how to make Christmas special to do list countdown

Towser

Now that Halloween is over and Bonfire Night is nearly done. I am thinking about Christmas and how to make it special for the family.

This Christmas I wan't to be organised! I always seem to leave everything till last minute, and end up panicking and having to do a major rush around the shops.

I want you to help me set a challenge for each day I am counting down to do something. It's so that Christmas is Special and by the time it comes it is done so that it doesn't overwhelm if you see what I mean.

Things off the top of my head so far are all the usual Christmas food, tree and decorations, cards written, Santa visited, gifts wrapped, make a special soundtrack,

IT will be a build up of all the little things that make it special. Like doing an activity a day such as making a Gingerbread house. Attending church, visiting a craft fair or Christmas Caroling.

As well as magical things like leaving food and drink out for Santa and the reindeer, putting up the stockings etc. I want to pass the excitement down to my children but cannot remember half of the stuff till it's to late.

I will note down all your suggestions in my diary and do all the things (like writing cards) that can be done now and then in December I'll be ready.

nitnurse-not2

Hi there Towser

Try googling "Organised Christmas " and subscribe to the daily emails. There are also loads of printable sheets there eg presents/ cards/ household chores........

I use spreadsheets for all lists and my food lists build slowly over time. When I decide what I will be cooking I add the ingredients to the list- in quantities- so I know what I need.

List all those important things you have mentioned on separate pages in a notebook and add to the lists as you need....and cross off when done.

I also have a file on my net book with decoration ideas/ gifts/ games/ quizzes etc that I have built up over the years. I always note when I last used a quiz as some people in my family have great memories!

I hope this is some help.
xx

Towser

Ah I do want to be organised but was thinking more in the way of making things special.

"Organised Christmas " is very good but doesn't give me any inspiration of what I could do.

What magical ideas do you have that I can plan ahead with.

p-pincher

I try to do a similar thing with my 2 girls aged 10 and 7. I star on the 1st December with Advent calenders, which is an east one. I then try to do one Christmassy thing every day til the 24th. Things include
Baking mince pies and sausage roll
Making christmas decorations and paper snowflakes
Putting the tree up.
Gingerbread house competition.
Going to see the Christmas and going for a Starbucks hot chocolate.
Visiting Santa.
Late night shopping.
Xmas film marathon.
Making an Xmas song soundtrack for the big day.
Writing their school friends cards.
Helping wrap the presents.
Secret santa.
Trip to the pictures if there's an festive film on.
Making reindeer food.

Hope this helps x

Towser

p-pincher that's exactly the type of things.

This year we are doing everything the school and village are organising too. Even the Christmas Fair which is not value for money but is raising funds for the school in a Christmassy way.

Simo429

Personally I try and make sure there are a couple of weekends in the next eight weeks where nothing is planned.

Spendless

When my dd was 4 we were gifted a book called 'was that Christmas'

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Was-That-Christmas-Hilary-Mckay/dp/0340866268

It's about a little girl understanding the Christmas season for the first time. My DD was memorised by it and for years(she's now 11) we've done as many of the things in the book that the character (Bella) does, or our own interpretation of it. Things that are in it

post card through letterboxes
bake mince pies
ice the cake
hang up streamers
fetch the tree
buy crackers
buy presents for parents
sing with the band (we've always counted attending a carol service for this one)
shout Happy Christmas to everyone we meet - yes DD has done this to everyone in the town centre.:D
ride home on the bus when it's nearly dark and all the lights are shining - this one is our fav, we wait till the xmas lights go up and sit at the top of a double decker. Not without incident either, one day I picked a bus that went a totally different route and so we had to re-do this by car at a later date.
hang up christmas nuts for birds
eat sausage rolls hot from oven - I cheated and called in Greggs:o and then ordered a pasty not thinking and dd wasn't happy.:D

As you can some of these go awry but that just adds to your own family traditions, if you have a story to tell.

Do you do a xmas eve hamper? I started it a few years ago, the kids were older so I already had many of the bits people put in it, but mine contained items I wanted the kids to do on Xmas eve, so it might contain a single sachet bubble bath or bath bomb (often something from Lush Xmas range) a DVD, hot choc, marshmallows, new pjs.

betterlife

what about elf on a shelf, ive just bought 2 elves from card factory for 99p each if you don`t no about it google it, this will be the first yr we have done it. we have also recently been foraging for sweet chestnuts which the kids loved, they are now in my freezer ready to roast at xmas. we are going to have a craft day, i purchased some nice cheap sets from wilko, peg fairies, gingerbread bunting, & xmas houses, they where about 99p per set and enough for a few children to do. we are going to have bbq/fire pit evening and toast marshmallows and drink hot choc in the garden which i will decorate with fairy lights, we also do the xmas eve hamper for the kids (pjs, dvd, popcorn, xmas book, etc) i will do magic reindeer food and snowman soups, we will do a santa grotto visit and hopefully the polar express train, we plan to go for walks and collect pine cones to make garlands and wreaths, we will see our towns xmas lights be turned on and they normally have a Victorian market, maybe ice skating, someone one here said about a north pole breakfast/tea, where they decorated the dinning room/kitchen in snow/ice and did themed food, decorate xmas tree, we also go on walks around our local woods and look for deer, we see them practically every weekend, if your kids have not seen deer before this would be very magical for them i will add more ideas as i think of them, oh letters to santa x

Towser

Ahh they are all really nice ideas.

We have not left out our dog in previous years. When he was a puppy he had a Santa dog coat and looked sooo cute. When he was older had another Santa coat saying "Dear Santa I have been a good dog all year" Not - he keeps on digging up the garden to bury his bone.

He also has a packet of treats and a ball. The ball he covets as the children could always use it.

I will have to see if the pet store has another Christmassy type dog coat for him. Maybe an Elf to look like one of Santa's little helpers. This year I got a whole pack of old balls collected and sold by the tip reuse shop so he is OK for balls at the moment.

pinknfluffy28

My dds are 14 & 7 this year. Youngest still believes, but a lot of her friends don't, so I fear this may be her last year (sobs into coffee).

But that won't stop me being Mrs Claus! Here's just some of our yearly traditions that help make our Christmas magical & fun for all:

Elf on the shelf (arrives Dec 1st)
Family cinema trip early Dec (nativity 3 this year!)
Ice skating
Decorate a gingerbread house
Visit a Christmas market
Xmas lights tour in the car in our PJs & with hot choc in travel mugs.
Late night shopping & Santa visit
Church tree celebration & carols
Christingle service
Bake cookies for school farye
Christmas eve hamper
Letters to Santa (and make sure they get a reply!)
Dog shoeboxes - I give dds £5 each in the £shop & they make up a box each to take to the rescuecentre where we got our 2nd dog from)
Homemade Christmas cards & decorations (dh usually takes charge with this one)

We also have a "Santa can" (a motion sensor) which blinks red when Santa is watching our house - dd2 loves this!

Also, there are some fab websites to help,
PNP - get a personalized video message from Santa
Reindeer can
NORAD - don't forget to track Santa on Xmas eve

There's loads more we do, but these are the ones we do every year, and all of us together. I'm a stickler for tradition - our tree goes up on 28th nov , a tradition my grandparents started the day I was born.

Hope this helps with your ideas, good luck, and enjoy xx

JulietteCarter

Three to Six Months Before
1. Make a family plan.
2. Buy plane tickets.

Two Months Before
1. Put activities on a calendar.
2. Start baking things you can freeze.
3. Update your holiday card list.
4. Shop for cards and wrapping paper.
5. Make plans for overnight guests.

Six Weeks Before
1. Make a master gift list.
2. Make a budget.
3. Start Christmas shopping in earnest.

One Month Before
1. Do any online shopping.
2. Wrap gifts as you buy them.
3. Take stock of your decorations.
4. Take stock of dishes and glasses.
5. Start addressing holiday cards.

Three Weeks Before
1. Mail cards.
2. Buy a live tree.
3. Decorate!
4. Finalize menus.
5. Order a turkey or ham.

Two Weeks Before
1. Make sure out-of-town presents are mailed.
2. Shop for nonperishable items.

One Week Before
1. Deep clean your house.
2. Buy batteries for children’s toys.

Three Days Before
1. Shop for fresh ingredients.
2. Set the table.

Two Days Before
1. Start cooking.
2. Buy fresh flowers.

The Day Before
1. Recharge the batteries on your camera or video recorder.
2. Finish last-minute wrapping.
3. Finish cooking, and make a timeline for the next day.
4. Sit back and relax.

Hope this can help