Christmas Organizing System

So here they are, so many they are starting to go in front of the tree.

Whether you buy gifts all year long or piecemeal over the Holiday Season, keeping track of gifts can be difficult. Honestly, keeping track of everything can be impossible, when you think about it as a whole.

While, yes I do keep a notebook, once Christmas Season officially starts I need a notebook just for Christmas.

I randomly find kooky cast-off folders, and I am always writing in them. However, The Carwash Managers Training Program is chock full of Christmas secrets. I get a pack of notebook paper and make my lists.

Presents. A main chunk of this book. What I have wrapped. And for who. What others have bought and wrapped. (My mother mails me her gifts to the children early so they are already under our tree.)

This comes in handy for mainly two reasons;

Family. I have a large one. And as we are a blended family, it is even larger than ever. We share lists. What the kids want, what we bought for other kids. So there is no present duplication.

Confusion. I am not as great as I used to be at remembering. This helps me remember what the hey I already wrapped. Like I said, I am the gal who buys all year. Sometimes I just collect things to give with no specific person in mind. So once I start wrapping, I make sure everyone has a gift.

So aside from my family, there are plenty of other gifts. The Munchkin is in First Grade, so we are still in the everyone in my class is my friend stage. Even if it is something small, we give class gifts. Usually the same thing so there is no present envy. Then there are the Teachers. Bus Drivers.

For those of you with school-age children, this notebook is also handy. More than one? Probably a necessity. Aside from gifts, we have the class party. A big to-do and all the parents contribute.

Then of course there is the mail carrier and the garbage man, mine are Ed and Kevin and they both give us a card every year. Wave at me when I see them around town.

Shopping. I also do a lot of baking during Christmastime. So I keep a list of things I want to bake.

Christmas Cards. Family. Friends. Classes. Teachers. Service People. So many lists. But I love to do cards. Some I make. Some I buy.

So there you have it, the way I stay sane-ish over the holidays. Organization makes for smooth holidays. Sure, things will come up and go wrong but it is a good tool for me.

Helpers

are wonderful.

Now that the Munchkin is old enough, she does like to help decorate the tree.

Luckily, she has moved past the decorating and redecorating the tree thing. She would help decorate the tree. Many times. Many, many, many times. Every day she would rearrange the ornaments.

During this time I was very glad that I had decided upon the plastic ornaments.

Although she is a little older, she is not much taller.

As you can see from her section of the tree.

She was actually very proud of her decorating and has not rearranged one ornament.

Grinch-Inspired Christmas

We went to Universal Studios and Disney during December 2004. Not only are there less people, but the weather is nice and everything is beautiful.

After visiting Universal Studios and seeing Grinchmas, I was hooked. The bright colors, kooky ornaments, I just loved it.

And we met the Grinch! He was wonderful. Well, he was cranky. Cantankerous. Very furry. But a perfect adaptation.

I came home, traded in my white lights and fancy ornaments and went Who-Villian.

I found a great tree topper at Tar-Jay (you may know it as Target.)

I bought some crazy-colored tinsel garland.
Funky ornaments.

I try to add a few new ones each year.

If you get the chance, go to Universal during Grinchmas. It is still going on.

In fact, next year we are taking the Munchkin.

I cannot wait.

New Tradition.

Like it or not, the way I did the tree this year was perfect for the family.

I had uninterrupted time to put the tree up and fluff it.

Thanksgiving night I brought down all the Christmas decor, and having recently reorganized the attic, this was easy-breezy compared to previous years. I put the lights on the tree.

Black Friday was spent at home, I am not one to brave the madness of THAT retail nightmare. We decorated the tree, as a family, before lunch.

Then I put all the presents under the tree.

So here I am, on November 30th with the tree done. The decorating is almost done. Thank goodness the shopping is done. Everything is wrapped. Now I can work on the crafty items I wanted to make for Christmas. As gifts, and just because I think they are cute for the holidays.

Decking the Halls

The turkey is baking in the oven, my presents are wrapped upstairs, and tomorrow begins the official kick-off for my household of the Christmas season.

I will confess to having put up my tree already. Normally I wait until the day after Thanksgiving to do it all, and the Spawn was most adamant about waiting until tomorrow to do so. She was not pleased to come home from school and finding our tree up. All put together and fluffed up. All set to decorate.

MOM, although with her intonation it had like 18 syllables. Ever since I was little, we have always put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving.

She is not the one having to put up the tree.

The Spawn was always fine with letting me do all of this, I put up the tree. The lights. Decorated the top half of the tree until she was tall enough to reach it. But now that has all changed.

While the Spawn is still content with waiting for me to do all the tree work, now we have a helper in the house. Munchkin loves, loves, loves to help. And although very sweet, it makes some tasks take longer. And honestly, there are some tasks she just cannot help with.

Putting up the tree is time-consuming as it is. We have an artificial tree. I have to put the base together, the stand. Add the top, and then all of the limbs. Then the top and each limb has to be fluffed up as it has been in storage for a year. I have learned to wear long sleeves as this is always a task that makes me all red and scratched up, as I am elbows deep in what feels like bottle brushes. Throw in a five year old with all of this and it is a recipe for frustration, tears. And then there is the kiddo.

One thing I would like to avoid this holiday season is emotional trauma. I want happy holidays.

So I broke my rule and put up the tree the day before Thanksgiving, I think the Spawn shall survive. This is this trees last season anyway, as this is the tree we have had since the Spawn was little.

Little do they know, I am plotting to buy an obnoxiously artificial tree for next year. Very likely pink.

Color Coding Presents

 Yes, I am Serious. Can you tell that I am an organizing diva yet?

Wrapping paper. Every person, in your immediate family, gets a color. Or a pattern.  I am a dork and went with the matchy-matchy rolls in the multi-packs. The ones I have been using for the last few years are blues. The Spawn has snowflakes. The Munchkin, snowmen. The Mister, stripes. Myself, holiday words.

I bought the chosen multi-pack rolls by the cart full once they hit the clearance section. I read about this tip years ago. This eliminates the need for tags. I also usually do not use ribbons or bows.

For friends and relations, I do a completely different set of paper. Or bags. These I do use tags for.

If you end up getting solids or a non-Christmas pattern, you can also use your stash during the year.

So far. Not too bad, considering it is November 4.

I also keep a list of what I have already wrapped.

Want to Be Organized Too?

I started off buying a notebook. (This is probably the third one I have had.)

This lovely one was from Borders (R.I.P.) for about $5 from the Bargain section. Think portable.

Inside, still lots of pages. (I cannot show you the real lists, as these are the secrets of the universe. Well, the Mell-averse. ) This is a lot of things to me. My Christmas list is just one section. Think of it as my brain, but on paper. By category. With highlighted titles.

Yeah, I do love my lists.

Indeed

We have entered November, in just 20 days it will be Thanksgiving.

The day after Thanksgiving is the kick of of the holiday season for me. I will be setting up my tree. I do not participate in the Black Friday Sales. Sure, there are lots of good deals. But with those good deals come insane crowds.

No, thank you.

In fact, most of my gifts are already bought. Half of them have even been wrapped. Don't hate me.

I am one of those horribly organized people, when it comes to Christmas anyway. I buy gifts all year long. Stow them away in totes in my attic.

I keep a list of the people I shop for in a little notebook. Each person has a page. What they like. If they collect anything. Favorite color. Sizes. Maybe something I heard them say they wanted.

I started doing this a few years ago. I noticed a terrible trend in my life. Come holiday time, I never seem to have any money. Less hours at work, some car malfunction....always something. It stinks. Especially when you have children. I have children and I don't want them to be disappointed come Christmas morning.

In the current economy I rarely have money anyway. Needless to say, it seems nobody has any money. But if I had not started this custom before I would have started it this year.

I highly recommend it. My tree is up, with all my presents underneath. I have the entire month of December to enjoy the season. Indulge in baking. Holiday movies. Crafts. I will usually buy one or two things. Because there will be something new and cool that is the must-have for my offspring. Santa is usually the giver of these things.

I am rather crafty. This is also the time of year I make the handmade things I intend to give this year.