Prepare Now For A Less Stressful Christmas!

This is a sponsored post which can include affiliate links. All opinions are 100% mine. Please see the disclosure page for more information. Disclaimer – always verify medical information with your doctor, verify financial or other information from a professional and follow all laws for your location.

Ok, ok, I know it’s July 1st. But ya know what, Christmas Day is less than 6 months away! For those of you who love love love the holidays, you probably just got a bit giddy. For the very unorganized and frantic around holidays, you might have felt a twinge of stress. But not to worry! This article is all about preparing for a less stressful Christmas.

**Check out these simple tips now for a more peaceful time later!**

Set Aside A Place For Presents

There is a gift tote that stays on the top shelf in my closet all year round. It’s high enough that the kids can’t get into it and spoil their surprise! As I find things throughout the year that I think people would like, I buy them to gift for Christmas. This is a great way to save money and sanity! Knowing that most, if not all, the Christmas gifts are ready long before the holiday rush starts, makes life so much easier and less stressful!

Get Christmas Cards Today!

For the last 3 years, I have forgotten to get Christmas cards early enough to send out to friends and family. Getting a letter or card in the mail is one of my favorite things; I mean MailArt is one of my favorite types of art to create for goodness sakes! So don’t wait until the stress and business of the holidays are knocking on your door to get Christmas cards. Basic Invites is a great resource for christmas cards, holiday cards, business christmas cards, and more.

If all of your addresses are already on a file on your computer you can upload these to Basic Invites and not have to write them all out to mail them which is a great way to save time and save sanity! Don’t have all your friends addresses? Basic Invite offers an address capturing service that allows customers to share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media to request their friends and family’s addresses. The addresses are stored in the customer’s account and can be selected during the design process. Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all card orders. Whaaat?! My mind is blown! I could use this year round and not just for Christmas cards but invites to events too. Plus, I am always losing my address book around my house and this could help me out with that too.

giphy.com

Organize & Declutter Decorations

Last year, aka the year of the purge at my house, I went through most of the totes and boxes in our attic. It was WONDERFUL! There were two giant totes, boxes of trees, about 8-10 ornament and knickknack totes, and more. It was overwhelming to realize all the stuff I never really decorated with or got to enjoy each year. Some of the decorations hadn’t been used for years. Why, oh why, was I hoarding all of that stuff?

Here’s why… Fear, shame, and guilt. Well, not as much fear as more shame and guilt over getting rid of things. There were things people had given me and I didn’t want to hurt feelings for getting rid of them and I had shame for overspending even on clearanced decor that I really didn’t need and wasted money. Luckily, last year, I just got over it and got rid of half of what I had plus got rid of the terribly Charlie Brown-ish fake tree and upgraded with this one. This past Christmas was sooo much less stressful with not having to dig through more totes than necessary. Plus, any of the decor that was in the totes was actually stuff I liked and wanted to use. Talk about a stress reliever!

Plan Your Parties Now

Ok, I know it’s way ahead of time, but if you love hosting parties, now is a great time to start dreaming about what to do for a Christmas party. Maybe you’ll plan a dinner or an ornament exchange or a screening of A Charlie Brown Christmas? Whatever the party is, you can plan now and start gathering things for the party ahead of time. Ideas can include plates&napkins, balloons, food ideas, and custom invites. Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once they select a design, customers can change the color of each element on the card. With over 180 colors to choose from, the invite is sure to be how you want it. And if you are planning your Christmas party now, you have plenty of time to figure out exactly what you want for your decor, theme and matching invites for the event! Need more inspiration? Be sure to check out Basic Invite on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. Plus, right now Basic Invite is offering 15% off with coupon code: 15FF51 Woot woot!

via GIPHY

Prepare Your Heart

Now or any time is a great time to prepare your heart and mind for exciting times. The end of year holidays can feel like a happy, sparkly, but sometimes suffocating, giant wave crashing hugs, cookies, parties, and presents all around. It’s important to remember what to focus on during these times (and just daily life in general). For me, Christmas is a time to remember how God sent His Son to save the world. It is also a great reminder of the importance of family and love and connections and helping others. Going into the holidays with your mind solely on “To Do” lists and reaching cheesy movie level perfection isn’t what Christmas is all about at all and holding onto those ill-conceived notions will stress out just about anyone! As the end of the year festivities get closer, remember to let go of unrealistic expectations and embrace having fun, enjoying the company of those you love.

These are just some of the ways to prepare now for a less stressful Christmas. The biggest tip I have though is to remember what the reason for the season is. It’s not so much about things because things are not really what is valuable. Afterall – “Maybe Christmas (he thought) doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more.” — The Grinch