It’s Christmas night and the boys have all settled down to watch Star Wars. So it is a perfect time for me to write a memo to my future self. Ideally, I will read this around October of 2015 so I can be more on top of things next Christmas.
We had a lovely Christmas this year. Reading stories about the birth of Christ, family time, baking, wrapping gifts, decorating the tree. We got all the important stuff in. We really try to make sure that the kids know and understand the true meaning of this holiday. So overall, I don’t want it to sound like it was not great. It was. But it did finally dawn on me that I am not the most efficient person when it comes to Christmas preparations. And perhaps I should try to improve for next year.
So my idea is to write myself this memo so that before we head into the Christmas season next year, I can read this, and save myself the disappointment of not being on top of these simple things that I seem to fail to do. Every. Single. Year.
This little guy’s face captures the look that I pretty much carry around for the week or two leading up to Christmas.
MEMORANDUM: Preparing for Christmas 2015 – Please read!
Every year, a few days before Christmas, you find yourself with a list of completely small and random things you forgot to do or purchase. In an effort to avoid this conundrum for Christmas 2015, please do me the favor of reading this memo by next October.
1. Buy missing holiday essential EARLY in the season. Why oh why when you see the Christmas decorations come out, you look at them, admire everything, but never buy anything? It’s like you keep thinking there will be more things coming. Better things. You must look at all of it before committing. Then, when the time comes to get that perfect tree skirt for our barren skirted tree, it is nowhere to be found. And what’s left, you don’t like and refuse to buy.
2. Send whatever photos you will be gifting off to be printed at a quality printer. You will want to give some framed photos to the grandparents and close family. Since this is a relative small part of their gifts, you will not stress much about this. Then, you will realize three days before Christmas that there is not one place in this town that can print out a quality photo. So please do yourself a favor, and send off for a bunch of different photos to be printed via an online site. You know, the ones that offer ridiculously good prices and probably free shipping? Don’t make things harder than they need to be!
3. Purchase frames for said photos. Very similar concept to the holiday decorations. You see cute stuff all the time. But it is not top priority, so you wait. Then comes the time to pick out a frame for a measly 5X7 and it is the hardest task on the planet. You will end up circling the stores in a zombie like state staring at all the hideous frames and will walk out empty handed. Just stock up throughout the year.
4. Do not wait to buy Christmas PJ’s. Every year, about 1-2 days before Christmas you realize that your boys’ pajamas are too small. And definitely not festive. In your head, popping into Old Navy on December 24 is the solution. Let me remind you that the week before Christmas, every PJ set in the country has been swiped up. There are no more. So please do me a favor. Buy them early!
5. Buy the poinsettias when they are being sold after mass. Every year, after mass on the first or second week in December, some group from our church sells beautiful poinsettias for $5 each. Let me repeat: Beautiful. And only $5! What do you do? You’re caught off guard. Not ready to purchase (although tomorrow you will be) and because you hesitated, you will go through the torture of stopping everywhere looking for decent poinsettias for weeks. Until finally, you pick up one dinky poinsettia two days before Christmas. Please just buy the ones at church.
Remember, we are not looking for perfection. Just to stop the routines and habits that land us in the same spot every year.
You can do it! I believe in you 🙂
