How to Stay Organized Over the Holidays

The holiday season is a time of year filled with plenty of fun, many events and not enough hours in the day. It’s hard to stay organized over the holidays.

When people find themselves stretched too thin, requiring more time and money to enjoy the season with friends and family it’s important to have a game plan in place to avoid schedule overload, financial stress, and just plain exhaustion.

Staying organized over the holidays will help you get ahead of the busy time of year, reducing stress and allowing you to fully enjoy the season.

How to Stay Organized Over the Holidays

Plan Events

As soon as you get invites and plan events, write them all down on the calendar. This includes plays, parties, shows, and parades. Then make a comprehensive list of everything you will require for each event. Whether that means finding a new outfit, creating a dish for a potluck or ensuring you have a secret Santa gift on hand, making a map of the things to do will help to make sure you accomplish them. Give each thing a timeline and complete it as soon as possible. Hosting a Holiday Party? We’ve got great tips for a Budget-Friendly Christmas Party.

Shopping

Create a holiday shopping list for gifts, groceries and even decorations. If you aren’t organized and prepared, shopping can be extremely time-consuming and chances are you will miss important items. You will want to write down the names of everyone you have to purchase gifts for, set a budget and come up with a few good gift-giving options to choose from for each. Grocery lists depend on what you will be cooking, baking and hosting so refer to your events calendar. Stock up on any non-perishables you will require ahead of time to make sure you are prepared for that, leaving you only needing the perishables to create a recipe. We have some great gifts for pet lovers, adults, foodies, and coffee lovers.

Cooking and Baking

At the start of the holiday season, plan out what you will be baking and when you will be baking it. Create a favorites list that you can refer to year after year, making sure to include recipes and details to save you time. Bake anything that you can freeze ahead of time to make it easier down the road. Our favorites? Toffee Shortbread Meltaways, 5 Ingredient Christmas Bark, Chocolate Cupcakes with Eggnog Buttercream and the make-ahead Christmas morning solution, our delicious French Toast Bake.

Holiday Cards

Mailing holiday cards out on time can seem impossible some years, especially if you make it a time-consuming task by writing special notes inside each card. Keep your card list as simple as possible, organized on a spreadsheet with addresses. Give yourself a few days to write out your cards but schedule their mailing date on the calendar so you are aware of when they must be finished. Don’t forget to pick up stamps ahead of time to avoid having to scramble to the store.

Gift Wrapping

Stock up on gift wrap, tags, and bows early in the season. You won’t want to have to run to the store last second to purchase wrapping paper. Set up a gift-wrapping station complete with scissors, a pen, tape, tissue, ribbons and bows and gift tags where you will wrap all the presents.

Decorating

Decorating for the holidays takes lots of time a dedication, especially when you are decorating both the interior and exterior of your home. Schedule a weekend when the weather is good and get the outdoor décor up as soon as possible. You don’t have to turn them on, but if you get them up before the cold weather is in full force, it will be much easier. Schedule a day to decorate your indoor space, complete with holiday music and hot chocolate.

There are several ways to stay organized over the holiday season, just make sure to make lists and schedules and stick to them. In no time, you will be rocking around the tree and having an organized holiday.