So it is October 2nd and what have you done to get ready for Christmas? Now you may still be figuring out what Halloween costumes to make but now is really the time to figure out how your season is going to be celebrated. Which feast days will you celebrate with the children? Will you need special items from the craft store? Special ingredients from the grocery store? Will you need to pick up a different cake pan or cookie cutters?
Now is the time to plan for these special days so that you will be free to really enjoy the time and traditions with your family, rather than running around frantically at the last minute trying to make a Currier and Ives moment happen. Trust me it won't.
So how do you plan? What do you decide now and what do you leave until later? You don't want to be so organized that you approach the season as if it were a military exercise and your family are the troops in your little yuletide army. You want to be relaxed and organized enough so that spontaneity can happen without disrupting your whole life. You want to be welcoming to guests and not frantically tossing dishes into the oven and spraying Lemon Pledge around the living room to make people think it's clean (I've done this).
There a couple of great resources out there to help you get a handle on all of this. We all know (although some of people hate to hear it) that the best way to get organized is to first de-clutter. You are going to need space to keep any gifts that you buy or make and you are going to need space to keep any craft or decorating items you buy for use later. You will also need some extra room in your pantry for more baking and cooking supplies than you would normally buy. Believe me it will reduce a lot of stress if you clear out and area now to keep things in rather than trying to cram a closet door shut while little people are coming into the room demanding to know what is in that bag you are wrestling into the closet.
I highly recommed that you make up a Christmas notebook. Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight has a wonderful post (that was the whole inspiration for this blog - thank you dear Dawn) about her Christmas prep and her lovely Christmas journal. Read this post. You will be singing carols and looking up your favorite eggnog recipe as soon as you are finished.
Next I recommend one of two great resources. Flylady has a Christmas Control Journal. Alice recommended that I check this out and it really is worth the time. It istotally free and very comprehensive. You print it out and put it in three-ring binder and there you go, you are on the way to organization.Flylady's theme is "Cruising Your Way Through The Holidays" She gives lots of good advice about getting your home ready for the holidays and many pages that help you customize the journal to your celebrations. There are pages to plan menus, budget for gifts, plan any travel you may be doing and just lots of good advice. Flylady breaks everything down into 15 minute increments so nothing is terribly overwhelming. If you spent only fifteen minutes a day getting ready for Christmas that would be many, many hours (don't ask me how many - I'm a writer not a math person) of prep in a relatively painless way.
Another great resource is Organized Christmas. This website is an offshoot of Organized Home and the author brings the same common sense to her Christmas prep as she does to her everyday website. There are many free pages to print out and include in your notebook. Christmas countdown planner pages, week by week checklists, Christmas card pages, cleaning checklists, and many more. You can even print a cover for a three ring binder.
Once you get the bare bones of your notebook printed out it is time to customize or Catholicize. Print out a calendar and write in all of the liturgical days you wish to celebrate. Do yourself a favor and don't try to do it all. Not everyday will require a big craft or cooking extravaganza. Sometimes a story or a short explanation of the day is all that you will have time for. That's fine. It is important not to wear yourself to a frazzle trying to be "Saint I Can Do Everything Christmas".
For each day that you wish your celebration to be more elaborate make a list of activites you'll do and the supplies you'll need. Make a note on the calendar for about a week before to make sure you remember what you need. It might even be easier to make all of your lists out and then make one big shopping excursion to pick up everything you need. I would also do the same for any homemade gifts you plan to make. Make a list of the gifts, make a list of the supplies and then head out for a few hours to get everything all at once. If necessary trade babysitting with a friend to get out of the house alone and get more accomplished.
Once you've got your lists and celebrations planned you can pretty up your notebook and make it your own. Print out a favorite prayer or devotion and put it right in front. Remember why you are doing all of this work, and it is work. You are preparing to welcome the Saviour into your home. He is coming to save the world and it is the happiest of occasions. Make each chore a prayer for the world and for your family. For every hour you spend working on your Christmas preparation make it an offering for those who need the salvation Jesus came to give. You can find a way to make each thing you do this season a Act of Hope and that will do more to make this the best Christmas than anything you'll place under the tree.
I hope you enjoy planning your notebook and putting it together. It can be a resource you refer to for years to come so make sure it is something you find pleasant to work with. Encourage your children to make their own Christmas notebooks. When they leave home to raise their own families these can become treasured keepsakes and a new family tradition.
If you are feeling really organized why not make a notebook as a gift? If you are a scrapbooker I am sure you could make a beautiful presentation and if you are not there are lots of kits and pretty papers in the stores now that may inspire you.
So, this week's assignment; begin your decluttering and get your notebook together. Enjoy!