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