3 Things You Can Do Now to Avoid Going Crazy (and Broke) This Christmas

I often think the concept of Santa Claus would be so much more believable if Santa was a woman.

I mean, really — would a GUY ever bother to keep track of (or even KNOW) who was naughty or nice? Take the time to read a gazillion handwritten letters from kids? Painstakingly procure the perfect gift for every person?  I don’t think so.

Christmas is a woman’s job.

And for women who already HAVE demanding jobs, it’s an extra workload - with unbelievable overtime shifts - that can drive a girl straight into the gates of Crazyland. 

So as the “ber” months roll in, you’d be doing yourself a really big favor by prepping ahead and breaking the beastly Christmas burden into bite-sized, manageable tasks.  Here are some things you can do as early as now:

1. Make your Christmas List.

In most cases, this will probably mean updating last year’s Christmas list. Add any new friends, in-laws, clients, kids, etc. and cross out whoever you need to delete for whatever reason. (Don’t dwell on it, just do it). 

Writing the list out now will give you more time to classify people into groups and plan their gifts (and your budget) accordingly.

Your own list classifications might vary but the most basic would be: 

Special gifts - for family, dear friends, godchildren, and so on. These gifts will require a little more thought, so you should probably save them for last.

Generic gifts - for people you don’t really care about as much, but have to give gifts to anyway.  A few things to remember about generic gifts:

• Generic doesn’t have to mean blah. Give some thought to what might be useful to and appreciated by everyone.
• You can give your entire generic list the exact same thing - but add a touch of personalization to each.
• If you order in bulk and ahead of time, you can get a lot of great deals that won’t be available to you once the Christmas rush begins.
• Food gifts are ok… but nobody really likes fruitcake. Don’t even think about it.

Christmas Cards - for people you need to remember but are thankfully far enough away that you don’t have to actually have to send presents to.

Once you have this list ready, you can start writing the cards out, maybe one or two a day, and have them all ready to post by a certain date. Doing this task over time - and not in one big hurried panic - will also allow you to make your messages much more personal and meaningful than they normally would be.

2. Plan the meals you’ll need to prepare.

The Christmas season is an endless round of parties that you’ll normally have to either host or bring a dish for. 

You can pretty much anticipate the different celebrations you’ll need to attend, so why not plan the meals ahead of time, and save yourself the stress later?  

For parties you’ll have to host:  Make your menus and shopping lists, or browse around for caterers who might be able to do the event for you.

For potluck parties: Figure out what dishes you can bring, and whether you should make them yourself or just order.  

For potluck parties you have to host at your house:  Plan out food assignments, and just be a Hitler Hostess and tell people exactly what they’re expected to appear with. 

3. Start a gift closet.

Clear out a closet (or any space that suits) specifically to keep your Christmas gifts and packaging materials. 

The open, empty space will be a constant reminder that you need to get your ass in gear, and hopefully motivate you to try and fill it up whenever you can.

Try to make it a point to put something in your gift closet every week — cards and gift tags, wrapping paper, ribbons, boxes or actual presents. 

Buying these things a little at a time will save you from last-minute overspending, and allow you to take advantage of the many sales stores hold before their Christmas stock comes in.   

By the time Christmas comes around, you’ll be done with the bulk of your beastly Christmas burden, and maybe even have the chance to sit back, relax and just enjoy the holiday for a change.