Guess what? It’s 72 days until Christmas! Now, I’m not one to rush the holiday, but the planner in me is already starting to wonder what I can do ahead of time to make the holidays less stressful and less costly.
I used to have a tradition that on Halloween as I sat and waited on trick-or-treaters, I would begin to address my Christmas cards. I usually got a good jump-start and felt like I was preparing ahead in some small way.
My strategy for my cards is a little different this year. Over the weekend I had a little time to work on the computer, so I went to Smilebox by Hallmark and began making a Christmas card. I made a card that encompasses our family’s year in about 15 pictures. Everyone that I have e-mail addresses for are getting the Smilebox card in place of a paper card. It saves the cost of cards and stamps, and I’m sure people would enjoy this more than a card with just our signature on it! The recipients will be able to see in pictures what we did this year without having to read the boring details of our vacation, or our daughter’s wisdom tooth extraction!
Buying gifts ahead of time saves so much money! I begin looking for gifts in the summertime when the clearance sales are everywhere. I also love TJ Maax and Marshall’s because of their great prices. I pop in there frequently and comb the clearance aisles for treasures to tuck away into my gift stash. Last week I got the idea to wrap the gifts as I buy them, so that’s been started as well.
I saw that on Amazon some magazine subscriptions are selling for $10 for a year! I’m planning on picking out a couple for some of the people on my list. A favorite magazine is a gift that gives all year long!
Consumable gifts are always nice too. Spiced nuts made from a simple recipe and put into a decorative jar would be appreciated by the sports fan that could munch away on game night. Homemade cookies in a tin, pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and sprinkles and placed in a cellophane bag and tied with a ribbon, or hot chocolate mix in a jar topped with mini marshmallows would all be great gifts.
Begin now to buy a couple of baking items as you shop for your weekly groceries. If you buy all the nuts, chocolate chips, decorating sugars and dried fruit at one time, your grocery bill will shock you, but buying a couple of non-perishable items each week makes it manageable.
I don’t mean to overwhelm you with thoughts of Christmas in October – it’s bad enough when you walk into Cracker Barrel or a craft store, but just thought I’d encourage you to think ahead and save yourself a little stress and a lot of money!
Do you make a special homemade gift, have a great recipe or a creative idea you use to reduce the stress of the holidays? I’d LOVE to hear about it!
RefreshHer 
Stressful? Never! I LOVE everything about Christmas! I start shopping the day after for the next year and put things away all year and keep a list in my “bill drawer” to keep up with what I've bought so I don't overdo it. I've been done with my shopping except for the 2 most difficult people on my list since July (Including 2 birthdays the first week of January)! I love wrapping so much that I make a whole day (or two) of it and sometimes even wrap some of my parents for them, too! And I never put away my Christmas music, I keep it out all year. Ethan asked for a Christmas tree this week, maybe we'll start on that when I get over this cough 😉
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