We’ve reached the most magical time of the year. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t take much for Christmas to become the most stressful time of the year as well. It’s so difficult to juggle buying Christmas presents, seeing all the family, work dos, markets and food prep. And not forgetting maybe even trying to squeeze in a moment to relax?! I always find it easier to achieve a stress-free Christmas if I’ve taken some time to get properly organised first. And as one of my favourite organisation methods is lists, here’s a list of five ways to plan a perfect Christmas day. Notebooks at the ready!
Presents
We think that Jo March definitely has a point when she says, ‘Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents!’ at the start of Little Woman. Giving Christmas gifts is a wonderfully joyful activity. But keeping track of who to buy for and what to get can make me want to spend Christmas hiding under my duvet.
A classic list is good for keeping track of what you want to gift people at Christmas. I always enjoy ticking presents off as I acquire them too. If you’re struggling to think of good gifts for certain people, a mind map can be a fun and creative way of getting inspired. Of course, our customised notebooks and customised mugs are a great addition to any Christmas presents list! If you’re stuck for ideas, why not check out our Christmas Gift Guide?
Decorating
I think that the aesthetics of Christmas make up a good portion of the annual magic. I love some twinkling lights, evergreen foliage and shimmering glass baubles. It can be fun to wing the decorations, but creating a mood board in your notebook can be helpful if you want to work with visuals from a specific inspiration.
Once you have an idea of what you want your decorations to look like, transform your mood board into a shopping list to make your vision a reality! If you’re a fan of sending Christmas cards to family and friends, you could even choose cards that fit with your Christmas theme. And, on the topic of cards, don’t forget to make a list of who you’re sending them to this year!
Dinner
For some people, Christmas dinner is the centrepiece of a family Christmas celebration. There’s a lot of moving parts to cooking a large meal, whether you want a traditional turkey roast or something more unconventional, so planning is vital. It can be helpful to collect the recipes you want to use and think about any tweaks or changes in advance, as well as plan the necessary cooking and baking timings. You can also use the recipes to make your Christmas food shopping list in the same place. Keeping everything organised together in one notebook means you’ll know exactly where to look when you need to double check how long the sprouts will take or if you remembered to pick up brandy cream.
Budgeting
Christmas is an expensive time of year. I find budgeting intimidating but getting organised in advance is always for the best. And it’s nice to wake up to a healthier looking bank account on new year’s day! One way to make your Christmas budgeting a bit more fun is to use a bullet journal spread, such as the one above.
It’s easy to customise Bujo pages, so they’re good to use when you want to clarify what is most important to you. This can be particularly helpful at Christmas, when there can be lots of different demands on your wallet from friends and family. Bujo is also great for making boring tasks like budgeting more fun. You can easily add colours or themed decorations.
Some time for yourself
It’s easy for Christmas to become busy, and finding some time for yourself can be difficult. I find that making a list of three or four festive goals that are personal to me is a soothing way to guarantee I make time for my own needs. I think Christmas can be anything festive that makes you happy. Traditional family Christmas cookie decorating could be fun for people who thrive on being social. Or snuggling up to watch your favourite Christmas movie might be better for introverts. Either way, making time for yourself is an important part of creating a stress-free Christmas.
Whatever your perfect, stress-free Christmas day looks like, we hope you can easily achieve it with our planning ideas. Have a merry and bright Christmas season!
