Boxing Day Christmas Clearance

             This is the post where I actually suggest going out to boxing day sales, if you haven’t already. Everyone knows that boxing day, now lasts a week. For me this is the point where I go out to the stores, and perhaps get a little sad at the bare Christmas sections. However, I cheer up pretty quick because all the Christmas stuff that is left is rock bottom prices. This is when I pick up stuff for next year. Like lights, Christmas storage totes (that’s actually for a lot sooner than next year), and different decorations I might like to add. Not to mention, you can keep your eyes open for gifts for people for next year…yeah, I said it. I usually enjoy these trips, there are a couple things to add to the fun, and it’s usually the quietest I’ve seen any store for a while.

K, Luv Ya, Bye

Nancy, Cale and Alice

Boxing Day Sales

               

Well today is boxing day, for sales. Much like Black Friday, Boxing day is a busy, and can me insane sales day. Your mentality may be to stay away. If this is the case, sit back, and enjoy. If you have flyers scoped out and know what deals you want to get, here are my tips:

                Get out early. Boxing day always have door crashers, but most are while quantities last. They don’t tend to last long. Not to mention, the earlier you wrap up your shopping, the sooner you’re going to be out of the mayham

                Hydrate. Seems obvious, but these stores can be crowded, and hot. While I like to think here in Canada, I like to think you wouldn’t get trampled to death if you collapsed in the crowds… I think we’d like to avoid the collapsing all together.

                Take a deep breath. Yes, get out early, but take your time. Some times there will be a wait. People can go into these crowds and say they should have more people working. The reality is stores can only have so many employees working. All you can really do is wait your turn, and all the employees can do is their best.

                Get your rest/ Caffeinate. The caffeine sounds like a weird one to come from a pregnant lady, but there it is. Going into one of these mad houses, being tired is not a good call. Right off the bat how good of a mood will you be in with out energy? Not to mention, you’re going in for a deal that day right? You want to know all your options, and absorb what is being explained to you. 

                These are some of my tips

K, Luv Ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice

Christmas Eve

                It’s Christmas Eve! It doesn’t seem that long ago I started posting this series for the second time, and people were rolling their eyes at me for starting so early lol.

               
                My Grandma always told us, on Christmas eve at 5:00, if it’s not done, it’s not getting done. Like I mentioned in one of my very first posts, this series is not about the perfect Christmas special holiday. It was about making things easier on you, so you can take the time to enjoy the season and not see it as a huge stresser. Which for me, kind of makes it the perfect Christmas, every time. SO Grandma’s words really are words to live by.

              
                As soon as I’m off work tonight, my Holiday starts, and family will be at my house, just waiting for me. My Uncle has pasties for us for supper (google them, because I can count how many people in my life know what they are), I’ll put on my hot chocolate in the slow cooker (for my friends who tried my burnt hot chocolate years ago, I perfected it now), and we’ll head to the lights display to walk around, before heading back to our house and enjoying hot chocolate, and a Christmas special. And the only lights in the room will be the tree and the candles we light every Christmas.

                Unfortunately this year, life has gotten in the way. With a combination of my Father in-law having a terrible cold, and my being pregnant, my in-laws won't be joining us this year. I hope they realize we have to make it extra special next year.

                I’m pretty excited for MY Christmas eve, and I hope you enjoy yours.

K, Luv ya, Bye

Nancy, Cale and Alice

PS, my post tomorrow will likely be much later, because no offense, my blog won’t be my top priority

Tying up Loose Ends

I can’t believe it, this is our last Christmas PREP post. There will be more posts, but this is the last one we do to help you get ready. This is basically just doing some tidying for the guests and so you don’t have to worry about it in a few days. The other part is wrap up those things on your list that are personal to you. Turkey thaw has already begun in our house, so I’m kind of just looking around wondering what I may have missed.

                 I also need to point out, if you miss one little thing, it REALLY shouldn’t ruin your whole Christmas. Things aren’t what makes this holiday. While yes, I’ve been doing a blog about getting ready, and it DOES make things easier, it’s not about this stuff.

                Honestly some of the things we’ve messed up over the years, is some of the best memories. The year the roasting pan didn’t fit in the oven, or the year I overflowed the sink trying to thaw the turkey.

                Time to just tie up loose ends.

                K, Luv ya, Bye

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

The Perishables

                 Only 5 days left! I don’t know about you, but I am getting seriously AMPED. We’ve had one task we’ve been looking at for a VERY long time, it’s time to wrap it up. I’m talking about that grocery list. Back in October, we started on the non perishables. November we added the frozen foods. Now we get anything off those two lists we missed, and the fresh stuff.

                If you remember in earlier posts, I mentioned using points as a way to save money with the groceries. Where we’re tying up all the loose ends, this is the trip I use them for.

                My advice going into this task, take a deep breath, and take your time. You can let everyone around you be exceptionally stressed out, but you are on top of all of this, there is no reason to go crazy. If you are not able to get one or two of those items on your list, remember 5 days left, there is always another chance and another potential location.

                Relax and smile. If you have been following this blog, you are not rushed, you’ve accomplished so much, and you’re seeing now how much it’s paid off.

K, Luv Ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice

                 PS, Turkey Thaw 2017 has begun in our house. If yours hasn't yet, you might want to look into when you need to get it started, or if you're going to need to thaw quicker in your sink this year. Assuming you plan on having a turkey. 

Christmas Light Drive

              You may have scratched your head at me with past posts. When I’ve said how much I enjoy some aspects of planning, it isn’t always something everyone likes…this one, point blank, if you don’t enjoy it, you probably shouldn’t be following this blog series. We’re talking about going out to see the lights. So this is a family thing we like to do after dinner Christmas eve, then we come home for Hot Chocolate, watch a movie and go to bed. Some years we have so much family visiting we go to a lights display we can walk through, and that’s how we can enjoy the lights together.

                However, before Christmas, we like to have a night, where we drive around, Cale, Alice and I, and take them in that way. We already had our post about taking a night to enjoy and just do a movie night. Here is another chill night for your to enjoy with the family, and yes there is hot chocolate for this one too. Take a night, enjoy the lights with the family. This time of year can go so quick, you need to take some time to slow down.

K, Luv Ya, Bye

Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Christmas Sanity Basket

               We’re ten days away, can you believe it?! So 10 days from right now, you could be all done with the gifts, and getting your Christmas dinner ready.

                To help your Christmas morning going smoothly, you might want to make a list of supplies you might need. Things like scissors, garbage bags, batteries, etc. Things you might need to get into the gifts, and make them work. Now as you go through this you might think of thing that a personal to you, perfect, unfortunately these supply lists are NOT one size fits all. I’m sharing a link I found years ago for a “sanity basket”. It is a list of supplies that you may or may not have thought of. Batteries are usually a well remembered item, but here is one I ALWAYS mention, a manual can opener. You may be scratching your head for this one, but here is the score. The WORST packaging on the face of the planet to open is clamshell packaging. You generally injure yourself trying to open this crap. The can opener, will be the answer to your prayers.

                So get the supplies together now, to make a smoother morning on the 10^th.

K, Luv Ya, Bye

Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Checking it Twice

             This might seem like a random one at this point, but it’s time to have a look at that master grocery list again. So we started knocking stuff off this grocery list 2 months ago, with non-perishables. Then we brought in the freezer items, and we’ve been chipping away at them for a month. It’s not QUIET time to look at the fresh part of the list yet (they wouldn’t be fresh when we got to Christmas).

                What I want you to do is have a list of those two lists and see what you can knock off so you don’t have to worry about them on your next big trip. Fortunately my list has gotten very small, and I can easily knock an item or two off the list as I spot them. This is just going to make your last shopping trip before Christmas far less stressful, because you only need to worry about those few items. That’s kind of what this entire blog series has been about, making things easier for Christmas so you can enjoy it more.

K, Luv Ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice

Christmas Movie Night

                 After our not so fun last post, happy to say this one is not about productivity, but about enjoying the season. 2 weeks from today is Christmas! We do so much preparing for this season, sometimes we don’t take the time to actually slow down and enjoy, and that’s what this post is about.

                Take a look at your schedule this week, and make for a movie night. We pick a couple Christmas movies, maybe grab some snacks and egg nog, and watch movies where the only light in the room is the tree. Just slow down and have an enjoyable, relaxing night. 

Deep Cleaning

                December luckily doesn’t actually have a lot of not fun assignments, but this is probably the least fun. This is the super, deep clean. Start at one end of the house and go through, dusting, cleaning windows and mirrors freshening up mattresses. You know the drill as far as cleaning your house goes. Time to do a MAJOR clean.

                This post doesn’t take long because this is a big chore, and as much as we like to put it off, this is something we need to dive into and get over with. 

Wrapping

             This one is a special one for me. For some this will be a chore. We’re talking about wrapping gifts. Here is the history of it for me. When I was a kid, I was raised by my single father. So when it came time for me to go Christmas shopping for my dad, my uncle took me out. It was always a fun night. We’d have supper, go and get his gift, pop into a few other stores, and then go back to his place for wrapping. My uncle would turn on the Christmas music and we would wrap all the gifts, and I just loved it.

                He always put on Anne Murry (who is his favorite), and Boney M (which grew to become my favorite). So now as an adult, my Christmas wrapping is an evening I love. I pop on Boney M (my mother in-law knew I loved their Christmas album and got it for me), get down on the floor and just belt out the songs). I end up texting my uncle a LOT too. I guess it’s the memories it brings that makes me LOVE wrapping my gifts. For some people this becomes a mad scramble, but I get it done now, and enjoy the wrapping and the look of the gifts under the tree.

K, Luv Ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Christmas Cards

              About a month ago, we started to gather addresses for things like cards and gifts. Now is when we actually use them.  I like to get my Christmas cards done and mailed as early as possible. It’s just nice for people to get them done early.

                In our house, we just kind of make two lists of names, and each take on half of the cards each. We take an evening, and turn on a Christmas movie to enjoy while we fill out our cards. We do something little a special for the evening.

                So that’s one earlier post flashback, here is another, those gifts we got started on early. If you’re not done already, hopefully you ARE done those gifts that need to be mailed. Last Christmas we didn’t realize how long a gift can actually take to send to the other side of the country. I know it makes sense, but when this time of year rolls around and you get a large to do list, time can get away from you. We got lucky and the gift got there in time.

                Here is another flashback, the budget. Now is when you need to take into account that money you budgeted and get things like boxes, paper, cards, envelopes, and of course postage.

                This assignment tends to be a big one on our lists we hold off on for far too long, and weighs on you. We don’t have a lot of days left, get it done now, and that’s a big task, handled.  

Time to bake

               We’re in THE month! This is December, and look at all that has been done. There are still things that need to be done, but how much is completed compared to previous years?

                90% of the posts in the last bit are fun ones, and for me, this one falls into that category. Today is about Baking. Thanks to a previous post, we already planned our baking, this included getting ingredients and stuff together as well ( the ones we could buy in advance anyway). Now is when we get on baking.

                One thing I always do too is have tins set that I freeze. Most cookies freeze pretty well, so I freeze some so we have some through the entire month. It’s baking time, enjoy. 

Freezer Meals

               Just because I’m pregnant, I‘ve been making meals that freeze well and stocking up. This is for days I’m not feeling great, and can’t really cook. When that happens I can just use something I preheat the oven and toss it in.

                If you’re able to do this, and would like to MAKE all your freezer meals, go nuts. But if you’re strapped for time (and let’s be honest most are at this time of year) freezer meals are already made at the store for you. I’m likely going to have a few of these as well, because I want to be well stocked for this time of year.

                I can just come home from work exhausted this time of year anyway, so that is definitely one instance where these meals can come in handy. These are helpful for nights you have events on, like the kids concert, or a Christmas party. When you need to simplify. Stock up now and these can make your life much easier.

                We bought a deep freezer in the last year, and I’m thrilled because I usually lose my freezer all together this time of year. This time, I have so much space…which is good, because I’m using even more freezer space in my next post… which by the way is the very first post in December.

                K, Luv ya, Bye

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Clean Appliances

                It’s here, of ALL of my blog posts in this entire series, my least favorite task of them all. Cleaning the appliances. I don’t really know anyone who enjoys cleaning, but I would take almost any other task over cleaning out the appliances…especially the oven. This being said, because of my pregnancy, I can’t really do it. So instead of loathing the jobs, I m coupled with guilt that I’m putting them on Cale too.

                Okay so let’s get out of that darkened state there. This may be the worst part of getting ready for Christmas in my opinion, but it’s still getting ready for Christmas, so that’s something. It’s time to get the oven, the Fridge, and the freezer sparkling. There is a lot going through these appliances in the coming weeks, so we want this to be done now.

                After you’re on the other side of this task, make sure you’re going out of your way to prevent spills and splatters, and when they do happen, address them quickly. We don’t want to do THIS one twice!

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Black Friday

                Here it is, Black Friday. In North America as a whole, this is the start of the Holiday season (though let’s be honest here in Canada, we can start a little earlier).

                Today’s post is short and sweet, because it’s Black Friday and I work in retail, so I don’t have time for much more. If you’re heading out to shop check out my last post, tips on how to handle Black Friday. If you’re not, take a moment to sit back and realize something. If you’ve been following a long with my blog, you’re on top of this and have been getting ready for a while. And as you’ve been quietly getting stuff together, and actually you don’t have a LOT left, the rest of the population is starting NOW. And they’re stressing out and feeling a time crunch.

                I always feel like I need to walk into stores in a specific mindset at this point…so I don’t go crazy. I try to never go shopping in a rush. I want to have plenty of time, so I can chill take my time and not panic. Because the people around you, likely will be in a panic.

                Thus concludes the Black Friday post!

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Prepping for Black Friday

                Black Friday is kind of a newer concept to us Canadians, but speaking as some one who has now worked two, I have some tips on how to handle Black Friday shopping should you decide to venture out in it. I’ll also point out from my experience, Canadian Black Friday is a lot less dangerous.

                Go early! Yup those people who are lined up outside the store before it opens have the right idea. This is when the stores have the best selection, and where I work, chaos seems to go up as the day continues.

                Go Comfy. This is not the time to wear your heels. Nope, you want your comfiest pair of sneakers, and yoga pants. If you’re comfortable, you’re going to be far less stressed.

                Don’t stress! So everything doesn’t always work out when you go out for the Black Friday deals. Stores can only carry so many of one item, so keep that in mind. The other note, you still have a month until Christmas eve, so you have time for plan b still.

                Bring water. Seriously, if you’re doing a marathon or a sprint here, the stores can get really hot! You can keep it in your car if you want, but hydration is very important!

                Those are my Tips! Let the official Holiday Shopping Season Begin!

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice

Planning baking

I bake basically once a year, and Christmas is when I do. Now is the time to figure out what baking you’re doing this year. I tend to be some one who can over do it, that being said I actually can’t this year, so my typical like 7 types of cookies is down to 3-4. So I’ve picked a few favorites to work with this year. There are other aspects to consider when you’re planning for baking. Who is helping you for example?

I have hubs helping me this year, and I’m actually really excited about this. Now if you have the kids helping you, there’s probably going to be a little more planning on your part, so factor that in.

Once you have a plan in mind, start making a baking specific grocery list, if you haven’t already incorporated this into the previous lists we’ve made (I’ve put obvious staples, but not specifics). Add these to that list we’re knocking stuff off of on weekly basis. Odds are you’re still going to have to buy some of it when the big baking day comes, but just like our master grocery list, it can knock down on the chaos.

K, Luv Ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Putting up the Tree

                After the last 2 posts, you probably assume this post will be about putting up the Christmas Tree, you would be right.

                I’ve been over why we go early, and what my feelings are on this. That was in my post about the outside lights. If you want to read it feel free, but I’m not writing it again.

                Today we’re talking about hauling out the tree and getting that started. Now if you get a real tree, you may have no choice and HAVE to wait. I on the other hand do not. This year I had a couple more must haves though.

                Sometimes artificial trees…really look artificial. So this year, I have some green garland, that I added more lights to, and once the tree is assembled, we’re going to put this around the “trunk” (can we call it that? Around the pole?) to give it more fullness.

                You’ll also want to pick up some of those hooks too in case you need them, or you can’t find the ones you bought last year.

                In our house, the TV is only on if there is a Christmas special on when we’re putting up the tree, otherwise, it’s Christmas music.

                This is another one where once it’s done, we turn out the lights, make that the only one, and have hot chocolate and cookies, and watch a special…after.

                Well our tree is up, Christmas is here in the Matheson House

Decorating house

                In my last post, we started talking about decorating, and why we start now, and how this part isn’t for everyone. I’m not going to go through all of that again, so if you want to check it out, please do so. I also talked about how we break decorating down into 3 parts. Here is number 2.

                Now we’re decorating inside, excluding the tree (guess what #3 is). In older posts, when we were talking about inventory of decorations, and planning the decorating. I feel like this planning is utilized the most in this part. The other thing to remember as you do this is have some stuff to hang your stuff up with. I use 3m strips so I usually have a multi pack of them, and make sure I have that all set to go. There are a few we us thumb tacks and push pins for.

On our last post, I mentioned that we like to have hot chocolate after the lights. For this one, we usually like to have something special after, like a pot of soup, or something to snack on as we go. Decorating is an event in our house. With food, and movies, and all things to get us in the spirit. We also like to take our time because opening these decorations can be a flood of memories too. I also want to savour this year too. As excited as we are that this is our last year without a little one in the house for Christmas, it’s our last year without a little one in the house for Christmas. While I’m not sure I’ll miss it, like ever, I want to remember this Christmas too.

                Decorating inside, that’s the latest.

Christmas Lights

             

              It’s official, the next big day IS Christmas. I enjoy getting my decorations up early to enjoy my decorations as long as I can. As a result three of my next four posts are about decorating. Decorating is a topic that can get heated. By no means am I telling you to start decorating now, I’m going to, but obviously it’s your call. We do at our house, not ONLY because we enjoy it early, but also, it makes sense for us. We work in retail, we’re about to embark on the craziest time of year, so yes we get to come home and enjoy it early, but also it’s done. If you choose not to follow what we’re doing I encourage you to take notes, and have your decorating scheduled.

                There that’s enough of me attempting to not make waves. I think I’ve said in the past, I break decorating down to 3 different events. This way too we enjoy the actual decorating because we don’t get overwhelmed. The first part we’re doing also makes most sense to start now, because it’s the outside decorating. Give it a couple more weeks, and getting up on your roof is going to get really cold (truth be told, it’s a bit cold now). We get them up, but not actually on yet. They go on for 5 min the very first night they’re up so we can see them, but that’s it. Turning them on, we wait for one of two things. Either December 1^st, or when a few neighbours start turning theirs on…whichever comes first.

                Ball is in your court, lights, step one of decorating.

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

PS, We also like to have Hot Chocolate after we’re done the lights as well, and potentially enjoy one of our first Christmas movies of the year.

Remembrance Day!

                Happy Remembrance Day. Yes this post  is popping up on a day that I don’t usually post. However we have covered Thanksgiving, and Halloween on this blog series already, we couldn’t miss Remembrance Day.

                As I get older, this day means more and more to me. As a child, it was a day we made sure we were wearing a red flower, there was a moment of silence, and the day off School. As I get older, I watch the ceremonies on TV, and look around at all I have. This is when I realize how lucky I am to live in this free country, and all the things we take for granted every day, that people actually died for. It’s moving. I find myself in, or near tears every year when I think of this. There were people who gave up their lives, so we could have better ones.

                At 11:00, please take that moment to remember and recognize, how lucky we actually are, and what people gave up to make it happen.

Home Safety Check

               This is not a terribly, fun post, and what’s more it’s kind of a personal one for you. It’s a home Safety check up. If Home Alone has taught us anything, it’s that accidents are a lot more common around the Holidays. But seriously that’s true. And nothing can ruin your holiday quicker than some accident happening. We’d like to avoid that, so now is a great time to make sure your house is safe.

                Check and change batteries in the smoke detectors, check the fire extinguisher. Feel outlets to make sure they’re not too hot, and check for things like frayed wires. Make sure you’re not overloading outlets.  If you have little ones around, the list gets much bigger. Everyone wants a safe and Happy Holiday Season, now is a great time to make sure that’s going to happen.

                Once again, everyone has specific things to add to this list as well, it’s a great time to make that happen.

                K, Luv Ya, Bye

                Nancy, Cale and Alice

Parties and Events

               This post is all about the parties. Most of us will attend at least one party, be it the staff party, or a New Years Eve party. We know they’re coming. This one for me is a little more all encompassing. While yes, we’re talking about parties, like a cookie decorating party or an ugly sweater party, it also includes events, as far as I’m concerned. Where I tend to not be a host so much, I do need to make sure we count these events too. I have a pot luck, and I like to do something special for all my decorating events, and a special movie night, and a special looking at lights night too (which we do Christmas Eve too, but we have a night with just us as well). They’re not really parties, but they are events you need to figure out, and it's generally speaking food related. I’m also the head of the social committee at work, so I’ve been planning that Christmas party for a while too.

                This post tends to be a lot more personal, you need to figure out what is specific to you. It’s a short and sweet post, but hopefully, it helped you to put things in perspective for your own Holiday events.

K, Luv Ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Groceries, the Frozen edition

               

           

              Time to regroup and revisit the grocery list. So if you’ve been sticking to your previous assignment and knocking out the non-perishables, then the list is probably, at the very least very short by now. And it’s time to re do that list.

                Have a look at what you, have, what you might need, and redo this list. You may remember some stuff you forgot at this point too. It’s also time to start incorporating the frozen items into your weekly shopping too.

                If you recall, we were talking a while back about knocking a couple things off your list weekly to stretch that budget. Up until now it’s been the non-perishables, and we had a cupboard for it. Now that we’re adding the frozen products to the list, I usually put a big C on the items that are off limits so that I know, they’re not part of the weekly list, they’re for Christmas.

                Keep using Flipp too, it will continue to help save you money.

                K, Luv Ya, Bye

                Nancy, Cale and Alice

Christmas Card List

               I kind of love a lot of the projects on the November to-do list, and this is another one. I’m talking about the Christmas card list. No, we’re not doing the cards yet, we’re figuring out who we’re sending to. Why? Because we may need to do some leg work when it comes to gathering the addresses. I have an address book, it’s sitting on my end table, and I think it may have been sitting there since last Christmas.

                Make your list, edit the address book, that’s your current project. I recommend having an address book, because it will make gathering and organizing these addresses much easier for you, and for next year too. Another tip for next year, as cards come in, add and edit your address book

                Another tip, figure out what all you’ll need for postage. We only have two cards generally that leave the country, so it’s pretty straight forward for the most part. But going back to when we were talking about budgeting in the early days, I always forget to budget for postage.

                Let this also count as a wakeup call. We spoke about getting on Christmas gifts early. If you have been procrastinating on this, and need to send any gifts, no more procrastinating, because you’ll need to get those sent soon too. 

Movies and Music

Now, before we get into your Christmas assignment I have a very simple task for you. Back in September, I mentioned that this blog IS for Christmas planning, but we recognize all the important dates. Well there is only one more coming, and it doesn’t take a lot of your time. Today, I’m reminding you to go out and get your poppy for Remembrance day.  Leading up to the day really requires little effort, this is the majority of it. We will have a special Remembrance day post, so watch for that.

                 In some households, the month of December is when Christmas and the Christmas crunch really start, in mine, it’s November. Welcome to the month where I tend to start having the MOST fun, and get rather productive.

On the note of “productive”, It’s time to gather the Christmas Movies and Music. So this could be done a couple ways, you could have your collection and just need to dig it out. Or you might need to find these digitally, or make a playlist, or go out and grab what you need. Whatever your method, now is a good time to start.

                I never get through all my Christmas movies, but I have the specific ones I can’t miss every year (White Christmas happens a couple times). You may also be the type who likes watching them when they come on TV. I do and I don’t because they edit them down, but I get excited when I see that Rudolph is coming on.

               

                Like I said, a fun one!

                K, Luv Ya, Bye

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Happy Halloween!

             This one is short and sweet! Happy Halloween. Your assignment today, is have a safe and fun night. It's Tuesday, we don't usually have a post on this day of the week, it's only here to recognize one of the big dates leading up to, well our big one. Next post comes your way tomorrow, when we will be making sure we get back on track!

K, Luv Ya, Bye

Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Linens and Toiletries

             

               Today’s assignment, you may find yourself hiding in the closet, which is good, because that’s where the majority of what you’re doing is going to be happening. There are two main closets we’re looking at today, the coat closet, and the linen closet. Hopefully these are small jobs for you.

                Let’s start with the coat closet. Christmas is a time people pop in on you a lot. You need to clear out the coat closet now for guests, so they have a place to put everything. This might be a good time for you to reorganize if it’s something you’ve been putting off, but this is mainly meant for you to rehome some of the coats and jackets you’re not wearing right now, to make room for your guests.

                The Linen closet we touched on a bit already, making sure you have enough linens for everyone who will be staying with you. This is also a chance to get rid of some old linens that need to be tossed too. Inventory, see what you need and what you need gone.

                And then finally, now is the time to get stocked up on bathroom supplies. We’re talking tooth paste, floss, soap, and the ever important Toilet paper. You may want to do the same thing with these items we’ve done with our non-perishable food items. By this I mean put them in a place that is off limits, so when you’re running lower on TP, it’s a trip to the store and not your Holiday supply.

                K, Luv Ya, Bye

                Nancy, Cale and Alice

Wardrobe Check

Christmas party 2016

               Time to check the wardrobes. So every year you likely have something coming up that you need to, at the very least check your clothes for, now is the best time. Check what you already have, and what you might need. This includes events like Family photos, Christmas parties, Christmas PJ’s and the ever over looked, New Years Eve! That last one is ALWAYS the one I’m left scrambling for.

                Where I would be going Maternity this year, I’m keeping my selection very simple for my Christmas party (also because I have legit one store near me that sells maternity). And PJ’s I’m pretty well going to wear what fits me. As for Cale, I need to check out his closet and see if he needs a new shirt or something, and frankly he only gets into the PJ thing if I do.

                We go to the same New Years Eve party every year, so we just need to find out the theme and take it from there. It’s generally decided at the same Halloween Party we go to every year (so like tomorrow).

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice

Christmas Sales

           

            If you end up getting anything at them or not, most of us do enjoy going to some Christmas sales. Realistically, they’re probably kicking off in less than a month, so now is the time to start planning for them.

If you’re some one who actually sells at them, I’m probably way behind for your, but if you’re like me, who likes to take them in, it’s time to start mapping this out. There are ones that tend to stick out in our heads more than others, and ones that take higher priority. If you’re some one like me, who works every weekend, the reality is you’re likely going to have to get creative with when you get to go, and pick and choose which ones you’ll get TO. I have one I HAVE to get to, and one or two I would like to get to as well.

                Another part of planning for this is, budgeting. Will you be getting gifts at these sales? Are there baked goods you’ll want? I usually walk out with a pack of those syrup suckers, and some mini cheesecakes at the very least. And who will you go with? This is a family event this year, Cale and I will be going together to the big one. A lot of people like to make it a family event. They’re creeping up quick so now is the time to plan.

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

Planning Decorations

             Now that we have officially inventoried what we have for Christmas décor, it’s time to figure out what goes where, and actually plan our Christmas decorating. As a huge Christmas nut, I love this part, because while people may look at me funny for decorating this early, I can absolutely plan my decorations. Last year this was a MUCH bigger deal to me too, because it was my first Christmas in my first house. This year, don’t get me wrong, I’m excited, but I have an idea where I like things now. I still have pics from last year (We’ll cover this in a MUCH later post).

                If you have lot of decorations and like putting them all out every year, you decorate like me. Last post I talked about breaking the inventory list into categories. Mine are usually things that go on the wall, things that go on surfaces, light, stuff for the tree, stuff for the kitchen, things like that.  I also look around the room and figure out what surfaces or wall spaces I’ll have open. It becomes a big project, but having this mapped out, can make actual decorating easier. I also break my decorating down into 3 parts too, to make it easier (we’ll talk about that in future posts too).

                Now, that’s all well and good if you want your house overrun with Christmas but what if you’re some one who likes to keep it simple. I learned this one from 101 days to Christmas, there are really 3 spots to focus on when it comes to simplicity. Your door, A focal point in your main living area, and the tree. If you want simplicity, that’s as simple as it gets.

                I expect most people will fall somewhere in between these two spectrums as far a decorating goes, but both ends have their helpful tips to simplify for you when the time comes to get set.

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice

Christmas Decoration Inventory

            While some may not enjoy this next one, I LOVE this part, and let me tell you, I’m glad we handled organizing the basement, with Fall cleaning. This is where you inventory your Christmas décor.

So this is exactly what it sounds like. You’re going through your décor, and taking note of everything that you have. This helps to figure out if you need anything new this year, and when we get to it, where everything will go. In my house, we decorate early, because we like to, and we work in retail. This post isn’t about planning how to decorate this year, it’s a step towards it to help you figure out what’s going where. If you do nothing else early, I do recommend the outside lights. I’m feeling a bit of a chill in the air now, so I don’t really have a desire to be out setting up lights in the snow. We usually do this soon after Remembrance day.

To make it really easy later I also break it into different categories, like thinks that go on surfaces, walls, lights, for the tree etc. Makes it easier to have your decorations planed, and a lot less stressful when you do haul them all out.

Here is why I love going through all of these totes and boxes. I think all our decorations hold a special memory, and seeing each one, makes me smile. Sappy I know, but there it is.

K, Luv Ya, Bye

Stocking Stuffers

            Up until a couple years ago, I never would have thought of this, this early. It’s time to start shopping stocking stuffers. I know, SUPER early, but have you ever scrambled in the final hour to fill up those stockings? And the stockings can add up, big time, they get pricey.

Just like our groceries, spreading out the cost of the stocking stuffers can save you cash. The big thing is to watch when you’re out and about and spot a great deal on something small that would be perfect for a stocking. Another way, is to use the app I mentioned in a previous post, Flipp. Flipp grabs you all the local flyers to help you spot those items when they go on sale.

The other things to start watching for are your must haves. These are the little things you always have around the house. Like advent calendars, they’ve started popping up. We usually have some munchies, and stuff from Hickory Farms. We always have different options for Hot Chocolate around. And then too some must haves are not food related. You always need batteries on Christmas morning. Do you guys have the PJ tradition, watch for the sales there. Do you have a movie night? These are all your personal must-haves. Time to make a list, and start knocking them off on the good deals.

K, Luv Ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice

Online Shopping

                Before I start on this post, I will stress I will always support local business first. I prefer stimulating my local economy. Always do the big of leg work first to see if a gift is available locally, I discovered a local shop that does a gift I want for some one this year, and what’s more I’m going to save about $40 on shipping. But then there is the gift the evades you on a local level. We’re talking about online shopping here.

                So I could start this part out by saying, “it may seem a little early”, but this has appeared several times in this blog series, and I think you’re probably starting to understand, that’s the point. We want early. Now is definitely the time to get after this stuff, especially if you’re going for seasonal items.

                Last year, I painted ceramic trees for gifts, I had to order them online ( I was excited to be able to stick to a Canadian company though). The woman I ordered from told me how good it was I ordered as early as I did, because she was able to give me a deal, and I was able to get exactly what I wanted in plenty of time.

                If there is some online shopping on your list this year, the time is now!

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice

Fall Cleaning

               Okay, here is another one that might just not be too fun. For some reason though I do enjoy this, and that’s Fall cleaning. I’m talking about yard work and housework. So I’m talking about that last mow of the season, raking the leaves, stuff like that.

                My external to do list this year includes, the raking, and mowing, but cleaning the siding and windows as well. We also need to put away the Barbeque, and all the outdoor furniture. On our list this year is adjusting the snow blower before we start using that too.

                Internally, it’s time to put away the fans if I’m not using them anymore. We clean the window coverings, and wipe down the windows and walls, and dust. Also, straightening up the basement. We just need to straighten up and organize that stuff. As far as my Christmas stuff goes, I’m not organizing that yet. One reason, I organized it pretty well last year, and the second is because it’s in an upcoming post. This one, is another not fun post, but it needs to get done.

                K, Luv Ya, Bye

                Nancy, Cale and Alice

Plan for Halloween/ Halloween Decor

               Hope your Thanksgiving was fantastic, I know we had a wonderful time with family. This was the first event we were getting ready for, and now, it’s come and gone, so what’s next? Halloween!

                Last year was our first year in our house, but both of us worked. Odds are we’re both off this year, because it falls on our days off, and Cale is off in the evenings anyway, so we’re going to put a little more into it this year.

                Now is the time (assuming you can restrain yourself) to get those treats for the trick-or-treaters. Also, we have a couple special ones who will likely be coming to our door, so we’re likely going to have something special for them.

                Are you going to need to get any costumes together for yourself or for the little ones? Do it early, you’re going to be glad you did, when they’re not well picked over and you get the costume they actually want. I know some of you might have ones who change their minds on this. If you want to have a backup plan that’s fine, but try really amping up that costume so they’re super excited for it.

               

As far as décor goes, we used to have all these things we put in the windows when we were kids. I don’t have a lot of this going yet. We’re looking at some pumpkins, and some easy DIY or dollar store stuff. Just a little something, because the kids only see it for a second anyway. I don’t like the super scary stuff either, I realize Halloween has always had the scary aspect to it, and maybe it’s because I have my own little monster on the way, or that most of the kids I know are five or under, but I don’t like scaring the little ones. That’s not fun, it’s cruel.

K, Luv Ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice

Happy Thanksgiving!

               

                Happy Thanksgiving! Hope yours was wonderful. We just finished taking the turkey apart, and we’re going to be eating turkey for a while. Our guests just left too, we had Cale’s parents here with their little dog. They showed up yesterday, we had a good feed last night, and of course today too. There are so many leftovers and so much to be thankful for.

                We also started a new tradition. We have a white faux pumpkin, and we all wrote what we were thankful for on it. This is a tradition we’re going to keep going until we fill the pumpkin…then it will just be a nice fall decoration.

                We have no assignments today. When we land on a special day during our preparation, our assignment will be to sit back and recognize the day. So instead of ticking something off your list today, enjoy the food and family time that comes with Thanksgiving!

                K, Luv ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Home To-Do List

             

              Well I would be lying if I said this was a fun post, because to date it’s my LEAST favorite. It’s time to make a home to-do list. These are household projects I’m not excited for. For me, it’s my Bathroom. I need to caulk the tub, paint and put in new baseboard. Of course where I’m pregnant, painting the baby’s room is on my to-do list, but the baby isn’t due until the end of March, so we have time. No, my eyesore is the Bathroom for sure. To be fair, some of it was our own fault. A LONG time ago, we bought a paint, and splotched it on the walls, and point blank, hated the colour. This was a bit discouraging, but it’s time for round two.  Also we have a couple Christmas decorations that we always have in the bathroom, so we’d like it to look decent (matter of fact I think they’re all Cale’s decorations…).

                Now is the best time to look at this stuff because then it’s done. There are a few posts I will do in this series that I just hate with a passion. This is one of them…though the reality is the ones I don’t like, I’m not going to be able to do so much this year ( I have a get out of chemicals work free card growing). But Cale will still have to tackle these things, so it’s still in my head.

                This is your next assignment, list the projects, and schedule accordingly, hopefully before decorations go up.

                Quick note, my next post will be a little late. So when I do these posts, I know what I want to say in advance, have them typed, and start these projects before I assign them so I can take pictures and stuff too. As a result, my next post is my Thanksgiving post, and I’d like to share pictures from the day. Instead of an early morning post, it will likely be the evening (maybe the next morning depending if I slip into a turkey coma).

                K, Luv Ya, Bye

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Master Grocery List

               

               Today we get into one of my BIGGEST money Savers! I mentioned back in the budgeting to budget for food, and here is where we really stretch that budget. We’ve made our menu at this point, now we put it to work, and make a grocery list. It’s best (if you can) to make this list on the computer, because there are some things we’re going to need to rearrange after.

                Once you’ve put this together (and do not kick yourself if you forget something because there is always something that pops onto the last min list), you break the list down to 3 categories. The Categories are Non- Perishables, Frozen, and Fresh. Money Saving step #1, we’re going to start on the Non- Perishables now.

                A couple tips for that, #1, Have a designated spot for this stuff, because it’s off limits, and not part of your weekly grocery trip.

                #2 Buy on Sale. Most of these are little things that will pop up on sale from time to time. For example, Gravies and Stuffings are popping up like crazy right now because of how close we are to Thanksgiving. I also use the App Flipp. Flipp shows me what’s on sale, and what store has the best deal. Often for me, a store across town has the best deal, but one of the closest stores to me has a price match promise, I generally save money weekly there.

                #3 Buy a couple things a week. If you only get a few things on each grocery trip, you won’t notice a BIG difference in your grocery bill either, so not only does it spread out the cost, but you also barely notice it.

                #4 Redeem points. Most grocery stores have you collecting points, redeem them. I use this closer to Christmas because that’s when I will have bigger trips, and ones that have the things we forgot along the way too.

                That’s your latest assignment

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice