Getting ready for the holiday season can be stressful, so typically, I like to push the stress off until the last minute! There’s nothing like running out to Target two days before Christmas, right!? This year, I decided to start my preparations early and hopefully reduce the holiday stress. Come along and let’s get ready for Christmas, together!

Budget

Creating a budget for the season will make shopping a thousand times easier. This way, you can figure out who you’ll be buying for and how much you’d like to spend on each individual. You can use this as a hard rule or a loose suggestion, whatever fits your budget. Pro tip: include yourself in the budget, too. You deserve a little something!

Schedule

If you’re a “go with the flow” type of person, than getting a schedule together this early may seem unnecessary but it can be soooo helpful (especially for parents with little ones!). Are we traveling to my parents home? The In-Laws? Friends? Going out for food? Figure it all out now and make a plan so that everyone can create their schedules accordingly!

Get shopping

Shopping early never hurts. I started to grab the things I wanted to get for other people when I saw it, rather than creating a list and going out for it later. No more huge stressful shopping trips to get everything at once! Plus, shopping now will give stores more time to ship your orders instead of being backed up later.

Pick your recipes

Food has always been a major point of stress for the holidays, especially parties. I want to make unique recipes each year, while still featuring the traditional favorites we all love! Choosing the main dishes and a few sides now will help with food prep and give you one more thing to check off your list.

Take your pictures now

We take holiday pictures every year and booking a session close to the season can be hard! Openings are limited, so take your pictures now. Especially if you want your pictures taken inside, no one will know they were taken a month or two early! This gives you way more time to order your holidays cards, too.

Cards, stamps & addresses

Stocking up early has been my goal this year, so cards and stamps are no different. The holiday stamps are always gone by the typical time I send out my Christmas cards, anyway! This year, I grabbed a pack early and picked up a few blank cards that I knew I’d be giving out with gifts. I also complied the addresses of friends and family that I’ll be sending holiday cards to so December will be a breeze.

Whether you’re ready to celebrate Christmas in the middle of July or you’re stilling prepping a few days before, the joy will all be the same! At the end of the day, your family will remember how happy they felt - not what presents they received, what they snacked on, or how the house was decorated.

Are you an early-prepper or a last-minute shopper? Let me know in the comments below!