I can’t believe we are almost to Advent! I swear it was JUST summer. In July, I suggested working on your gift list and in August, I talked about my holiday notebook and the e-book A Simpler Season. In September, it was about planning for craft projects and last month was about family photos plus Thanksgiving. If you haven’t done any of those or haven’t even THOUGHT about it yet, I suggest reading each of the previous posts or checking out A Simpler Season for a quick start.
Christmas Cards
This month is all about Christmas cards. Do you send them? Do you NEED to? Chances are you don’t, but some people really enjoy them. I skipped sending them one year and it really bugged me all year long. To save my sanity, I decided to send one to EVERYONE I knew about every other year. It’s usually the year with a new kiddo :). On the off years, I send cards to the people who I care enough about (and who care enough about US) to see and make an effort with to stay in touch throughout the year.
If sending a card is one of those things that you like but strains your budget, you could try a photo postcard (1/2 the postage) or buy your cards the previous year. If your list is small, you could also have your children help make them if that is something they would enjoy. Unfortunately, there is no way around postage.
If it’s more of a time savings that you need, you could always print your address labels or even get personalized cards. For our business, I get our names printed on the cards themselves and even the return address on the outer envelopes. For the stamps and stuffing, even my 4 year old loves helping and has for a little over a year.
So this month’s task is to start on your cards. Figure out IF you are sending them, who you are sending to and buy any necessary supplies – stamps, cards, family pictures, address labels (return AND for family), envelope seals, any special pens, etc.
Advent
Hopefully, you got a head start on Thanksgiving last month and can think about what devotions your family does during Advent. I hope to use Truth in the Tinsel this year and Amanda has even created a Printable Ornament supplement for those days where crafting is…um, more than we can handle :). Get any supplies you need for your Advent celebrations — wreaths, candles, evergreen, books, craft supplies, or whatever else you might need.
If you celebrate certain Saints Days that take place during Advent, you might prepare for those as well. Our family celebrates the Feast of St. Nicholas as well as the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Lots of people also honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, too.
Get it Done
Now that we are getting close to Thanksgiving, it’s REALLY time to get moving. If you normally have your holiday’s pretty well under control and A Simpler Season isn’t really for you, ListPlanIt has a FABULOUS Holiday Planner that has almost every form you could need to plan for the holiday season. I love her forms and use many of them. In fact, I had to refrain from just printing the whole book!
No matter how you do it, though, this is the time to get moving so that you can ENJOY your Advent & Christmas season. Are you ready to enjoy the hustle and bustle instead of stressing?
This post will be linked to the Catholic Bloggers Network’s Monthly Round-Up.
