17 days till Christmas!!! Eeeek!!!

Actually, I am doing pretty good! Shopping is pretty much done save for a few more things I need to pick up for Kevin. All gifts that have been purchased are wrapped and under the tree. I printed our cards today and those will be addressed and mailed this week. My stocking swap box is pretty much done...just have to package things up cute and send it out. Not as caught up on craft projects as I would like to be, but now that the gifts are cleared out of my craft room I can get in there and get more stuff done.

So this year I didn't get things done as early I wanted to, but I got things done much earlier than I did last year. Hopefully next year I will be done even sooner! :-) My other holiday-obsessed friends and I chat for months, well OK, the whole year, about Christmas prep. And there is a lot to be said about planning in advance. There is so much about December that is magical and wonderful, and you can really miss out on the fun with endless chores hanging over your head. So I thought I would share some tips that helped me this year, and also some things that I knew I should have done but didn't.

1. I know this one sounds obvious, but I can't stress it enough: lists, lists, lists! Luckily, I love to make them. And they help immensely. The key is to start those lists early. I start making holiday lists in the summer. My longing for the holidays usually kicks in hard around late July. I have a shelf in my craft room dedicated to my holiday notebooks and resources. I keep a folder there of running lists.
2. Decorate early. Who says you have to wait till December to put up the Christmas decorations?! It is a lot of work decking those halls. If you have an artificial tree, or trees, like a I do, get it up early! This year our's went up the week before Thanksgiving. I have friends that do it even earlier. The way I look at it is, with all the work we put in to decorating, we want to enjoy it for more than a few months. And there is nothing like turning the calendar to December 1 and knowing that one of the biggest holiday tasks we face is done.
3. The practice of sending Christmas cards seems to be fading. It seems every year I hear of more and more people that choose to forgo this time-honored tradition, yet everyone still loves receiving them. I think email, though wonderful and convenient, has really made things impersonal. And while that seems to be fine the rest of the year, I truly believe Christmas should be all about good old-fashioned snail mail. BUT, that is not to say we can't make things easy for ourselves. I am all for simplifying, too! Let go of the notion that Christmas cards have to be complicated (and as a papercrafter it was VERY hard for me to let go of that thought!). I love pictures with cards, and a few years ago I finally gave myself permission to have cards printed. I still get to send cards out, they are personal, and my family and friends still get a treat in their mailbox!

I have more to share, but, alas, my time-management skills still need some work. I just looked at the clock and realized Kevin will be home shortly and will probably be hungry. I guess since the guy worked all day I could give his some dinner, huh?!