6 week countdown to CHRISTMAS
13th November 2017
Last year I left my Christmas shopping very last minute, and instead of feeling festive and merry, I felt panicked and stressed for the whole month of December, desperately trying to find meaningful/good presents for my friends and family. On Christmas day it didn’t even feel like Christmas to me! I’d spent too much time worrying – Of course, Christmas isn’t all about presents but you want to be able to give people special things, whilst also enjoying what is the most wonderful time of the year. So, as it is 6 weeks until Christmas I thought I would write down a list of things I need to do to get myself organised and prevent last year’s desperate struggle. I thought I would share it with everyone too, just in case you were also me last year. This is my little guide on how to get organised, so you can fully enjoy the build-up to Christmas and feel the spirit not stress!
6 WEEKS TO GO
At this stage, we are all feeling pretty chilled. Summer is long gone, and we are comfortably settling into this cold, dark time of year. Hey, this sounds like a good time to organise Christmas day, right? Just making some arrangements, having an idea in your head of the day and who you’ll be spending it with is a good thing to think about now if you haven’t already. If you are hosting, this could also be a good time to slowly declutter, get all your hygge necessities out and start to get in the spirit, with lots of time ahead to plan before the rush begins.
5 WEEKS TO GO
Another week closer. It still feels a long way away, but it’s not. So we should all think about the plans for that day, whether any guests are staying, or where you are staying? Maybe you might want to sort your guest room out a little? Make it look really cosy and comfy. Also, this is a good and safe time to start picking up a few little gifts for people. The shops aren’t too busy or overflowing with the same meaningless Christmas tat we see every year on offer. Christmas shopping during week 5 is relaxing, even fun! Knowing that you are so organised, making moves nice and early, can you hear that sigh of satisfaction?
4 WEEKS TO GO
How exciting. A month until the big day, you really can’t get away from it now. But you can sit smug, knowing you’re ahead of the late Christmas shoppers and you’ve done the first round of dreaded present picking, well done you. In this 4 week period, it is very necessary to watch many Christmas movies (Elf is an essential) because they really do give you that feeling, even just a little hint of Christmas magic. If your house is not already fully decorated from the front door onwards, it is time to drag those plastic containers from your attic/garage and plug those fairy lights in immediately. You could also organise the feast for the day; nibbles, starters, snacks, the Christmas lunch, dessert, drinks, it’s all got to be there! If you’re a guest you could offer to bring a contribution toward the meal, I’m sure it will be appreciated.
3 WEEKS TO GO
This would be a good point to be finishing off that Christmas shopping, which is hopefully mounting under your bed and waiting to be wrapped. At Cotes mill we have such a cool selection of gifts, old or new, for all kinds of ages. Not tacky gifts either, nice chunky books or handmade ceramic mugs, quite special gifts to buy and receive. If you don’t have time to go shopping in search of the perfect gift, Amazon really is amazing, book yourself a free 30 day trial with Amazon Prime if you’re a new member, and receive your order the next day! I’m pretty sure you can get nearly anything on Amazon, and I’m sure it saves so many people near Christmas. Sending out Christmas cards with 3 weeks to go is pretty good going too, it will make you feel super festive and majorly organised, with still a couple of weeks to go!
2 WEEKS TO GO
Wow, it’s pretty soon now. And if you’ve followed this guide, you should be feeling great, relaxed and just excited, knowing you’ve got pretty much everything sorted and you can just enjoy this time and look forward to some time off work too. Now would be a good time to wrap all of your presents though, which always takes longer than you think. Especially if you are awful at wrapping presents like me. Another thing you could do is set the table for the Christmas meal. Maybe it is a little too early to do that… but i’d love it when my mum would set our dining room table really nicely a week or 2 before, with pretty crackers, berries, gold plates, it was THE Christmas table setting and it definitely makes it feel more like Christmas.
1 WEEK TO GO
You should try to make this week nice and relaxed. Christmas is a busy period, but it’s about spending time with your family, appreciating all that you have and sharing kindness with others. Don’t let stress get in the way or ruin this last week for yourself, it only comes around once a year so you may as well just enjoy it, even if this guide didn’t go to plan. With one week to go, you can kind of just hang around with your friends and family and wait for the day to come, eating lots of festive treats .
I hope you’ve enjoyed this short blog and it has maybe made you feel a little more relaxed about Christmas. I think one of the most important things to remember is not to have such high expectations. If you think every present, meal or event is going to be perfect, you’ll always be disappointed. Spending the day with loved ones and good food is all you need to make Christmas truly perfect.
