It’s never too early to think about holiday preparations. Now is the time to start getting ready. I’ll be starting in September with the plan on Organized Christmas. Whatever I do has to be easy and painless, since I won’t have a lot of time.

My holiday breaks up into several categories:

Food
Presents
Cleaning
Visiting

An excellent resource for getting ready for Christmas is Organized Christmas. I’ve been trying to follow the plan for several years now and I get better at it every year. It can be a bit overwhelming, but it’s a good glimpse into the life of people who are more organized than I am.

Now is a good time to sit down and think about what you can get done ahead. If you have space in your pantry/ cabinets, you can start buying the canned and dry foods you normally cook for Christmas and Thanksgiving (note, I come from a US Christian perspective, but these tips are easily adaptable for other regions and religions.) Make a list and buy one or two things off the list every time you go shopping. (Be sure to double-check your recipes so you don’t find yourself missing something when the stores are closed.)

Now is also a good time to start collecting presents, if you haven’t already started. I like to have all of my presents bought before we buy the tree (about the second week of December.) If your kids (or spouse) are very snoopy, find alternate places to hide presents, such as in a friend’s storage room or at work. While you’re thinking about presents, consider cutting back a bit. Look at giving more consumables, especially if you’re trying to give presents to someone who already has everything. You can also do gift donations, such as Heifer International.

I like to make presents. Some good ideas of gifts to make include afghans, pot-holders, decorated jars, baking mixes in jars… you can look at Organized Christmas for more ideas.

Pre-Christmas cleaning is very important. Consider that you probably won’t have time for any deep cleaning after Thanksgiving, so try to get your deep cleaning done before then. Consult lists and guides like the ones on Organized Christmas, but if that’s too much for you, modify them for your own needs.

I’ll be using this book as a guide for the plan. I’ll post a review after I’m done reading it. I’ll also post weekly wrap-ups of my impressions as I go through the plan. If you are also doing the plan, please post your impressions in the comments!