House & Holidays Plan and Other Christmas plans - 2025 edition

[helia]

Updating my brain dump.

Gifts that need to be mailed:
1. dniece
2. Ks - after they're back in town
3. Maybe - ds + fam? -- I think not.

Purchasing Gifts:
- dniece - bought
- dniece - order zoo gift certificate
- Ks in Texas - mail after they return from Italy? - bought all
- check with Ks when they'll be back in town
- DS - bought
- F - bought
- baby I - bought
- housemate M- bought
- AA - bought
- Dh
- DD30 - 1 big gift; might be done
- DD27 - bought 1 big gift
- S - bought
- R - bought
- J12yo
- RH (here for the holidays) - bought
- candy canes for students - last day
- Church: Angel tree gifts
- SHOE gifts (I pulled J12yo) 12.23 12.24. 12.25. 12.26 - I think I have enough

Baking
- try making GF gingerbread men at some point!
- letter cookies with dd27 on 12/28

RandomToDos
- order seafood for seafood paella
- get a tree
- decorate the tree
- book an escape room- may not happen because of the Cs' travel

Houseguests
- 12/19 room ready for RH (here 12/19 - 12/29

- bed ready for KE when she arrives on 12/27

Our own travel
- rent a car
- book flights

Christmas dinner - 12.25
- 5 people?
- paella, bread, salad, dessert: up to dd27
- read stories around the tree

Sinter Klaas - 12/ 28
- 10 people
- S will make pannekoeken; I will make a salad; dd27 and I will make the letter cookies
- morning meeting - plan out funny gifts
- write poems - 3? (I think 3 will be on our poem team - RH, R, and myself -- and J12yo will probably do her parents)

Schedule:
12.19 RH arrives; have a guest room and a clean bathroom ready/ Dh returns from trip to Mexico
12.22 payroll: my last day of work in person
12.23 payroll: grades due/ Host dinner for friends L and A --> dinner for 7? We will have to include RH.
12.24 Sinter Klass planning breakfast at 9:30 - 8 people (dd27 and dh will make crepes)/ Family Dinner?/ Christmas Eve service @ ___/ Shoes #1
12.25 Christmas breakfast! cinnamon rolls and boiled eggs/ Christmas dinner- paella, salad, bread, special dessert/ light the tree and read stories/ Shoes #2
12.26 Maybe - escape room? / Shoes #3
12.27 M returns?/ Shoes #4/ PACK
12.28 SINTER KLAAS! all day = special breakfast - poffertjes and boiled eggs/ write poems and create surprise gifts all day/ dinner for 9 - pannekoeken, salad, Dutch letter cookies/ SK - give gag gifts and read poems/ SK - open gifts
12.29 FLY to WA
12.30 - 1.1 in WA
1.2 FLY HOME/ RH and KE leave this day

[trissie]

House & Holidays Plan Week 17: Celebration Week

https://organizedhome.com/christmas/hou ... ation-week

This Week's Focus: Nearly There
With the season nearly upon us, it's time to rely on minimum maintenance to keep the house up to snuff during busy times.

This Week's Household Checklist
- Stick to minimum maintenance.
- Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Give cameras and camcorders a last-minute charge.
- Put together any "assembly required" toys.
- Check and organize stocking stuffers.
- Journal holiday memories.
- Keep tabs on Christmas collections.
- Prepare for Christmas dinner.
- Plan Christmas morning breakfast.

all the printables and more reading material can be found at the website linked above.

[trissie]

Holiday Grand Plan Week 17: Celebrate

https://holidaygrandplan.com/17-celebrate-week/

HOLIDAY PREP
Enjoy the season!

CLEANING/ORGANIZING AREA: BONUS AREA
- Minimum maintenance

all the printables and more reading material can be found at the website linked above.

[Kittykatt]

Christmas Preparations:
Decluttering and deep cleaning:
Declutter hall
Deep clean hall
Declutter stairs (there shouldn’t be anything on there apart from the bowl with toys for Matilda!)
Deep clean stairs
Declutter sitting room
Deep clean sitting room
Declutter landing book case
Deep clean landing bookcase
Declutter bathroom
Deep clean bathroom
Declutter bedroom
Deep clean bedroom
Declutter spare room/ office
Deep clean spare room/ office
Declutter kitchen wip
Deep clean kitchen wip

Prune roses 26 done

Christmas List!
( I’m going to need to make amendments and additions, but it’s a start.)

Christmas prep:
Find my Christmas book!
Gifts:
DH birthday (and card) and Christmas(and card)
DH stocking
DF E
Birthday gift and 100th card for DF E (her birthday is the beginning of January)
Dnextdoorneighbour C
DH’s family: A, DH will sort: R, S, L&G, B, L2, R2 & D, J
Give tubs of chocolates to: vet, hairdresser, anyone else who has been really good to us this year to say “thank you” – Ocado order for this last year - see if they give good value again?) This year I have bought the Big Mix tins of chocolates from M&S for everyone
List gifts I still need to buy - marshmallows for DH's stocking
DH is supposed to be buying for his family
Wrap gifts
Cards:
Do I need to buy more? Found nice cards for local friends at garden centre
Update card list
Check addresses and get DH to print out address labels
Write cards - after the fuss last year, I've designed our card and had it printed (Snapfish!) All DH will have to do is stuff it in the envelope along with the newsletter (no writing required!!!) And worst comes to worst, I'll be able to quickly.do them for him (I'm not telling him this, as I really do think he should send cards to his relatives, but I don't want the elderly ones especially to miss out. So...)
Are we doing a newsletter this year? DH has announced he will do it . Done and printed!

Food:
Ring butcher and order Christmas meat
Delivery on 1/10 as they are closing for good the end of this week. Fortunately it should all fit in the freezer!)
Veg and fruit - are we having a veg box? Veg box ordered for 23/12
Christmas “goodies” – cheeses, biscuits for cheese,(Jacobs crackers from Waitrose )sweet biscuits,(M&S for tins of shortbread, Waitrose for chocolate biscuits)chocolate...

Baking:
Mince pies
Gingerbread men
Christmas cake
Glaze Christmas cake
Fudge?
Truffles?

Christmas grocery order – Waitrose (KEEP CHECKING FOR CHRISTMAS DELIVERY SLOTS FROM MID SEPTEMBER and put the basics in my trolley.) Just need to add any seasonal items, and be careful not to get carried away! Remember fruit for fruit salad, also parsnips, carrots and sprouts (unless I decide on a veg box)
Am I having a Christmas veg box? Yes !

Decorations:
Tree
Wreath for front door
Lights round porch
Lights on kitchen windowsill
Wooden Nativity scene (this depends on whether Matilda tries to chew it!) Not this year, Matilda has started jumping up onto the china display cabinet where I usually put the Nativity set!!!!
Church organ musical box, gingerbread house tin and Christmas tree tin (on top shelf of sitting room bookcase?)
Christmas card holders over kitchen door
Hang Christmas count down ornament? (Or will this make my life too stressful? )

Events:
Christmas shoebox for Moldova - check what suitable gifts I have already (I'm assuming our church is doing this again this year) I think we're doing something for the residents of the Y instead? I've signed up to do a shoebox (needs to be done and at church by 14/12)

2/12 Women’s group meditation - S and S are organising it.

4/12 Parish Christmas lunch. I'm organising this for the first time this year Booked for 04/12 at the back of the church. Need to book caterers soon? ( I'm keeping it really simple this year, so just a buffet). Caterers booked! :
Find phone number for caterers (in the end I used their "Contact us" form, which was so much simpler)
Write everything down in a logical order :
Full address of the church, name and email address for the treasurer, Date: 4th December
Time, 11 am-12 pm (they have hourly slots)
Which menu I want to order with all the add-ons (simple buffet with bite sized cakes and fruit platter)
Order for 20 guests (Remember at least a couple need to be GF) Ended up with 26 Remember to liaise with caterers again a week before
Two Sundays before the lunch, close the list, as the caterers need to know updated numbers
Explain that the treasurer has the "chequebook" for the church (she actually does everything online) and ask them to send the invoice there.
MD has suggested we make it a ticketed event, so liaise with D (parish administrator over design of tickets )
Ask D to print tickets and posters
Number tickets and keep a list of names!
Work out costs per head:
Also need tablecloths, crackers (DF PM has lots of Xmas napkins she will provide) fairy lights on font, paper chains? Chocolates on bowls on tables? MD has offered to make simple centre pieces for table
Email MD with final details a week beforehand
MD has also offered members of the social.committee to help set up /clear away
Remember we need a separate table for GF food
Tea and coffee from the urns, soft drinks? (No alcohol as we would need an Events Licence, and I'm not going down that route ) Jugs of water on tables and tea/ coffee from the urns
Bite sized mince pies? - from Morrisons? Sainsbury's
How / when do we publicise it? Ask D to print poster advertising the event
Tickets and poster now printed!
Started selling tickets after church today


Carol service at church? Am I reading? ( does the catering committee want me to do the mulled wine?) Probably no to all of this!
Christmas services: are we having a Bethlehem Mass at 9 pm on Christmas Eve again? (It was a lot more popular that midnight mass, especially now people are getting older!!!), will I be asked to read? Bethlehem Mass again this year

Date to visit DBIL and family? (Probably early January) DH asked would I mind missing it, as he's been invited to spend the weekend there! Checked that DSisil knows about this, (as she will be doing all the hard work of looking after guests), and discovered she was the one who actually invited him. So that's a win - win for everyone.( Remember to be extra gracious when DBIL visits for the W/E jist before Christmas, as I no longer have to trail all the way up to his house in the new year.)

To be continued...
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[trissie]

House & Holidays Plan Week 18: New Year's Week

https://organizedhome.com/christmas/hou ... years-week

This Week's Focus: New Year's
Ring in the New Year this week, then make a good start toward an organized Christmas next year.

This Week's Household Checklist
- Minimum maintenance

This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Recycle holiday paper.
- Write family thank-you notes.
- Plan low-cost, no-cost activities for kids.
- Decorate for New Year's.
- Make New Year's resolutions.
- Set up a calendar for the new year.
- Take down remaining decorations.
- Take down fresh trees and greens, and deliver them to recycling.
- Store holiday decorations.
- Set up a "lost holiday box" for stragglers.
- Hold a holiday debriefing.
- Mark your calendar for next year!

all the printables and more reading material can be found at the website linked above.

[trissie]

Holiday Grand Plan Week 18: New Year's

https://holidaygrandplan.com/18-new-years-week/

HOLIDAY PREP
Decorate for New Year’s Eve party. (Gold and white)
Write thank-you notes.
Take down tree. Pack ornaments. Wrap lights around flat rolls of newspaper.
Make New Years’ resolutions

CLEANING/ORGANIZING AREA: BONUS AREA
After the holiday, the Holiday Grand Plan sees us into an organized New Year. Putting home and holiday to bed for the winter wraps up the holiday celebration, and energizes us for the challenges of a new year.

all the printables and more reading material can be found at the website linked above.

[trissie]

AAAAND... we're done!
It was an amazing journey, but I think we can all agree we need another 8 months to get emotionally, physically and mentally ready for a repeat!