It is eight weeks until Christmas and now is the time to start thinking, planning and getting organised for Christmas! Yes there is still plenty of time, but if you start and work on tasks now, you can really save yourself from having a stressful few weeks in the lead up to Christmas.
For many of us, due to COVID-19 we may not yet know exactly what Christmas Day looks like or where we will be spending it. But even if with this uncertainty hanging over us there are still many things we can plan. To help me get organised for Christmas I have created myself a checklist of tasks that I can work through at an easy pace now.
My getting organised for Christmas checklist!
| Task | Resource | Completed? | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choose a theme for Christmas | Christmas theme options | Done |
| 2 | Update or create Christmas budget | Christmas budget template | Done |
| 3 | Create a Christmas present ideas list your family, extended family, friends, teachers, neighbours | Christmas ideas spreadsheet | Done |
| 4 | List the handmade items you will make for gifts and schedule time to make them in your calendar | Christmas DIY ideas | |
| 5 | Determine any gifts and cards you will need to send and find out the cut-off dates for the post | These dates are from Australia Post and are subject to change, please make sure you click through to their website for the latest information. As at the time of publishing Australia Post had the dates as follows: Sending within Australia Send Parcel Post by Saturday 12 December 2020. Send Express Post by Saturday 19 December 2020. Sending internationally Delivery dates to send your Christmas parcels and letters overseas are in the below table. Circumstances can change rapidly in this highly volatile environment, so these dates may be subject to change. Note also that time in customs is not included in our delivery time estimate and is outside of Australia Post’s control. Recommended final sending dates for major destinations (Standard Post): USA, Canada, UK, Europe: Monday 16 November 2020 Most of Asia: Monday 23 November 2020 New Zealand: Friday 27 November 2020 | |
| 6 | List any food items you will make for gifts and schedule time to make them in your calendar | Christmas Homemade Food ideas | |
| 7 | Conduct Christmas supplies audit, then think about what else you can use for wrapping, tags etc | Create a Christmas wrapping caddy Upcylced Christmas tags | |
| 8 | Schedule all Christmas festivities on/in your calendar | How to use Google Calendar for the family | |
| 9 | If hosting Christmas create a Christmas menu plan | Christmas menu plan ideas | |
| 10 | Create a work plan for the month out to Christmas | Christmas lunch prep you can do ahead | |
| 11 | Think about ways you can give back to the community and allocate some time to volunteer or provide needed goods. | You can look at SEEK volunteer for opportunities in your area or try your local council and community groups. |
I have created the above checklist in a downloadable Excel file and also a Google Sheet if you would like to use it to help you with getting organised for Christmas. You can download the Excel file here:
If you prefer to use Google sheets you can use this file, to be able to edit a copy of this sheet and add your items and notes, you need to make a copy of the sheet first. To do that you need to:
- Open the Christmas Planning Checklist spreadsheet
- Click on ‘file’, then ‘make a copy’
- Name the sheet and click on okay
- You will now be able to make whatever changes you like.
You will need a Google account to do this. If you don’t have a Google account already you will need to sign up for one. This doesn’t mean you have to get a Gmail address. Google accounts don’t have to use Gmail addresses. A Google account is simply a unified sign-in system that gives you access to Google products, including Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. You can associate any email address with a Google account. To sign up for a Google Account go here.
This post is part of my Christmas Planning series. You can find more posts like this here.