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