Merry New Year! 10 Things To Do to Prep for Next Christmas

Happy New Year!  It's the 5th day of 2014.  Although it is very exciting to focus on fresh beginnings and new goals for the year, I do not want to forget about Christmas quite yet.  I have learned that the more that can be done now in preparation for Christmas next year, the easier and less hectic the holiday season is.  I always hope to just be able to sit back and enjoy Christmas.  Time goes so fast, and usually by the time everything is decorated and you get a few sips of peppermint mocha and family time, Santa has arrived and the season is over in a snap.  It never fails, there is always something that ends up having to be done last minute - it wouldn't be Christmas without some of that! However, the more stress and last minute stuff can be avoided, the better.  Today I've assembled a list of 10 things to do to prep for next Christmas.  You don't want to hesitate in getting these things completed.  If you tell yourself you have a lot of time, it will never get done.  Have a goal to finish these things by January 31st! 

1.  Wrap It Up:  As you put away your wrapping supplies, take a quick inventory of items you have on hand and note any you have run out of or are running low on.  Now is the time to buy Christmas wrap and supplies, as they are on clearance. Designate a place to store your supplies for the year.  If you host parties, now is also a good time to stock up on themed decor and paper goods.

2.  Address Labels/Card Prep:   Buy some extra Christmas themed forever stamps now & store away for next year.  Also, update any address changes in your address files.  If you do Christmas Cards, consider making address labels and print them out now.  Store them in your Christmas binder (see #3).  Also put return address labels in your binder.  Or, if you use Send Out Cards, be sure to make sure all of your addresses are up to date in your online address book.

3.  Binder:  Ah, the Christmas Binder, one of my favorite organizational tools for the season.  You can make them as simple or as detailed as you want.  There are many free versions you can get online.  My personal favorite is this one from Organized Christmas.  Now is the time to do a "reboot" to your planner.  Recycle all of the papers from this past year, and prep, print and fill the planner up with sheets for next year. 

4.  Plan DIY Projects:  If craft projects and DIY gifts are your thing, start planning now!  Have all of the instructions, project plans and Pinterest ideas either pinned on their own board for next year or placed in the binder. 

5.  Gift Spreadsheet & Inventory Gift Stash:  If you want to save cash on gifts, shop throughout the year to catch the best deals.  Sweaters & winter clothing are on sale now and will keep going down in price in the next month.  Shop for toys throughout the year.  Keep an eye out for gifts and have the spreadsheet handy - keep a copy in your car or purse for those unexpected deals you may come across. This will help you only buy things you actually need - not just more gifts for the gift stash you think you may use.  Make a spreadsheet of who you need to buy gifts for and keep it up to date as you buy gifts throughout the year.  Now is the time to do a "Save As" and prep your spreadsheet for next Christmas.  Take inventory of what you have.  If there are gits you can use for next Christmas, put a post it on them with who it is for, then mark your spreadsheet.  If you keep a budget, be sure to track the expenses on the spreadsheet. 

6.  Recipes:  Have your favorite holiday recipes ready to go in your Christmas binder.  Do you participate in cookie exchanges or like to bake homemade goodies for friends & family?  Have those ready in your binder as well.  Look up some new recipes that strike your fancy in Pinterest and have those ready to go too.

7. Calendar Reminders:  Start marking your calendar now.  I put a reminder to schedule our family photo on October 1st.  I then know to call our photographer then & we have our photos done in October, in perfect timing to select our card in November & have them ready to mail the weekend after Thanksgiving.  Also put other Christmas related important dates on your calendar like annual family gatherings, when to book travel arrangements, and anything you need to remind yourself of a few weeks in advance next season, like shop for cookie ingredients. 

8.  Purge Unused Decor:  As I put away the decorations, I realized that there were things in our storage bins that we just didn't touch.  Why do we still have them?  Would I put them out again?  Are they things that are truly special to our family?  If the answer is no, off to the donation pile it goes!

9.  Store Photos:  Find a place for the Christmas photos from this year.  I have a Christmas Scrapbook where I do 1 page for our family photo every year.  It is so fun to flip through the book and see how our family changes from year to year.  If you do Santa photos, find a place for those as well.  Also, have a plan for the cards and photos you receive from friends and family.  If you keep them, have a box, scrapbook or designated place for those.  I like the system used here from IHeart Organizing.

10.  Celebrate!:  Do something fun to celebrate not only the beginning of a new year, but your accomplishments toward an easier & hopefully stress free Christmas next year!  Have a glass of wine, yummy coffee, or maybe even a mani/pedi to say cheers to your success!

Train Table Upgrade

If you have children, chances are some, or a large portion of your home seems to be taken over by their stuff.  In some cases, even your own furniture is kid stuff!  We live in a 3 bedroom house.  A few months back we decided to have our 2 kids share a bedroom, and make the other room a playroom.  Being a small house, and wanting to put other things in their playroom, no matter what configuration we tried, we just could not fit the train table in there.  Our living room had lots of floor space, which we had welcomed when our kids were in the crawling around and exploring stage.  So, we put the train table in as a coffee table.  It definitely won my heart in functionality.  I now had something to spread out projects on, or place food and drinks on, and the kids love playing their games and toys on it.  However, it did not win my heart so much in the aesthetics category!  Bright kelly green, with the top layer peeling off and some holes where a train track once was connected to it.  But, for a $20 Craig's List find, not to bad right?  The top of the table even flipped over to reveal a road and airstrip!  Not quite the look I was going for in my living room.  This side was peeling even more!

Pinterest to the rescue!  I found this post about redoing a train table.

I used this faux leather contact paper.


It was a little tricky to get started, but like with any drawer or shelf lining project, once you get a rhythm going it gets easier.  There wee a few bumps and bubbles, which was to be expected, given the holes and peeling nature of the tabletop. I basically started at the top of each panel (there are 3), smoothed out a little at a time and worked my way down.  I also wrapped the excess around the sides and back of the panels.

 

Wrapping the excess around the edges makes the panels have an even tighter fit in the table.  It took some major shimmying and careful pounding to get them in place.  I am so pleased with the outcome!

One more detail to finish the project.  Once upon a time I took my labeling machine and labeled the drawers.  Some curious kiddos peeled those labels off and they took the finish off with them!  I had some extra Martha Stewart Chalkboard Labels laying around.  They were a bit too big to use on that spot, so I cut one in half and used it on each of the 2 side drawers.  I carefully tested them and they do not take the finish off with them.  I realize I do not have that beautiful chalkboard handwriting that you see at coffee shops highlighting the specials of the day!  I need to practice my chalk writing skills, but I am pleased!  My son is starting to recognize letters and spell words when he sees them, so this will also be some wonderful reading practice for the kids. 

Meal Plan for Abundant Harvest Large Box: Week of 10/28-11/3

I'm diving right back in to meal planning!  These meal plans will be based on the Abundant Harvest Organics Large Box.  In the past I would assign what days I'm making what recipe & post it on the blog.  While I am still doing that for my own use, I am just going to post the recipes here.  Everyone's schedule is different and you may want to do the super simple stuff on less busy days.  Enjoy!

Box Contents:
Bartlett Pears (Snacks & with breakfast cereals/oatmeal)
Green Beans
Lettuce (salads)
Peppers (salads & wraps/sandwiches)
Potatoes (Baking & Freezing a few in addition to recipes below)
Acorn Squash
Basil (Use in wraps/sandwiches)
Mini Pumpkins (just using for decor!)
Sorrel
Swiss Chard
Spinach (In addition to the recipe below, may throw some in smoothies)
Persimmons


Lemon & Garlic Spinach

Persimmon Sorbet

Sorrel and Garlic Soup

Savory Swiss Chard Pie

Harvest Stuffed Acorn Squash

Italian Green Beans & Potatoes