Holiday Interval, week 2: Make Purchases
Yes, it is Thanksgiving Week, and we don’t want to eclipse this holiday with Christmas preparations, but the more that can be done before December even hits, the more calm and relaxed December will be.
Because it is a holiday week, you might have more time. If you have a day or two or maybe the whole week off, then you can use that time to get a few of those purchases on your gift list secured.
I’m a big fan of ordering all I can from Amazon so I don’t have to venture out into the cold, browse racks, and mingle in the crowded aisles. Online shopping can be done with a cup of coffee in the morning before the kids are up or after they go to bed with a glass of wine by the fire.
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals coming, we can possibly get our Christmas gift list taken care of at a discount. Sometimes those deals might tempt us to overbuy or get lost in the clicking-trails of possibility, but because we have already made our gift lists last week, we can keep track of what we still need, what we’re looking for, and what we don’t need.
As you’re at the grocery store gathering Thanksgiving supplies, you can also grab extra Christmas things since they’re out too. I went to get my cheap turkey already and also have several things for stocking stuffers (candy, gum, tape, stickers) and general December celebration extras (candy canes, muffin papers, extra powdered sugar, red food coloring, etc.).
Unless you’ve already had a head start in Christmas gift acquisition or you’re ordering everything online, it’s unrealistic to expect to get all your Christmas purchases made this week. However, if you take a little time here and there to get a start on it, you’ll be ahead of the game and enter December prepared.
In addition to making purchases, think also about the purchase of stamps and copies of a family picture or Christmas cards if you do an annual mailing. Now is definitely the time to get all those supplies if you haven’t already. And, while you’re with extra family or friends this week, maybe you can have someone snap a family photo for you.
Remember that Advent begins Sunday, too, so if you need to acquire anything for that (candles for the wreath, candies, a new Christmas picture book), it needs to happen this week.
My hubby’s even on board with this interval plan, and he brought home several things today–yay!
I’ve been adapting your plan to fit my needs. I decided that since we have two birthdays mixed in with the holidays, it would work better if I set up a wrapping station that could stay put until everything gets wrapped or bagged–logistically, a “wrapping week” just isn’t going to work in my case. Because I have to wrap birthday gifts, I may as well wrap anything else I have on hand too. So I picked a spot upstairs in the guest room, set up a card table, put empty boxes underneath the table, situated wrap and bags in a nearby corner, and set tape, scissors, tags, pens, and bows next to the table on the bookshelf. Now everything is ready anytime someone wants to take care of a gift. My son used the wrapping station this afternoon!
I’ve looked at some beautiful, permanent wrapping centers on Pinterest, but I don’t have enough space for something like that year round. Not sure I would’ve even thought of something like I did if I hadn’t looked over your interval plan, Mystie. :) Thanks for the inspiration.