It is 99 days until Christmas! I know, I know but I want to tell you a secret. Come closer to your screen and listen closely. Ready? It is possible to go through the holiday season without time or financial stress.

Really, it is possible. There are only two things you really need to do it and that is a calendar and a budget.

Calendar

I recommend you look online for a printable monthly calendar.  Print out September, October, November, and December.  Pick an afternoon within the next week (or right now) and right out all of the things that will come up over the next 3 1/2 months:  birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, church events, appointments, etc.  Once completed lay them all out in front of you.  You have just relieved a hefty part of that stress if you will keep this handy and look at it daily.

Remember to add new things as they come along such as your kid’s school functions and parties so you know when everything is.  This helps get these dates out of your mind and put somewhere that you will look.  It reduces a lot of stress and that dreaded feeling that you are forgetting something.

Calendar Part 2

Now that you have the events on your calendar you know you need to attend or do something for now you need to set dates to complete the tasks involved with them.  It is really easy:

1. Go through and look at each event.  On a separate sheet write down what events you will need to complete a task for.  Example:  Samantha’s Birthday.
2. Beside the event write down what tasks needs to be completed.  Example: Samantha’s Birthday – Purchase Gift
3. Return to your calendar and choose a date that is your deadline for purchasing the gift.  I would suggest at least three weeks out in order to retain the low level of stress that I hope your calendar has allowed you to have.

This simple task should not take you more than an hour to complete for most people.  It gives you a goal – yes, you just set goals for one of the busiest times of the year.  This will allow you to have your grocery shopping for Thanksgiving and Christmas done a week or two in advance, your shopping completed before the holiday gets here, and most importantly allows you to spend time with your family near the holiday instead of running around.

Budget

The dreaded word has peaked it’s head out!  However, a budget can be an extremely easy tool to put together and again should not take more than an hour get finished.

All you need to do is figure out how much you are willing to spend for each event.  Take that amount and divide it by the number of paydays you have until your deadline to have the tasks completed and now you know how much to save from each check.  If you do not already do this the first year may be a little hit or miss but starting December 26 you need to prepare for next year and take a little out of every check.  This saves you from having to come up with all the money at the last minute or worse yet paying for the holidays with credit cards so they follow you into next year.

Need more help?

One of my favorite places to find pages to help keep me organized is List PlanIt.  The woman who runs the site is Jennifer Tankersley and she wrote an ebook called 100 Days to Christmas which outlines action items to do each day for 100 days leading to December 25th.

It is only $4.99 and I highly recommend picking this up.  If you have trouble staying on task or would like an easy to follow guide to make your holiday season even less stressful then take a look.

Purchase the book here.

Bonus part of the book is Jennifer includes the planning pages (including the calendar pages mentioned above) from List PlanIt so you have everything you need to have one of the best holiday seasons you have ever had.