Christmas Missions Completed: Week One

For the month of November, I'm going to blog once a week to give you a wrap up of what accomplished during the prior week. I'm calling these Christmas Missions. Writing keeps me accountable, and I hope that you might find some inspiration from me as well. You might consider checking off any tasks that apply to you in the upcoming week.

Meal Planning
I made a meal plan for nearly the entire month of November. For now, I have skipped my planning for Thanksgiving, but I expect to get that complete this next week. I made a point to make a few dishes I could double and freeze for later in the month. I also picked some simple meals that don't require much preparation. I've done monthly meal planning in the past and it saves me so much time. Now on the day I prepare for shopping I don't also have to figure out what I'm going to make!

Checked Gift Wrap
I checked the status of my holiday gift wrap. It's all stored in a container under the bed. I'm good on everything this year. I have gift tags, tissue, plenty of paper, and boxes. I added tape, a pen and scissors, so I will have everything on hand on the days I wrap. Right now, my plan is to wrap once per week.

Gift Storage Spot
I designated a gift storage spot. It's a cedar chest that has some empty space and is right next to where I store the gift wrap. As I bring new purchases into the house, I will promptly store them there until it is time to wrap. The chest does lock, but I really don't expect my daughter (age 17) to be looking around for gifts.

Checked Christmas Lights
I almost skipped this task. It didn't sound pleasant, but I did it in under 15 minutes. I'm so glad I did because there was one large string of lights we use on one of our trees that only partially lit up. This means I need to buy a set before we set up our tree later this month. This saves that frustration that comes from finding out moments before you start hanging the ornaments. I have a couple weeks, so I can research which lights to buy and possibly find a sale.

Wrote Christmas Cards
I had just enough cards on hand to write out to the few people I intend to send cards to this year. I already wrote out the addresses, added a return label and signed the inside of the card. I was short on stamps. I have added it to my list of errands. I plan to pick up some Priority mailing boxes at the same time to save a trip in December.

Brain Storming
I also did a bit of a brain storming session about everything related to Christmas that I need or want to make happen. One item was to buy candy canes. Another one was to go to a holiday concert. Ad I even thought about stocking stuffers. Those are just a few examples among many that were dumped on a word document. I will use those ideas to fill in grocery lists, research, shop for or add to the calendar. I'm also going to make sure not to over fill our activities. This means I may need to cross some things off my brain storming list. It sure helps to see all those ideas in my head written down. Next step is to get it a bit more organized!

Whoa! I actually did quite a bit this week. Most of them didn't take that long. In fact, the meal planning took the most time, but that is going to help me so much as the month goes on! Consider setting aside 20 minutes everyday this month to work on your Christmas plans. Or even an hour each weekend can make a difference to how things go in December.