Is it too soon to talk about Christmas? Just kidding, it’s never too soon! I know that Christmas is a lot. It’s a lot in all the right ways and sometimes in all the wrong ways too. How was your Christmas? How was the entire experience, from the decorating to the gifting, to time with family to the shopping? Was it amazing—nothing you’d want to change? Or do you need to make some tweaks for next year? Here are a few things you can do right now to help make next year’s holiday season even better!
Organize
It’s time to take down your holiday décor but before you do, go through what you didn’t use. Is there anything that you can donate that you didn’t put up this year? If every year you buy a few more holiday pieces then it might be time to donate what you didn’t use. Don’t store items for another year that you won’t use.
Before you take down your ornaments, make sure you have an organized place to put them. If you haven’t invested in Christmas storage before, then now is the time to upgrade your storage situation. Head to Target or the Container Store or your local big box store and buy some storage and ornament totes and bins.
Donate
This is also a great time to donate any clothing or electronics that you don’t need. If you received three sweaters for Christmas, are there a few old ones you want to get rid of? Are there any new electronics or kitchen appliances that you received that can replace old ones? Donate them so they can be useful to someone else and clear out the clutter in your home.
One thing I love to do is have an After Christmas Swap! Exchange any unwanted items with a group of close friends. If you have friends that would wear some of your sweaters or could use some new-to-them appliances, trade with them! This can even be done over zoom and ship out any items that you trade.
Review the Gifts you Gave
Did you get the reaction you wanted from your gift recipients? Did anyone’s reaction fall a little flat? Did you learn anything about what they would have liked instead? Take notes! Write everything down so that you can reference it next Christmas. If you haven’t used the Very Happy Merry spreadsheet yet, now is a great time to start! Write notes from this Christmas and any ideas that you have for gifts next Christmas on the last tab. And start your gifting early!
Buy One Gift Now
I know it seems early, but every year it goes by so fast. Buying one gift a month helps distribute the stress and financial load throughout the year so there is less to do during December. Great gifts are on sale during "After Christmas Sales" and you can get some great finds! The gifts I like to buy first are for the recipients with needs that won’t change too much with time. Don’t buy your family member baby clothes because babies will be a different size by the end of the year. This is a great time to buy neighbor gifts, teacher gifts, and boss’ gifts. Buy at least one gift now and add it to your spreadsheet—you don’t want to forget that you already crossed someone off your list come December!
Very Happy Gifting!
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VHM
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