Welcome back to our Christmas Countdown series! This year, you can expect to see ten comprehensive blog posts on planning a successful Christmas season. If you followed along previously, you know that Christmas Countdown No. 1 through No. 9 gave us a top-level view of Christmas planning. There was a lot of diary-like posts on everything from budgeting to gift guides and party to-do lists. Now, we’re building off of that foundation and including more specific tips and tricks to help you prepare for the season during the month of November. I believe in completing as many tasks as possible now, so that you can leave all of this behind and spend your time with friends and family in December.

BUT WHY START NOW? WHAT ABOUT THANKSGIVING?

Well, first of all, planning (or even celebrating) Christmas in November does not prohibit you from celebrating Thanksgiving, too. In fact, even though this might go against popular opinion, I believe Thanksgiving is best celebrated in the days surrounding the holiday, not the entire month. There is nothing that says you have to choose between listening to Christmas music and being thankful for your loved ones.

Who else might agree? Today, on November 1:

1. Mariah Carey posted an Instagram video letting us know she’s ready for the season
2. Not one, but two, radio stations discussed starting the holidays early including
   • that “we need it” re: a little holiday celebrating now, on one channel, and
   • that the beginning of non-stop Christmas music will be next Friday, on another
3. GMA talked about starting as early as today when it comes to looking for Christmas deals at your favorite retailers
   • However, I promise to not bombard you with gift guides this early. In fact, I’ll be releasing only one gift guide this year — it will be full of great ideas for everyone on your list — the week of Thanksgiving.
   • There was also this story from GMA, which I think you’ll appreciate if you love Christmas decor like I do.
4. And there are two cable networks already offering 24-7 holiday movies

THREE WAYS I START PREPARING NOW

Holiday Planning with a Christmas Planner:

• I use the CHRISTMAS binder you see here to keep all of my planning notes from previous years. Since this is something I use year-after-year, I recently upgraded to a leather book, but you can use any binder or notebook that suits you. I keep the make-shift planner I mentioned to you in No. 2 in here, a combination of two planners I found years ago online (I have since only found this one). I also keep the menu from a number of restaurants and catering information from fine-goods purveyors that I reference each year. Previous order forms, contact information for holiday services, notes on what has worked and what hasn’t– they’re all kept here. This is truly HQ of Christmas in my home. For on the go, the day planner I’ve used for the past few years, STARTplanner (I’ll be sharing more about it at the beginning of the year), has a few holiday planning pages that are great to keep on hand.

Getting Ahead on Orders:

• I’ve mentioned before that the reason I can focus so heavily on Christmas planning is because I am not responsible for Thanksgiving in my family. To that end, I want to create the most magical holiday season for my family with the least amount of stress. I get so much joy out of planning parties and get-togethers, purchasing gifts, and coming up with solutions to time management problems during this time of year. However, I, too, struggle with it all at times. Last year, I didn’t prioritize purchasing the ham and was stuck with a large order that left me with leftovers for a very long time. To prevent that mistake, this year I ordered my ham in September. Here’s my advice to you: Make a checklist with all of the items that you need to source so that you can prioritize, order ahead, and move on.

Having Perspective and Putting Family First:

• The ideas start whirling around in my head long before November, so writing things down means I don’t have to remember it all until it’s truly necessary. Sometimes, though, ideas that seemed great get reimagined later on. For example: I’ve always done at least some of the cooking during the holidays. Some years, I’ve cooked a whole feast for 50 guests. During others, I’ve contributed the sides, or even just the desserts and catered the rest. Cooking during the holidays is often therapeutic, except for when it’s not. This year, I’ve decided that my efforts are best kept with decor, party planning, gift wrapping, etc., and I made the decision to order our entire Christmas meal from a local caterer. (I know that’s not an option for everyone, but finding ways to limit your stress is what I’m really talking about.) I actually think I’ll be doing more baking this year than I normally do with a full feast because of all of the smaller parties we will be having in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas. But this kind of change, one that some may think is ridiculous for someone who claims to plan more strategically for the holidays than most, is the exact kind of thing that allows me to give my family and friends a really special celebration. I say this because I don’t want anyone to feel like if they’re not doing everything, then they might as well not do anything. The holidays are about spending time with each other, enjoying life’s blessings, and all of the joys that come along with that. If you’re stuck in the kitchen over a hot oven while your loved ones are together elsewhere, you’re missing out on the holidays. Let’s raise our first glass of the season to not sacrificing for your loved ones at the expense of your own memories — and to finding a balance that works for you. Cheers!