Holiday planning tips for busy moms.

 

Let’s be realistic, without proper planning, the holidays are anything but a holiday, mainly for busy working moms. Just look at the list of things that need to be done: Shopping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, sending holiday mail, the list goes on and on. In this post, I will give you practical Holiday planning tips for busy moms that will allow you to enjoy the season and relax more. Ready? Let’s begin.

First of all, you should start by asking yourself, do you prefer to have a holiday season free of stress and worry, and instead filled with fun and laughter?. What types of holiday celebrations sounds better to you? For example: Do you want to have an immediate family only holiday, or a holiday including immediate and maybe extended family plus a few friends? Once you’ve thought everything through and decided on the type of holiday gathering you would like, you can then start making your plans. If you are ready to start organizing and planning your holiday then keep reading.

1. Planning the Holiday Cards.

Start early! I use a holiday card list that I derive from saving names and addresses from holiday cards my family has received in past years. I created a simple, computerized list that is easy to edit and print onto address labels. Be sure to stock up on stamps so that when you have your cards signed, stuffed and addressed you can affix a stamp to them and make one, simple trip to the Post Office.

2. Planning for the Holiday Gifts.

There’s nothing like getting a HUGE credit card bill in the mail at the start of the New Year. Many of us tend to want to be generous when shopping for holiday gifts. While your generosity will be appreciated at gift giving time, keep in mind that it is very easy to succumb to “impulse buying” and go all out on your holiday shopping. While your intentions may be good, your pocketbook may be singing a different song. Set a budget and stick to it your bank account will thank you for it after the start of the New Year.

3. House cleaning and decorating.

When it comes to cleaning and decorating the house, the key is also to start early. Cleaning comes always first, at least for me. To make it more manageable start with the areas that need the most attention. Followed by the areas of the house that are cleaner. I personally always like to start with the kitchen.

When cleaning is done, the decoration begins, you can start as soon as you like.

Here you have a list of what will help you with the decoration.

• Take a look at what you already have, to find out if you need to buy something extra.
• Make a list of the new decorations you need to buy, to keep yourself in the budget, if you have one.
• Buy things early. But If you can wait, I’ll suggest to buy at the end of the season, you will get better prices.
• Divide your house into sections to start decorating. Example: I like to start with the rooms, and stairs, and finally the first floor, and lastly the decoration outside the house, etc. You get the idea.
• Include the whole family in the decoration, to do it faster with half the work.

4. Wrap the gifts as soon as you buy them.

Wrap your gifts and place nametags on them immediately after you bring them home, then store the gifts in a secure spot. This will cut down on those late-night wrapping sessions that I am sure we ALL have experienced a few times, if not every year.

Keep the receives also in a safe place to make things easy if you have to exchange any items after Christmas.

5. Baking & cooking.

If you will be cooking during the holidays, it is important to plan your meals ahead of time. Be sure to stock up ahead of time on all the necessary non-perishable baking ingredients such as flour, sugar and spices. Create a list of your holiday menus and a list of the ingredients you will need to prepare each of those meals. Also, try to think of a few dishes that can be prepared ahead of time and then frozen as an extra time-saving measure.

This year, for the very first time, I am planning to do a casserole ahead of time to fully enjoy the Christmas morning with my family, I am very excited for that. To find good recipes for Christmas breakfast casserole to prepare ahead of time check this link. 

6. Delegate and/or accept help when holiday planning.

This is one of my favorite tip. Be sure to enlist the help of your family or friends. Sit down and discuss what needs to be done then ask for volunteers. If no hands are raised, simply assign small tasks to each of them. Whether it is arranging for a babysitter so that you can escape for a child-free day of shopping, passing the shopping list onto another family member or friend so that they can pick up the items for you, or letting the children decorate your home. Be sure to get the whole family involved in the holiday preparations so that you will not be overwhelmed.

I hope after these holiday planning tips for busy moms you are able to enjoy the season.

Whatever you decide to do, remember to relax and enjoy yourself and your family. You and your family will have better memories of this holiday season if you are not spending it pulling your hair out next year.

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Final thoughts about the topic.

As you can see, it is possible to plan for the holidays. This was something that I had to implement many years ago because every year when the holidays ended, I felt like I needed a vacation after the holidays. I hope I could inspire you with these Holiday planning tips for busy moms; if you enjoy the reading, share it to help other moms.

Thanks for reading; stay tuned for more posts like this one.

Zadi, xo.