Get the Jump on Christmas: Start Now

Every December at least one friend has to remind me of how unorganized I am by saying, with a smirk, "Aren't you finished with your shopping, yet? I always have mine done by the end of September." Don't you just hate it when someone does that?

Well, no more.

The other day, I noticed that I actually have a few weeks in the middle of winter that aren't crammed with places to go, stuff to do, meetings to attend, and a dozen unexpected chores that squeeze their way into my hectic schedule. Why not take advantage of this lull, I thought? And, I did.

First, let me tell you that I'm not quite as inept as I may have led you to believe. I usually do my share of getting in on the after-Christmas sales where you can buy Christmas cards for a dollar a box and holiday decorations for half off. This year was no exception, so, tucked away in a drawer dedicated to Christmas stuff, I had two boxes of gorgeous Christmas cards and a few stocking stuffers I just couldn't resist.

Hmm, I thought. What would keep me from addressing all these cards now, in the middle of February, while a trillion other things aren't vying for my attention? Nothing at all. So, I sat down at my computer, brought up my address list, and soon had a card addressed to every person we usually exchange cards with.

You wouldn't believe how proud I felt. I was almost tempted to call the friend who always finishes her Christmas chores early, and casually mention that my cards for 2009 are addressed and ready to go. (Well, not quite ready to go. I did sign them, but plan to write a short Christmas newsletter later in the year to stick in each envelope before dropping the whole batch into the mailbox, but the envelopes have always been the biggest chore for me.) Of course, there may also be a few people who move during the year, but it would be a small matter to do one or two envelopes over again.

I resisted calling a friend to crow, but, carried away by the boost in spirits getting the envelopes done had provided, I came up with another way I could take care of Christmas busywork ahead of time. I found an empty drawer in my sewing room and labeled it, "Christmas Drawer." Here are the things my Christmas Drawer now contains.

1. Thirty-Seven Signed, Pre-Addressed Christmas Cards.

The cards, addressed with red ink, of course, are in a small cardboard box, waiting patiently in their bright envelopes to have a Christmas letter or hand-written message added just before sealing and mailing them on the 10^th of December, a day I arbitrarily picked for their departure. (Of course I saved a few blank cards for new people who may come into our lives this year, and some extra envelopes for the few cards that may need to be re-addressed for one reason or another.)

2. A Loose-Leaf Christmas Notebook.

This is probably the most important part of my plan to finish the hustle and bustle part of Christmas early, so take a little time, now, to plan carefully and to make sure you don't leave a lot of things out.

In this notebook, I listed everything I needed to accomplish before Christmas, and the latest possible date for each thing to be done. I also put a check box by each one so that I could indicate when each job is finished.

My list has things like, purchase Christmas cards, address Christmas cards, write our Christmas newsletter, purchase gifts, plan the Christmas dinner, buy a tree, decorate tree, hang wise men flag outside, set up indoor nativity scene, invite guests for Christmas dinner, etc. (Hooray! My card and envelope addressing are already checked off for this year.)

Your list may differ from mine, but the important thing is to have every possible task on your list and to start checking each one off as soon as possible. My list may be much more detailed than yours. For example, I may list "check Christmas tree lights," or "buy 2 cans of snow to decorate living room windows," when you might prefer to just say, "get decorations out of attic. The point is to make a list that you can live with.

3. A gift idea notebook.

This can be made from a section of your loose-leaf Christmas notebook, or recorded in a separate smaller notebook. I chose to use a small 5x7 spiral notebook, and, in it, I listed everyone we normally buy gifts for, skipping a couple of lines between each name.

Now, during the year, whenever one of those people on the list expresses a desire for an item that would make an appropriate Christmas gift, or if an idea for a gift pops into my head, I plan to add that item under his or her name. This is going to make Christmas shopping so-o-o much easier this year. It will also allow me to watch for sales on some of the items in order to cut back on Christmas spending.

4. An up-to-date address book listing people we send cards to every year.

This will save me time thumbing through my regular address book which contains the plumber, the dentist, the TV repairman, the paperboy, etc. I also recorded the list in a computer to use in actually addressing envelopes, but having the list in a handy little notebook will help me make quick additions and corrections when I may not be able to get to my computer for a while.

As 2009 rolls by, I'm sure I will think of other things to add to my Christmas Drawer. A new design for the front window, directions for making home-made decorations ornaments, new cookie recipes to try, and even a few stocking stuffers I may see on sale from time to time.

Who knows, I may even turn into the type of insufferable friend who brags about being ready for Christmas 3 months ahead of time this year.