The key to saving time over the holiday season is making it work for you. My personal approach is to set artificial deadlines. As I writer, I live for deadlines. I don’t know why it is but I seem to thrive under the pressure of having to do something by a certain date. My Christmas preparations are no exception - December 1st is usually my first target date. By this time, I plan on having all my Christmas shopping done and most, if not all, of my gifts wrapped. I’m also a natural procrastinator, so sometimes only the shopping gets done by the 1st and the wrapping isn’t finished until the 15th at 11 p.m. after the credits roll at the end of a holiday movie. It’s a tradition - I can’t imagine wrapping gifts without a repeat of a holiday classic or a made-for-TV holiday tear jerker playing in the background. The method behind my deadline madness is that even if I miss both the 1st and 15th deadlines (which most years, I adhere closely to), it is still possible to find a few moments of quiet to sit with a glass of holiday nog in front of the fire (and forget about the fact our relatives at that very moment are in the driveway, unpacking their gifts and overnight bags). At Christmas…every second counts. Here are some of my favorite ways of saving time and making every second count. Stick To Lists Make lists and stick to them. It’s amazing how much time and effort you’ll save by planning ahead. Never Turn Down Help Refusing offers to help can be a big mistake. The next time someone offers to bring something or asks how they can help out, accept their generosity, you’ll end up thanking yourself for it. Trade Tasks Love shopping but hate baking? Adore wrapping but hate house cleaning? Consider cleaning your friend’s home while she expertly gift wraps all your parcels. Short On Help? Hire the cost-effective services of local teenagers to help with your holiday preparations. Most teens would love to help bake, wrap or even clean your house for a little extra Christmas cash. Or, if you can afford it, give yourself the gift of having a professional cleaning company in to do a pre-Christmas once over. File Important Seasonal Papers Store concert tickets, invitations, and receipts for purchases, instruction books, warranty cards and the like, in file folders. Keep these files close at hand and easily identifiable by writing in red or green and coloring the tab with a coordinating marker. A great way to store these files is in a desktop file holder. Better still, cut down a cereal box and cover with wallpaper, wrapping paper or plain brown paper. Try to find something that matches your décor. To Swap Or Not To Swap? Cookie swaps are not for everyone. For those who love to bake, a swap can really save on having to make several varieties of cookies yourself. For reluctant bakers, they can be nightmare. Why put yourself through the stress of not having your contribution measure up? Say no or at the very least, suggest some ground rules. What about agreeing that all recipes must be able to be made in 20 minutes or less? You might even want to give a prize for the easiest recipe.
Wise Shopping Whether it’s gift or grocery shopping, shop early in the morning or late at night, when the stores aren’t too crowded. Make use of the Internet and mail-order catalogues. Quick Gifts To save time shopping, consider quick gifts like a phone card, gift certificates or cash. Wrap Gifts As You Buy Keep all your wrapping paper in one main container which you can easily pull out and put away after each shopping trip. Separate Gifts Save time and avoid confusion by separating gifts for drop-by friends and relatives from gifts to be given out on Christmas Day. Avoid Gift Wrapping Opt for gift bags over wrapping paper and tape and save a bunch of time.
Eliminate Post-Christmas Frustration Keep all receipts, gift boxes and packing cartons in case you need to make returns. Save On Post Office Trips To save yourself the hassle of going back and forth to the post office to pick up gifts you have ordered online or from catalogues, have them delivered to your office instead of your home address. Exchange Child Care Services Work smarter not harder by trading babysitting services with another parent to give each of you some alone time to shop, wrap and cook.
Clean Pre-Tree Take the time to clean your house before you bring in the tree and all the decorations. Naturally, you will need to do a quick vacuum once you have the tree in place but it’s much easier to clean a house when you don’t have to move all those holiday decorations around. Lay Out Clothing In Advance Get your holiday clothes cleaned and ready in advance. Hang up your clothes and accessories together and you may have time for a leisurely bath. Prioritize Your Cleaning Sit on the couch and give your living room the once over. Tidy, vacuum and dust everything that's visible and leave deep-cleaning for a cold day in January. Ditto for all other main rooms in your home. Freeze Meals Make your own frozen dinners by planning extra portions when you’re cooking a large meal. Nothing beats having a prepared meal you can pull out of the freezer for the nights when you’re rushed. Stocking Prep Assemble all stocking stuffers ahead of time. Separate items by allotting and labelling a bag for each person. Late Christmas Eve simply transfer everything into its appropriate stocking. Fill Up Going out of town on Christmas Day? Avoid frustration and save having to drive all over town to find an open service station by filling up on gas and windshield-washer fluid a day or two before Christmas. You might also want to pick up some gas line anti-freeze while you’re at it – you never know when the temperature will drop. Last but not least, remove the word ‘perfectionism’ from your vocabulary. Perfectionism is the worst time waster there is. Consider how much more relaxing and fun the holiday season would be if you just enjoyed what was. |