Planning out your Christmas.

So I have been very busy making, planning, and buying supplies for Christmas gifts...  Yeah like most I usually bite off more then I can chew.

I always make at least a homemade ornament but this year I am quite determined to make a lot of my gifts at least for most people.  One person in particular has asked for only one thing LOTS OF COFFEE!!! lol. You know who you are.  Living in various areas of the country I too learned that there was really only one coffee i could drink without getting the shakes.  and since I can understand the absolute necessity for drinkable coffee  maybe I will have to get creative with its presentation.

To save some stress i always try to plan as much as I can ahead of time.  Yes I realize the dreaded "BLACK FRIDAY" has come and gone and maybe some of this would have helped more before but in the last few years I have seen just as good deals closer to Christmas as there is black friday.  In fact this year I didnt venture out to any of the big dept stores.  So hopefully this will help you recollect and get organized after the chaos and remember what you got and what your plans were.

So here is what has worked for me in the past.  I take a notebook and list out ALL the people I plan to buy gifts for and a dollar amount/value I wish to spend on their gifts.  Some will have a whole page to themselves (Depending on who they are and the dollar amount) and sometimes I will list a whole family down the side of one page.  For example my children, husband and I each have our own page, my extended family gets about a half a page each, and friends are listed with a few lines each.

You could do this in an email as well but I like having something tangible I can take shopping with me.  This notebook becomes my ideas, brainstorms and eventual shopping list.  I also use it to list prices I saw at various stores or websites.

Once I buy things I list it in the book with the $ value AND the amount spent if I got it on sale.  this helps me stay on budget and also lets me know if I hit my limit for the person yet or if  hit my VALUE even without hitting dollars spent (due to thrifty shopping).

I also put on their lists handcrafted ideas and use the back pages to help plan out shopping lists for those ideas.

This year I am planning to make some "Holiday Survival Kits"  I am still not sure what will end up in them but a few ideas are pancakes in a jar (for Christmas morning breakfast), some cocoa (for after sledding), popcorn (for watching a holiday movie), coffee, maybe a decoration for the house, and possibly some adult beverages.
So this is all listed in my book and as I think of things I add it.

Does this mean everything in my book will be bought or made....  Absolutely not but it keeps me from forgetting those great ideas, or buying too much for one person and forgetting others.

I hope these ideas help you have a smoother holiday.

Please comment with your ideas for staying organized and on track this season.

~Melissa