Like many people throughout the country, you may have a love-hate relationship with the holidays. You love being able to visit with friends and family but you may not enjoy having your home life in an upheaval. There are parties to attend, shopping to get done and a house to decorate. When are you going to find the time for everything? The following tips will help you learn how to stay organized and sane this holiday season. Let’s get started!
First and foremost, ensure you get enough rest throughout the holidays. If you’re not sleeping properly, you could become sleep deprived which will add to your stress level. Rather than staying late at holiday parties, it would be better to leave early so you can get your rest.
Make a master list of what you have to do for the holidays. Once you know everything that needs to be done in a given time you’ll be better prepared to accomplish them. Here are some things you may have on your list:
Budget – Set a budget for the things you’ll spend over the holidays for gifts, postage, wrapping materials, food and beverages. Try to purchase things over the course of the months leading to the holidays rather than having to spend everything at once.
Food – Are you having a gathering at your home? What will you serve? How many people will attend? What special foods will you prepare? What shopping will you need to do above your normal grocery shopping?
Preparation – There are many foods which can be made ahead of time rather than spending an entire day or weekend cooking. Pies, cakes, cookies and casseroles are some items you can prepare days to weeks ahead and freeze. Take them out before you need them to give them time to defrost.
Decorations – Purge your current decorations for worn out or broken items. List things which need to be replaced and plan when and where you will get them. Then make plans on when the decorations will actually be put up.
Gifts – Decide who you will be giving gifts to and what you will give. If you make a list to refer to each year it won’t be like recreating the wheel over and over again. Once you know what gifts you need to purchase, you can plan to go shopping.
Shopping – Go shopping when the stores aren’t as full. Most stores are busy after 5 p.m. or on the weekends. Try going during a weekday if possible. Or you could do all of your shopping online so you don’t have to deal with crowded stores at all.
Cleaning – If you’re planning on having company over, you may want to enlist help to get your house cleaned up. Paying someone to do the job can be a viable option if you’re running short on time.
Deadlines – Set some deadlines as to when you would like to have things done. Decide when you’ll have all gift buying done, when you’ll wrap things and when you’ll make goodies. The more you have planned out, the more likely you are to actually meet those deadlines and keep your sanity.
Related: 4 Ways to Relieve Tension and Keep the Peace at Family Gatherings
No matter how many holiday parties you have to attend and no matter how many gifts you have to buy, you can learn how to stay organized and sane this holiday season. There’s no sense in working yourself to a frenzy or feeling like you have to do everything by yourself. Get help if you need it so you can enjoy your friends, family and festivities as well.
