I tend to get overwhelmed during the holidays, even though my Christmas plans every year is just celebrating at home with my entire extended family. Every single year, I’m always scrambling and trying to Google some kind of holiday checklist to make sure I have my ducks in a row.
It’s easy to say that everything comes down to planning, but we all know it isn’t as simple as being told to “plan” because I mean, what do we even need to plan for?
To make sure that no one else has the same problem as I have of forgetting to do something, this holiday checklist is designed to make sure you can spend your holiday season celebrating with your loved ones. I’m sharing everything I think will be helpful for making sure that your budget and sanity are all kept in check because mine will certainly need help!
If you would like some inspiration for some affordable but chic holiday outfits, check out this post!
Budgeting
First up on our holiday checklist is budgeting. Budget your time and your money to make sure that you’re not going to give yourself undue stress. The worst feeling in the world is realizing you are running out of money!
Take a look at your calendar, and start making lists. Make a list of all of your party invitations and other time commitments. Do you have someone you want to visit? Add that to the list. Is there a party that you just have to drop by? That goes on the list too. By having a list of everything you’re going to commit to going, you can actually have a sense of what your holidays is going to look like.
Creating this list will let you know if you are you overextending yourself this holiday season!
Holiday Cards
Do not underestimate the power of a handwritten card! Not everyone has the money to buy presents for everyone on their iPhone contact list. Invest around $20 in buying a large pack of Holiday cards, and start writing! Sometimes, what people need is not a material item. A message written from the heart rings truer to the message of the Holidays than anything a material item can give.
Holiday cards are also the perfect medium for when you’re not sure whether you should be buying someone a present. Are you in that awkward period with your colleagues in which you’re not positive if you should commit to a present? Write them a card!
Last-Minute Gifts
This is probably the one thing that will make anyone stress out. Forgetting to buy someone a Christmas present is enough to make anyone want to just give up entirely on the Holiday season.
Instead of worrying about how you’re possibly going to order something and wrap it by Christmas morning, my number one advice is this.
My other tip with last-minute gifts is to not differentiate between gender. If you live somewhere where it gets cold, touchscreen gloves are such an easy gift. This is something that can be given and enjoyed by either a male or a female.
Compile Your Invitations
Whether it is a due date to pay my student loans or a due date to RSVP to a holiday party, this is what the corporate world calls “action items”. Actually figuring out what action items you have will have a huge impact on your stress level.
Because you’ve already created that list of everything you’re committing to, build upon this. Add in your work deadlines, due dates for bills, and other invitations that you’ve declined. Check this list to make sure that you have responded to everyone with an RSVP. Make sure to set up auto-pay or set a reminder on your calendar for any emails to send or bills to be paid.
Staying on top your action items is a sure way to making sure that you have a smooth Holiday season, and you’re not worrying about being a few days late on paying your student loans because who would possibly remember to pay bills on the Monday after Christmas?
Tip Everyone
The last item on the holiday checklist is tipping. This is the one thing that I have to add in here that I’m fairly sure would get forgotten unless it was said. There are so many people each day that provides us service. From your doorman to your hair stylist, these people are providing you a service.
The point of the Holiday season, to me, is to spread and show love to everyone. Show your appreciation by tipping someone who services you everyday to pay that kindness forward. If there’s anything that you should be splurging on this Holiday season, it should be with tipping those that have provided you an awesome service
For me, my hair salon and stylist is too awesome. They put up with me being late, and that is just one of the many things that they do for me that keeps me going back to them.
Showing your appreciation for the people who do these little things for you is the truest way of spreading Holiday love and cheer.
I want to take this brief moment to thank you all for reading because I appreciate each and every one of you. Be sure to leave me comments or send me a message on any of my social media channels to let me know how your holidays go!
I love you all so much, and I can’t think of a better way of ending 2017 than this. I hope this holiday checklist helped you keep your sanity!
