Christmas Planning -

For me Christmas and Planning go hand in hand. I could never get through the holiday season without having a dozen lists for everything. There are so many things to think about and co-ordinate I would be a real stress ball if I didn’t start my Christmas planning early. The most important thing to remember is that the best thing about Christmas is being with your family!!

The first step – Choosing your colour theme

The first step in my planning is the table and tree colour scheme. If I’m lucky I’ll have an idea at the end of Christmas for the following year. This will mean I can take advantage of the after Christmas sales which is always a win.

In the middle of November I will start getting my head into Christmas mode. Decorations start to make their way into the house and on to the tree. Apart from the colour I don’t usually plan anything. Once I start decorating things come together over a few weeks. It will be a case of adding things until I’m happy with how it all looks. I try to use a lot of what I have but will always add in new decorations to really complement my colour theme.

I do love the decorating but the most important thing for my family at Christmas is food!!!! We love the food so much and I usually do a large variety of food (we have leftovers for a week – this is my holiday!!) My serious planning for Christmas starts at the beginning of December. I will buy up all the Christmas magazines I can find. Dig out all my old ones and of course look at Pinterest. This helps me narrow down my food choices.

At the end of this post I will include a link to my printed pages so you too can start getting organised.

Lets start at the beginning of christmas planning with lists

My first lists will be a Guest List for Christmas Day and the other days that we will be having people at our home. We have alternate Christmas days with my family and Tonys so we will usually celebrate Christmas earlier with the other family. This year Christmas is with Tony’s family which means there is usually less people. We also get together with close friends for Christmas celebrations as well.

The next list will be my gift list and on this one I include family, friends, work colleagues and anyone who might be receiving food gifts as well. I find that once I have this list done the ideas start to come and I can usually get my gifts out of the way early.

Next and most important – the food!

I spend hours going through magazines and online putting together a list of 5 – 10 items each for meat/seafood, sides, and desserts. The next step is to really go over the recipes to cull them down to 4-5 for each category. In terms of the final decision I look at the ease of preparation, how they need to be cooked (for example I cant have everything needing the oven at once). I don’t worry about any starters as guests usually arrive around lunchtime as a lot travel on the day. They also know there will be so much food so they’re happy to wait.

Each year I do what I call a goody bag. This bag contains the following:-

Chocolate balls
Slices
Cookies
Rocky Road

For the goody bags I will decide on somewhere between 3 to 5 items in each category. I like to choose some that can be frozen ahead of time to lessen my workload close to Christmas. The chocolate balls can be frozen and so can most cookie doughs. I will then bake the cookies a day or two before I need to put them in the bags.

The table

One of my favourite things to do when I entertain is set a beautiful table. Its my way of saying I appreciate you being here so I have done something special. My go to is usually a white tablecloth because it will look good with all colours and it saves me from spending additional money every year for something to fit my colour scheme. This year however I am doing something different – I will share this in another post.

If a white tablecloth is being used you can add colour with a table runner, placemats or chargers.

Another way to save money is to invest in white crockery because again it goes with everything. You can introduce your colour through napkins or even purchase pretty side plates. I did a blue and white table once and used my white crockery but found some blue and white plates at an op shop for $1 each. Its easy to add colour without spending a lot of money.

I also like to have my Christmas Crackers match the table theme.

The table centrepiece

Every table should have something beautiful in the centre. It doesn’t have to be huge in fact I find really big centrepieces can be an annoyance because you always have to remove them from the table so people can see each other. One of my favourite things to do for a centrepiece is to use small vintage glass vases in all shapes and heights and add some greenery or flowers to them. It’s simple, inexpensive and looks great.

This year I will be using candles as my centrepiece. I will be doing a post on these separately. So check back later.

Gifts

Gifts can be a very stressful part of Christmas, well at least it is for me! Especially as the kids in the family have gotten older. I have decided over the last few years to remove some of the stress and just give the kids money. They’re all out of their teens and need money. With the adults in Tony’s family now we do secret Santa so we only have to buy one gift each which helps again and also means with have a bigger price limit which is great. I usually organise games of some sort for Christmas day too so there are always prizes that I need to purchase.

The one thing I always do with Gifts is start shopping at the beginning of November because once I get into full Christmas organising I don’t need the stress of gift shopping at the same time. It also helps the budget to spread it out a bit. I will share some gift ideas on Instagram if you want to have a look.

December

As Christmas gets closer stress levels can get higher. They way I avoid this is with lists and careful planning. I have to have lists for everything or my head would explode. I know I could lessen my load but I live for Christmas each year and even though it can get stressful I really love doing this for my family.

By getting gifts, decorating and meal planning out of the way in November, December is all about food.

I will start out by going through each recipe and work out what I need to make it. Two shopping lists work best for me here. One list includes all the long life items like flour, sugar and anything that can be frozen. The other list is the fresh ingredients that will be needed closer to the day.

If you have more than one event in December then have separate shopping list for the fresh ingredients for those meals as you will have get them earlier.

Organising your schedule

First week in December

Organising your schedule is the hardest part of Christmas but using lists will definitely help to eliminate some stress. I have included printable lists at the end of this post.

Order the items on your long life grocery list. I will normally do this for home delivery so that I don’t have to waste valuable time in my day shopping.
Purchase alcohol and other drinks.
The first thing to do is start with everything that you can make that can be frozen. You would be surprised what freezes well. I can make most of the things for the goodie bags in the first week in December by choosing carefully and making ahead. This is a real time saver.
You will also need to ensure that you have ordered your ham, turkey, seafood and whatever speciality meat items you will need. I do this at the beginning of December.
Write and post Christmas Cards. This is also a good time to post any gifts that need to be sent.
Make goodie bags.

Second week in December

Make sure all your gifts are wrapped.
Ensure you have everything you need for your tablescape. I will usually practice it at this stage and take photos so I know what to do closer to the day,
Give the house a really thorough clean so that you can just do quick weekly cleans until after Christmas
If you’re having any frozen desserts get them made now.
Ensure everyone’s Christmas outfits are clean and ready.
If you’re having guests take this week to get the guest room ready for them.

The week before Christmas

If you’ve prepared well the start of this week should be fairly easy. I use this time to deliver any neighbour gifts etc. They will usually be some of the goodie bag items I’ve previously made served on a nice plate.
I will also use this time to get my hair and nails done if they need it.
I also take this chance to do a schedule of when things need to be cooked. This is so important in terms of eliminating stress. For example if I am doing a slow cooked meat I will cook it the day before, keep in the fridge and then put it back in the slow cooker early Christmas morning to reheat. Its the perfect way to avoid having to get up extra early. Try and think outside the square in terms of early preparation.

The last two days

Ok so this is when it all gets real!!!

Set the table as early as you can. If I have no other functions on I will do this up to three days before.
Purchase all fresh ingredients needed.
Make any desserts that can be done ahead of time. Sometimes you can prepare an element of a dessert early for example the meringue for a pavlova can be done early and stored in an airtight container. You just have to decorate on the day. A triffle actually needs to be done early. So make sure you look at your recipes and see what you can do early. I will always choose my recipes with time and preparation in mind.
Organise all platters, plates and bowls that you will need for everything you’re serving. I will usually label these items as well. It means that if you have someone helping you they can easily identify what is needed for what food.
Make sure you have enough serving utensils as well. I usually put them with each plate or platter.

The day before Christmas

Prepare vegetables ready to be cooked the next day. Anything that needs slicing get it ready.
If any vegetable sides can be cooked today and reheated tomorrow then do that.
If you are having roast potatoes you can save time by par boiling them today.
For a glazed ham, prepare the meat by removing the rind and get your glaze ready to go.
Get all desserts finished as far as possible. If they contain fresh fruit and can’t be made until the day, at least chop your fruit and store in the fridge ready to go.
Set an alarm to get up at a reasonable time so that you don’t feel rushed. I will usually get up around 6am, get everything in the oven or prepared to go in. Then I will have my shower and get ready before doing the final things.
Make sure all drinks that need to be cold are in the fridge.
Fill the goodie bags and put on the table.

The big day

Ok so if you have done all the steps above you should be under control and ready for the day.

The first thing I usually do is get the ham in the oven. As the ham is usually large I will cook it low for several hours. My recipe for glazed ham can be found here.
Finalise all desserts and get them in the fridge ready.
Get everything organised you need to cook all vegetable sides and make sure its handy when needed. This includes saucepans or frypans whatever is required.
Have your shower and get ready.
Start cooking the last items and try and time everything to be ready at once. Not an easy task but if you have prepared your list with timing etc that will definitely help.

The end

Hopefully this post and my printable lists will help you have a much more enjoyable and stress free Christmas season. If you need some help with recipes have a look at these posts.

Christmas Side Dishes

Turkey Pumpkin and Cranberry Wreath

Basic Chocolate Balls and 5 variations

Have a great Christmas everyone.