Plan Holidays and Celebrations

Around the year the calendar turns, bringing with it birthdays, holidays, and seasonal celebrations. Happy as they are, these special occasions can derail even the most organized life. Buying gifts, cooking holiday meals, and entertaining have a cost in time and energy—and organization.

To take the chaos out of festive occasions, advance planning really pays off. Plan your way to smooth celebrations around the year with these ideas.

Set Up a Holiday Planner

The command center concept works just as well to organize holiday celebrations, birthdays, or family gatherings as it does to organize everyday life. Set up a designated holiday planner, or add a “holiday planning” section to your life-management center or daily planner.

In it, include a calendar of birthdays, anniversaries and occasions, gift lists and gift ideas, decoration inventories, and ideas for family traditions. Page protectors can hold recipes, decoration inspirations, and gift suggestions, while a receipts envelope makes gift returns easy.

Break It Down and Begin Early

Each December, the holiday season brings a long list of to-dos, along with decorations. Sure, it’s tempting to wait until the spirit moves you to begin preparing for the holidays, but down that path lies grumpy late-night sessions spent wrapping gifts or addressing holiday letters.

To cut the crazy out of Christmas, come up with a plan that breaks down preparations into simple, smaller steps, and then tackle the tasks over several weeks before the season begins. Spreading out the work keeps the joy in the job by preventing seasonal overload and frantic last-minute spending.

When you wait until the last minute to get ready for Christmas, you’re apt to turn to credit cards to finance the festivities. Making a gift list and shopping ahead helps spread the financial burden over several weeks, and makes it easier to stick to cash, not credit. Begin early, because consumer debt is nobody’s idea of a good holiday gift!

Stockpile Gifts and Greetings

Birthdays and anniversaries come once a year, every year—but too many of us celebrate them with a last-minute dash to the shopping mall. Take the pressure off these special occasions by buying and stockpiling gifts throughout the year.

By thinking of loved ones well before their birthdays or anniversaries arrive, you’ll have a chance to find that special, thoughtful gift, without all the last-minute pressure. Maintaining a household supply of suitable gifts for weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries means no last-minute stress when the happy day rolls around. You can simply shop in your own, already-paid-for stockpile.

A small dresser drawer or large shoebox makes an efficient greeting card file for birthday cards, thank-you notes, and condolence cards. Store cards on edge, and use index cards or file folders to divide cards into groups like “birthday” and “sympathy.” Stock up on suitable greeting cards once or twice a year. When you need one, flip through the file to find a suitable sentiment.

SPEEDY SOLUTION

Whenever a friend or family member celebrates a birthday, buy their holiday gift at the same time you buy their birthday present. Because you’re focused on one loved one at a time, it’s easier to find meaningful gifts—and, come December, your budget will thank you!