Holiday Prep

Ok hold on- before you say it's too early to think about the holidays, stay with me!!!

One of the things I started to realize as an adult is that the holidays can certainly have some magical moments, but a lot of it is about planning. All the magic we experienced as kids that led to us loving the holiday season was largely thanks to all the things planned by our parents/caregivers. And while it's often times the little things, you still have to have the time, space and energy to appreciate those little things. As adults, our schedules largely get filled by others. Whether it's by family members, bosses, etc- outside priorities and influences can end up filling our entire calendar before we know it. Because I started a business where the holidays are my busy season, and where I'm forced to plan and order things before anyone else is remotely thinking about the holidays, I've learned a valuable lesson that I've applied to my entire holiday season- not just for work. By planning ahead, I can ensure that I make the most of the holidays and prioritize the things that are important to me. I can make sure that my own desired experiences for the holidays aren't lost in the shuffle of meeting everyone else's needs. I also save myself a lot of head space, by having everything laid out in advance, so it's not hard for me to know whether I want to/can say yes or no to something that comes my way. It also eliminates that feeling you can get around the holidays where when there's a second of downtime, you're head is swirling wondering what you should be tackling, or if you really just have free time to enjoy. The level of planning I do also allows me plenty of opportunities to be flexible about what I want to do. That's the whole point of having prepared in advance. To allow yourself the opportunity for the freedom later to really make the most of your down time. To be open to when those great last minute opportunities come along. Where you don't have to stress about what you're compromising to say yes to something exciting. Here are the steps I take to plan ahead for my holiday season. Take what, if anything, resonates- and leave what doesn't :) It's all about customizing what works for your lifestyle but hopefully this can leave you with a starting point, if you want to try to take back the holidays!

To Do Lists- I am ALL about lists. I personally just use my iphone Notepad, and a to do list app (I like to try different free ones, right now I've been using Microsoft To Do because then I can use it on my laptop too). I create two different lists to start from- a work to do list, and a home to do list. Everything falls into one of those two categories. I start by just dumping everything into those two lists that I know I need or want to do from October- December. It doesn't have to be in any particular order, I just make sure I get everything out of my head. Then I can think about scheduling.

Work Calendar- I get as much as I can on my calendar for work tasks for Oct-Dec. That isn't just specific to dates of events, but as nuanced as "send out email on this date," knowing that a newsletter needs to go out X days in advance, for example. Because the reality is all of these tasks really add up and take time. And when there are things that can be done earlier, I'd rather schedule them earlier to free my time up for when things get busier. I'm drafting newsletters now that I'll send in December, for example. Then come December, I'm just making small changes as I need to before they go out. I make sure to prioritize the clients/businesses that I want to make sure I'm available to, by reaching out in advance to ask them about their needs, schedule things, etc. so that they feel prioritized, and so that I have a calendar that focuses on my most important clients and partnerships. This makes it so much easier to easily know whether I can say yes to things that come my way, or whether I am stretched too thin.

Home Calendar- I schedule all the things I know I have going on October- December. Anything I'm hosting (ex: Thanksgiving), any events I've already committed to, etc. For anything that requires advanced planning like hosting a holiday, I make a list of tasks that need to take place leading up to that holiday. For example- I'll make a list of what I'll be serving for that holiday, and what anyone will be contributing. I then look up my recipes for all those items and I keep the links in my notepad labeled "Thanksgiving recipes" so I can easily reference them (I also make notes on this list every year about things I changed in the recipe, etc). Then I make shopping lists (I use the AnyList app for free), separated by each grocery store I go to for the items, and I make sure those lists are filled with the ingredients from my recipes. For recipes I can make ahead and freeze, I do that. If you think I'm nuts, last week I made pumpkin whoopie pies that I'll be serving at Thanksgiving, that are already in my freezer ;) Next week I'm making ahead an appetizer that I can freeze. I have all my Thanksgiving shopping lists ready, including the one for last minute super perishable items. If you think I'm nuts with all this, honestly- try it. It feels amazing to operate this way. It means I'm not running around like a chicken with my head cut off, and it means I'm not spending the holidays stressed.  It means I've freed up time to just be with family and be present. It means not being in the kitchen all day, while also making sure we have delicious, homemade, vegan food- which is important to me. This goes for the process of buying presents too. Start the brainstorming now when you have the headspace, and make out your shopping lists. You can also then get better deals on things by monitoring their changing costs between now and Christmas.

Bucket List- I think about all the things that make the holiday season special to me. For me, that's about decorating my home, baking Christmas treats, watching holiday movies, and experiences (ex: holiday meals with friends, going to places I know are festive this time of year, etc.) I make a list of the things that I generally know I'll want to do. If there's anything already scheduled I'll add it to my calendar. If not, I just leave the list so I can reference it as I get closer to the holidays. When I have downtime, I know I can reference it to see if anything feels appealing for me to do. That way, I don't get to the New Year and realize I never did anything "fun" that I wanted to do during the holiday season. I didn't just work the time away, or just do whatever came my way. I was intentional about prioritizing the things that light me up.

If this all feels overwhelming, or doesn't resonate with how you like to operate, I totally get it. But, if you're like me, and you feel like your time can easily be sucked up by everything other than what you really want…. If you feel like you often spend the holidays tired and stressed with nothing left to give…. If you have ever felt resentful of how your holiday season went… maybe give this a whirl. It's given me peace of mind, headspace, and the freedom to prioritize what's most important to me during the holidays. And that's what we all deserve, however we get there ;)

XO