Thirty-One Days ~ Day One Planning

Tomorrow starts the 31 days series courtesy of the Nester. I hope that you will join me for the next 31 days. We’ll prepare for the Christmas season with 31 Days to a More Enjoyable Christmas (less stressful). I’m excited and scared all at the same time.

This year when I was reminded of the 31 days series coming up, I felt a desire to participate. I’ll be honest and say that I’ll probably benefit more from this series than anyone else. 31 Days to a less stressful holiday hopefully will be the push we all need to get going and not put these items off. Hey that helps in the stress department right? I truly felt God nudging me to take part in this, to get me to write and to keep the commitment that the 31 days will require. He inspired me with a topic that not only could I use a gentle reminder in, but also that I have some idea about before I even began.

I remember growing up when Christmas decorations weren’t much more than a tree; yes just one tree. We had stockings maybe some Christmas candles on the mantle, a simple centerpiece on the dinning table and a wreath on the front door.  Most of these items were recycled year after year. We did have a real tree but I’m almost positive that other items were boxed up and brought back out year after year for years.

Now it seems that we have trees and lots of them some with themes; please know I have done this. One year we had six trees and most of them had a theme. Nativity scenes, villages, centerpieces, garland and bows are everywhere in our homes. There is very little of our homes and perhaps even our yards that aren’t decorated. There is a lot of time, money, and effort that goes into Christmas now. My neighbor has her trees up in mid-October and leaves them until the end of January. Whew!

I want us to first remember that Christmas has always been and should always be about the birth of Christ. No matter how you celebrate…big or small it’s about his birth and the best and perfect gift that he is. We need no other gift than that of our lord and savior.  Whatever your style or traditions I hope that you keep him first in your preparations and celebrations.

If your life is anything like ours each year there is more and more do to, especially if you have children. So with all of the activities, obligations and chores that the holiday season can bring, we can find ourselves overwhelmed sooner rather than later. With good planning Christmas can be not just manageable but enjoyable.

All of that said, I’m super thrilled to have you visit me. We will implement many of our plans and prep-work in October so we could be finished with many of the bigger projects by Thanksgiving. I pray that we all will find several useful and beneficial tips to have a more enjoyable and more meaningful Christmas...as stress free as possible!


A Plan ~ Day One 

I’m recommending for day one that you begin by mapping out your plans for the holiday. What activities do you know you need to include? 
Concerts, recitals, parties, traveling or guests coming in; you get the idea. 

However big or small the events have a plan. 

Decide what needs and commitments you will have and what provisions you will need to make and a then plan days to prepare or complete these. You will want to include days to clean; to shop; to bake and the alike on your calendar.

Start with some kind of calendar paper or your trusty phone. 

Look ahead to make appointments with yourself to be sure you have time to complete your goals and to help ensure that you don’t over extend yourself. Don’t feel guilty for making and keeping these appointments, you’ll be glad you did come December.

These first few post will include ideas for the different projects or needs you might have that require more thought and planning, many of which you may want to get started on if not accomplished within the 31 days, so we will start with those.

*Do you like my button? My sweet son who is 12 made it for me. He's never made one before, didn't even know what one was before I asked him to help me. I showed him a few, told him which ones were my favorites, what it needed to say and he went to work. He did a great job and almost gave me exactly what I envisioned, he did a good job and I'm thrilled to use it after all of his hard work.