Simplify Your Holidays!
Be Prepared!
The Holidays are here, ready or not! In my experience it’s a much better experience if you come prepared and ready! I felt the first blog post this Holiday Season should be focused on a tool that will keep you organized throughout the whole season! Create a Holiday Binder! To make the binder the most effective…. Create it soon and early in the season!
What is a Holiday Binder? A holiday binder is your one place to put everything you need for the next two months! The binder is personalized and will only have what is relevant to you! It could be filled with ideas, tips, blog posts printouts, your calendar, etc. So many options, so many reasons to have one!
Why Create a Binder? Simple, really… To keep you enjoying the holidays and not stressing over all the details! When you designate one area to be the catch all for the season, you feel more in control of your time, your space, and everything going on around you!
Before creating the binder, I encourage you to brainstorm all of the events, ideas, traditions, everything you think you need to do or plan for prior to deciding the categories for binder. This will give you a clear idea of what your personal binder should look like.
Supplies Needed: This is the best part, to create the binder is very inexpensive! All you need is 3 ring binder, divider tabs with pockets, and a 3 hole punch.
Ideas of what can go into your binder:
November and December Calendars – Have two clear, empty calendars available to start listing the activities and special events you need to plan for. These calendars give you the ability to visually see when and what needs to be done. For example; instead of forgetting it’s time to take family photos for the Christmas photos you can note in November when this needs to be done in order to get the cards back in time. You can note on the calendar when you need to get your out of town gifts sent off. You can write down when you are going to do certain traditions, etc. It’s all about planning and being prepared!
Holiday Budget – Create a reasonable budget and be sure to stick to it. The holidays are not about going into debt. Write down all of the expenses you expect and and plan for each one.
Gift List – Create a list of people you need to shop for, and write down ideas as you go along. You never know when an idea may pop up and now you have a place to record it! Next to the name have your budget in mind when buying the gift.
Holiday Meal Planner – This is a great time to take advantage of the TCO meal planning worksheets, especially if you have guests in town, the busier you are, the more planning involved! Be prepared by planning your meals and your grocery list ahead of time!
Holiday Recipes – I am always seeing great ideas in magazines and online… Print them out and place them in this section of your binder, when you are ready to try something new, now you have a place to find it!
Holiday Ideas – Same as the recipes, when you find a cute decoration idea or a great article, save it by placing it in your holiday ideas!
Holiday Baking – We all have our favorite recipes and memories of holiday baking. Create your plan, recipes, lists, etc, keep it all in one spot!
Family Traditions – What are they? Take a few minutes to write down what your traditions are and when you plan on doing them, list out new ideas and thoughts to go over with the family. Print out articles you see, anything that inspires you.
Holiday Activities - Many towns have great holiday activities to join in. When you see something on the news or in the newspaper, jot it down. Make a list of activities you want to do with your kids, whether it arts and crafts, or taking a trip to see Santa. Again, the point is to have one place to go when you need the information of when, where, and what!
Travel Plans – If traveling is part of your season, be prepared and have all of your information in one place. Flight information, tickets, the TCO Packing Checklist to keep your packing organized!
Daily Schedule (To Do List) – Print off a few extra TCO Daily Schedules to get you through the holiday season! This a great tool to use on those really busy days, be sure to plan into the day what your tasks are and be specific! This will make your to do list a done list!
As you can see there are so many options!
When the holidays have passed and you are packing up your decorations, take note of what worked well this season and what could be improved for next year, and then pack up your holiday planner and re-use it next year!
Happy Holidays!
Happy Organizing!
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