Get ready for Christmas now to save money and stress

I can hear people shouting at me now as the word Christmas can feel like a swear word in August.  I had the same reaction myself when I saw Christmas items being sold in a shop a few days ago.  However, I realised that I have been getting ready for Christmas since January when I bought reduced mincemeat and wrapping paper in the Christmas sales.  Getting ready for Christmas now saves me so much money and stress. It helps me enjoy special time with my family.  I am not an exhausted, frazzled, bankrupt mess.

Here are some of the things that I start doing now.

1.  Talk to family and friends now and arrange when we are going to spend time together so that it can be put in the diary.  Two of my family often work Christmas and so we will often get together on another weekend and pretend it is our Christmas day.
2. Plan your budget and start putting money away. Be more intentional this Christmas
3. Have a conversation about presents with family and friends.  Are we buying them?  Do you we have an amount that we are spending?  My friends and I decided not to give presents, or just do a token. (They got gingerbread  reindeer in a little plastic bag with ribbon tied around last year, or a small bag of fudge). A couple of years ago we decided as a family to do a secret Santa but make it a reasonable present of £60 so that it was something valuable or was really needed.  We might have spent £25 on each person before.  It saved us a lot of money as it was getting expensive as the family expanded and my children got married and had relationships.  The large gift meant that we were able to receive things that we really wanted but couldn’t really afford for ourselves.  Any one under 18 still gets presents from all of us.
4. Book leave for the Christmas period from work now.  You might want to extend your Christmas, or ensure that you can all spend some time together if you work shifts and Christmas is just a normal work day as it used to be for me.  Maybe you want to book a few days off before Christmas so that you are not rushing to get everything done.  You might not be granted the time off that you want, but it will give you time to make other arrangements with family or to arrange swaps with other workers. I used to always swap my shift to a late shift on Christmas so that I could open the presents with my children.  Mr S is negotiating getting Christmas day off at the moment so that I am not on my own as other family members are working or have arranged Christmas Day else where.
5. Buy items in the sales.  There are lots of sales on at the moment and I have been buying odd items for my grandson, especially clothes items that will fit him next year that I wrap up as a stocking filler.
6. Put an extra food item for Christmas into my shopping each week.  This might be icing for the cake, a bottle of pop, sugar for baking etc.  This reduces the expense nearer the time.  A supermarket was selling Turkey  legs at a reduced price recently and so I bought a couple and froze them.  I can then just buy a Turkey crown and it works out cheaper than buying a whole Turkey and takes less cooking time.  If I buy items like sweets I have to get Mr S to lock them in his car or else I would be buying them again!
7. Be looking on Vinted, car boot sales for presents.  There is nothing wrong with second hand presents, especially for young children.  They will get more or you will save money.
8. Start making presents.  This is the perfect time to be making Blackberry infused gin, jams and chutney for a small hamper, or to start knitting that winter jumper or blanket.  I intend to do more crafted stocking fillers this year.
9. Start saving money on a supermarket store card.  Many give you a bonus to spend in December.
10. Make your Christmas cake.  It will taste nicer if matured and the ingredients will probably cost more as it gets nearer to Christmas.
11. Start looking for ideas for recipes for Christmas food.  We always make some of our Christmas favourites, but I like to make some things that are different and special each year.  In the past this has been things like the sausage wreath. This year I want to make my favourite Lebkuchen biscuits as they have become so expensive in the shops now.  Look for recipes of what to do with left overs too.
12. Start making some food and storing it over the next few months, if you have room in your freezer.  I will be making different truffles and freezing them (they will just need the chocolate putting on when I take them out), and next month I am going to make some festive pasties with chicken and stuffing in.
13. Take a family photo with bobble hats on or winter jumpers and print your own personal cards.  The people that I post cards to are often people from my past, or old relatives,  and they like to see what we look like now.
14. Decide who is hosting and what items other people will supply. In our family we take turns. One will supply the meat, an other the sides, and another the desserts.  The person who is hosting provides the drinks.
15. Check your Christmas lights and decorations.  When it came to putting up my tree last year mine didn’t work. This led me to have to buy more expensive lights in a hurry.  Do an inventory of the Christmas things that you have.  You might have lots of paper and cards from last year and so this will maybe save you picking up any more.  Children like crafting decorations in the December if you know that you have things missing.
16. Ask family for their wish list for presents.  You can then be looking out early for the best deals.
17. Plan your Christmas market trips with family and friends.  I don’t often buy anything from these markets but I pinch ideas of things to make.  The atmosphere also gets me into the holiday mood.
18. Start decluttering to make room for all the new items you may receive, and get rid of any broken and tatty decorations, or those that you don’t like.
19. Look where you can volunteer if you are going to be alone, or invite some one that you think might be alone as well. Look out for locally organised free events.  Our village organise things for children and a party for the elderly.  Sometimes that is the only Christmas that they get. I have spent Festive Days alone when my children have gone to spend time with other parents, and it is lonely.  The sight of happy families walking along the street, or laughter and Christmas songs drifting through the wall can easily make someone feel worse if they are missing family at Christmas, or find themselves alone. This is a link to a blog I wrote a while ago about spending Christmas alone
20. Work on your attitude.  Tell yourself that you are going to enjoy this Christmas and do lots of things to get yourself into the mood.  I did that the year before my Mum had to be locked down in a home, and then died.  I am so glad that I put a lot of effort and didn’t spoil Christmas for other people because I was stressed, tired and grumpy. We played games and really had fun, and I was relaxed because I was organised.  Those memories stay with me now and we always mention that Christmas around the dinner table as we eat our Christmas dinner.  Even if you think that you hate Christmas, as I did. you can make it fun and enjoy it.  I also had lots of fun another year when I was on my own before I had a family.  I volunteered at a Christmas party for the Homeless.  I have never laughed or sung as much.

I used to hate Christmas and never got time to enjoy it.  It was a lot of work and I was rushed on the day as I often had to go to work later for the late shift.  By being organised, I now enjoy our Christmas time together and I am now looking forward to this year.  How do you get ready for Christmas, and do you start early?