I know Halloween just ended and Thanksgiving isn’t here yet, but it’s time to plan for Christmas.  You don’t have to get out the tree yet or starting playing carols (But if you do, I won’t judge.)

Do these 5 things this week to make this holiday season easier to navigate.

1.  Make your Christmas Budget:  How much are you spending on gifts, cards, postage, decorations and food? It has to be cash….no borrowing allowed.

2.  Make your Christmas List:  This is just a list of names and a dollar amount you are going to spend on them. All those dollar amounts must add up to what you budgeted for gifts.

3.  Brainstorm Gift Ideas: This is a broad list of everything you can think of.  There will be time to narrow it down later.

4.  Make Your Christmas Card List: If you have one from last year, just take a few minutes to update the addresses and see if there needs to be any additions or deletions.  Knowing how many cards you plan to send will help you tweak your budget in step 1.

5.  Put it on the Calendar: When are your gatherings, school concerts, church events, family traditions?  Also put in when you should be done Shopping, when to wrap gifts, when to mail out Christmas Cards, when to bake cookies.  Put it on the calendar that is simplest for you. We use Google calendar in our home and have it sync with all our phones and lap tops.   I still love real paper calendars too.  When it comes to scheduling less is more.  If I get too scheduled up, all my family gets for Christmas is a stressed-out mama. Nobody wants that.