The holiday season is upon us and there’s a lot to do – and I mean A LOT. It’s easy to get overwhelmed so let’s take a step back and prepare with a handy guide.
Right now we have Thanksgiving just around the corner with Christmas soon to follow, which involves a lot of planning and budgeting, especially if you’re hosting these in your home. So let’s start from the beginning and put some order in this chaos.
Before you know it, you’ll have everything under control!
“When you are enthusiastic about what you do, you feel this positive energy. It's very simple." – Paulo Coelho
Plan ahead
First, we have to take note of everything that’s going down. Are you having people over for Thanksgiving and Christmas? If so, how many? Will some of them sleepover?
Look at the calendar and plan for each day, including the days before the main events. You will need time to make purchases, prepare recipes, send invitations, etc. It’s a lot to take care of and it’s easy to forget a few things.
You can use an online planner like Trello to better organize your days and keep track of everything. And try to have a plan B for important situations such as picking someone up at the airport.
Here are a few things you should note to help prepare for the holidays:
- Which days are you hosting
- What will you serve
- What you need to buy for the celebration
- How many people will attend
- How many presents will you be giving out
- If you’re ordering gifts online, do so in advance so they arrive in time
- How many people will sleepover
- Who needs rides where
- If anyone has food allergies
Most importantly, you might want to clean the entire house before the big day. If you find yourself short on time, consider hiring professional house cleaners to save time!
Budget
Once you have your plans written down, it’s time to budget. – everyone’s least favorite part!
But hey, it should be a lot easier now that you know the details from the planning stage, which helps to keep your budget under control. Food is very important, but so are all the gifts and decorations!
Take note of all the expenses – including for the month of December – so that you have a good idea of what to expect. If it seems too high you can make adjustments, but you have to know where to start first.
An Excel sheet or a simple list should help you a lot, as well as a calculator.
Decide on recipes early
You should decide on all your recipes early because this gives you ample time to purchase what’s necessary and prepare ahead of time. Besides, if anything goes wrong (it happens!) you should have enough wiggle room to go for a plan B.
If you need a headstart, check out these Thanksgiving guides:
- How to cook the perfect Thanksgiving turkey
- 10 Delicious Appetizer Recipes for the Best Thanksgiving
- 12 Quick Recipes for the Best Thanksgiving Menu
- 10 Special Thanksgiving Recipes to Include Everybody
Send out invitations
It’s very neat to gather a mailing list of all the people you want to invite, but unfortunately, not a lot of people check their emails for important stuff nowadays. So instead, it’s probably better to reach out to them directly via WhatsApp, Instagram, or wherever they’re more available!
Before you do, try to make a comprehensive list to make sure you got everybody. It’s easier to notice if you’re forgetting someone when you can see all of their names written down in front of you.
Decorate
The holiday isn’t complete without decorations! There’s a wide range of decorations to pick from, starting with simple Thanksgiving DIY decor ideas to more well-developed ones, but it all depends on your budget and how much time you have.
Most people will probably invest more in Christmas decorations, but you can always plan around it. Perhaps, plan for more economic decor during Thanksgiving and then go all out for Christmas!
Preparing for the holidays and need some help? Get free quotes from professional house cleaners in your area today!
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