorite meals, a packing list, and our favorite sites at certain campgrounds are all stored away and remember for next time.
3. Take advantage of Amazon gift list to record gift ideas throughout the whole year. When Christmas or birthdays come around, you have a list all ready to refer. The nice thing about Amazon, you don’t have to remember where you saw what, you can link to other websites on your list.
4. If you have kids, store your favorite of their holiday art projects with your holiday decor. This way everyone can enjoy the artwork instead of having it hiding away in a file box (or lost under clutter). Then when the art has lived a full life, if you want, you can say goodbye to it knowing you enjoyed it season after season.
5. Create a permanent birthday calendar. If you send cards in the mail, we’ve talked about planning ahead and buying a batch of cards a month or two at a time. However, it does help if you have a clear way of remembering who’s birthday or anniversary is coming up.
Often times when we add birthdays to our calendars, they get lost among all the other activities. One system I like is a dedicated page to record birthdays and anniversaries. Then you can refer to your birthday calendar year after year.
In case you don’t have an important dates calendar already, here is a free download to print and keep track of all your Dates to Celebrate!
Links we mentioned:
- Ep 53 Taking the Hectic of the Holidays Part 2
- Ep 5 Kids’ Paper – How I make keepsake file bins for schoolwork.
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‘Birthday calendars’ are something I grew up with. Yes, anniversaries were put on it as well. Are they only a Dutch thing? I think all my Aunts and Uncles had them and most of my friends’ families had them as well. Funny thing is, the most common place for them to be hung is the bathroom 😆. One of my cousins scanned my Grandma’s paintings and made a birthday calendar with them. So now I have a collection of her paintings and reminders of when people’s birthdays are.
My grandma had one too. She kept hers with her greeting cards though, lol!