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.