Travel and Guests

               

                 Christmas is about Family, who is going to argue that? Unfortunately, we don’t live in a time we’re all terribly close to family. Ours lives a minimum of 4 hours from us, but Christmas, we try and get together.

                This post is about planning travel, and for guests. Starting with travel, this may seem like it might be a bit early, but you’re going to want to do this sooner rather than later. If you’re flying especially, get it booked, have yourself set to go. Also aim for as early as you possibly can so you’re not in the midst of a mad scramble, when everyone is trying to get home at the exact same time, and keep in mind, mother nature doesn’t always play nice either. Some times this isn’t an option, but if it is, you’ll be happy you did. If you’re driving, make sure you have the car set to go, with the winter tires, and have a check up. Then of course keep in mind options on the way if, again mother nature doesn’t help.

                Cale and I both work in Retail, as a result we tend to be the hosts, not the travelers. Getting ready for guests, obviously includes having accommodations all set. This year for us it will include some new linens, and probably some new towels. Seems early to be figuring out guests, but the sooner the better. I know we’ve got at least two guests this year already. Beyond that, think of things people might forget, tooth brush, soap, stuff like that, it's nice to have on hand in case. Beyond that, what are little things you can do for guests? My Father in-law loves Diet Coke, so we have that on hand. My Uncle has a sweet tooth, so we have stuff for him there. Just think of little things that can make it more pleasant when your family gets there. 

               K, Luv Ya, Bye!

               Nancy, Cale and Alice

Planned Menu

               Today’s task, is actually one of my favorites. I love making lists, and these ones are coupled with tradition. It’s planning the menu. The master list can come in handy for this. I went back a circled everything that was food related, it made things easier to breakdown. I ended up with 3 categories.

               

                Things I need to have set in November. I don’t know this category will be for everyone, but for me, it’s important. Stuff really starts going for Christmas in our house in November, I have at least one potluck to get ready for, and the hot chocolate from scratch gets going, after sales, decorating, and parades. This is a short list, but it’s there.

                Next is what I need in early December. This is my baking stuff, and anything else that is important before Christmas, one of these things will be popping up in future posts.

                Finally the actual Christmas menu. One thing I will point out, December 23^rd this year is the last Saturday before Christmas. For me this means, I will either avoid stores like the plague that day or be going exceptionally early. Meals around these days do tend to be traditional, which makes charting it out pretty easy. Keep in mind things that aren’t your typical meals, like Christmas day, if you have you’re big meal at dinner, you’re probably still going to need to eat earlier in the day. And boxing day is so often overlooked. As for me, I also work ALL day on the 27^th, so we need to factor that in too. This list tends to be very personal, but do your best to figure out your menu. For me I always buy way more than I need, so I tend to simplify each year, but then too, I love having a tone of food options for everyone.

                 Let me stress, this is NOT the grocery list, this is the menu only. The grocery list will be in a future post, and I will share how to tackle it, and save you money along the way!

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice

Gift List

                Seem a little early to be looking at Christmas gifts? Let me paint a picture for you. Final Saturday before Christmas, stores and malls are packed, most of this gifts you wanted to buy are sold out, and you have to max your credit card to get all those things on the list. So personally final Saturday before Christmas (which is the day before Christmas Eve this year by the way) I’d rather sit at home and watch Christmas specials and drink hot chocolate. And the way I prepare, I typically get my way.

                This is why you make a list of people you’re buying for, and start brainstorming ideas. Then you watch for the sweet deals on the gifts. Also keep in mind if you plan on making any gifts, there will be a post about this, but now you can start getting ideas together.

                Most of us  know who we buy for every year, but there are a couple things we often overlook. Secret Santa, most work places have this. Also some of those gifts you keep on hand so you don’t feel stupid when people have something for you. If you’re anything like me, you can get a variety of things, like chocolates, wine, maybe a kit you put together to make Christmas a little easier for them. I generally don’t get confronted with these often, I’m generally well over prepared, but end up deciding I want to give gifts to people who I didn’t have on my list (or I want chocolate).

                Now is the time to start, and start tackling the list…I’m usually done by the second week of December, and let me tell you, it’s glorious! 

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Thanksgiving/ Fall Decor

               

                I don’t know about you, but I think that here in Canada we’re lucky. In the US they decorate for Halloween, and then a quick transition to Thanksgiving, and a quick transition to Christmas. I prefer being able to blink once or twice before we change our décor, and just enjoy it.

                I space out the timeline nicely, so I can enjoy each of the events for a portion of time. This is why my Fall/ Thanksgiving décor is out. While I go crazy on Christmas decorations, I like to keep it subtle for Fall. A couple pumpkins, a pretty table cloth, a door hanging. Not a ton, but enough to be festive.

                When you decorate too, you can always add some DIY’s and of course the kids crafts. Check out my Pinterest Fall Board for some ideas. Now, I could go into greater detail about decorating down the road, but that’s getting ahead of myself, and it will have it’s own posts later.

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

The Master List

              Our next assignment it something I refer to as the Master List, and it can be fun and interesting. In previous years this project has been ONLY mine. However, I have Cale helping me with everything this year, and I wanted to approach it with more of an open mind. It’s kind of an all encompassing Christmas Wish list. It’s a list of things that Christmas means to you (ie family, friends, giving). Things you enjoy about Christmas (ie Lights, Trees, great food).  Things you might need to do (ie decorate, shop wrap), Traditions ( ie Looking at lights, watching movies), and perhaps things you’d like to do this year. It was actually interesting to do with Cale instead of just on my own. Truth be told He grumbled a little when I first handed the list to him, but by the end he was laughing. It also opened my eyes to see what some of the typical traditions are, that seem to hold more of a special place with him. It also highlighted some things that, I really didn’t think of, but he would like to incorporate, and I’m paying a little closer attention to those things.

                You can approach the Master list a couple of ways. Last Christmas, I used my resources to help my friend get ready for Christmas, and she and I approached this list on completely different ends of the spectrum. My friend kept it simple, knew what she wanted and made it a very obtainable list. Then there is me, who can come up with a MILLION things on the list, but I accept I likely can’t achieve it all. Pick a style that works best for you. So basically, this is a big brainstorming session. You can do it solo, like I have in the past, or do it as a family. Depending on their age, you could even include the kids in this.

                While I will have these guidance posts through until after Christmas, there are somethings that are personal to you, and your traditions, that maybe I wouldn’t even think of. This will help you to add these things to your personal to do list, and what’s more, add them early.

                K, Luv Ya, Bye!

                Nancy, Cale and Alice 

Planner, Calendar and Budget

              

               Blog post #2 in our Christmas planning! The last one was kind of just our “oh we need to get this done” post, this one, we’re really getting started. This post is about staying on track and being organized. We’re focusing on your Planner, Calendar, and Budget. There are a lot of great resources out there for things like this, and as a matter of fact, my mentor site, 101 Days to Christmas has such resources if you’re interested. I however am a little more, shall we say basic?

                My planner, is for the most part my beloved notebook. I never don’t have one of these on the go. As a matter of fact I have it sitting beside me on my couch right now, showing me the rundown of all my posts from here until…well Black Friday (it’s two pages). It’s my main go to, and what I jot my stuff down in. I also have overall guides on my computer (a little more organized really). This will basically be your place to have to do lists and things of that nature. It’s really about what you like best, and what you’ll keep on top of. If you’re some one who keeps a personal day planner, then that would be perfect too, and it takes me to part #2, a Calendar.

                For my Calendar, I use two things, one is my calendar on my phone. I have a LOT of appointments coming up, and sometimes I need to know what they are quickly. So I keep that stuff in my phone, because I ALWAYS have it. This being said, a lot of Christmas plans, don’t just concern me, and Cale is not a mind reader. So the household calendar also comes in handy for that point as well. The Calendar is going to be vital in many aspects, ie when to send gifts and cards, when the Christmas party is, things of this nature.

                And of course the budget, which lets be honest, is the LEAST fun of the three, but the thing MOST break every year. A mistake I’ve made in the past is budgeting  for JUST gifts. But there are many other things to consider here. Here is how to break it down. One thing to of course look at is Food. How much are you willing to shell out for food? And keep in mind, people are going to need to eat things other than your big Turkey dinner (we’ll also get into money saving on this aspect later). Do you have pot lucks or exchanges coming up? This one can get hefty. I never seem to forget to budget for gifts, but there are also the ones we need to send, and of course Christmas cards that need to be sent. Decorations, you might need some new stuff this year. Travel or guests, fortunately guests can be as simple as making sure you have nice linens for them. Wardrobe, will you need clothes for the family photo? Or the Christmas party? Are you a family who has Christmas Pj’s (we tend to be). I probably missed somethings here too that are personal to you, and the budget might be a little clearer too after our next post…coming out on Wednesday.

K, Luv ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice

Christmas Planning Intro, and Thanksgiving!

Here it is! The second year in a row I’ve done a Christmas preparation blog series. Last year was a trial run, this year, I have it all laid out, and prepared. Last year I also used 101 Days to Christmas as a guideline. This year, it’s on my timeline, and my style.

Now I know some people I’m close to are seeing this post and saying, can’t we wait until (insert some event here). Well no, not really. Starting early is economically a good call. The average amount spent on Christmas in the US, is $1700…We’re Canada so it’s more like $2000 (not an actual figure, it’s me guessing). I don’t know about you, but the answer is no, I can’t afford to wait. Let me stress that this blog will remember the special events leading up to the big day as well (as will be evident later in this post).

We’re officially at a time of year I absolutely love. Obviously, I adore Christmas, but I LOVE Fall too. The fact I spend the entire season getting ready for Christmas, probably plays a role. But I also enjoy the colours, Thanksgiving, the cooler weather (I can’t take the heat for the life of me), apple picking, well actually anything that is apple related, and pumpkin related. So, while this blog is mostly Christmas related, it covers all the things that come within the period of time between now, and the big day. One of those things is Thanksgiving.

Believe it or not, we’re three weeks from Thanksgiving. So while this is the intro post, assignment #1 is here, get ready for Thanksgiving. This consists of making plans with family. If you’re hosting planning the menu, keeping in mind (if your family is anything like mine) family members may want to contribute, welcome this with open arms! Don’t forget the décor. I have a beautiful tablecloth, acorn salt and pepper shakers and a ceramic pumpkin I haul out every year around this time. I also grabbed a couple of hallow pumpkins from Michael’s (pictured above) and a wreath to hang on my door.

 Let me wrap up my post by saying thanks for reading, and welcome to another year of Christmas preparation, as stress free as it gets. Keep you’re eyes peeled for my next post, on Monday

K, Luv ya, Bye! 

Nancy, Cale and Alice

Christmas Blog, It's Coming!

               It’s BAAAAACK! Okay well almost. At around 100 days (101 exactly, to make everything work ) I will start my Christmas planning blog all over again… and that’s a WEEK from today. Should you not be acquainted with what I do with this basically I break down Christmas planning and preparation into three weekly blog posts, to help you stay on track with Christmas plans, and keep everything as stress free as possible.

                Last year I greatly followed 101 Days to Christmas, it played a BIG role for me organizing. However there are aspects of planning I like to start sooner than that site does, and also, it’s American. And a LOT revolves around their Thanksgiving, which is much later than ours. So this year, I have all my posts mapped out, and it will have a LOT more of me in them. Not to mention my husband.

Cale will be playing a much bigger role behind the scenes this year, because I’m gonna need all the help I can get. So delving into this, back in January, I did a post about my goals for 2017. My BIGGEST goal was to be pregnant by the end of the year, mission accomplished. Cale has been incredible helping me with everything to date, and agreed to help me with all my prepping this year (I’m still able to do my planning).

So if you’re looking for a bit of guidance, some money saving ideas, and simplification for your Holiday season, be sure to check out my posts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next several weeks.

K, Luv ya, Bye!

Nancy, Cale and Alice