House & Holidays Plan and Other Christmas plans - 2025 edition

[L.Ann]

Cleaning October and November
-spare bedroom
-DD32’s room
-my room
-hall
-kitchen
-dining room
-living room
-bathroom

Decorations
-tree
-bins from shed

Gifts
Christmas
Brother, sister in law, sister, brother in law
DD32(half done), DD39(half done), DD41
DD39’s DH, DD41’s DH
Little Bit, DGD12- Duolingo, DGD6, DGS6, DGS11
2gifts for gift exchange

Birthdays
DD38-handprint card w/flamingo, DD32 got her gift, two cards
DD41
DGD12
DGD6-DD32 got her gift and I got mine, got card
DGS6-DD32 got her gift and I got mine, got cars
DD32-12/19 hotel weekend w/ICE and Holidaze cirque tickets

Christmas cards, Christmas stamps, mail gifts, wrap gifts-cards and stamps bought
Christmas shopping plans
Christmas activities-Tuba Christmas@1 12/13, Little Bit overnight 12/13
Shutterfly thing-make card, DD32 2025 book, Little Bit 2024 book, calendar for DD38, Little Bit 2025 book, Little Bit 2024 school book

[trissie]

House & Holidays Plan Week 8: Family Space Week

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

This Week's Focus: Family Space
Find where the family gathers, and you've reached the center of any home. Where does your household come together to enjoy each day?
Whether it's a great room, a living room, family room or den, this week we'll tackle this central family space. We'll toss the clutter, deep-clean the room, and organize media, books and music to prepare for the holiday events ahead.
Holiday prep this week revolves around Halloween, which will arrive soon. The season is coming!

This Week's Household Checklist
- Declutter, clean and organize the family room or family area. Family room, playroom, living room or den, this week's assignment is to dig in and declutter, deep-clean and organize the space where your family gathers on a daily basis.
- Organize media and entertainment. While you're there, take aim on media and entertainment areas. Reunite video games and DVDs with their missing cases, and create an organized space for them to live when not in use. You'll make it easier to find holiday music, books and movies as the season progresses.

This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Decorate for Halloween. Add a few Halloween-specific items to your autumn decorating to bring a spooky shiver to life. After the 31st, they're easy to remove and replace with a Thanksgiving theme.
- Costume check! Will the household's trick-or-treaters be ready? Complete Halloween costumes in time for the week's parties and events.
- Start a new Halloween tradition. Ready to join the neighborhood fun? Use our free printables to start a Halloween BOO tradition in your neighborhood. Spread the BOO joy!
- Will you greet Trick-or-Treaters at the door next week? Stock up on Halloween candy now, before it's sold out. (Note: if you're planning to make Thanksgiving Blessings Mix next month, add a bag of chocolate kisses in seasonal colors, and some candy corn to your list. In recent years, many stores have removed these treats after Halloween due to Christmas creep, so stock up now!)
- Tune time: make a music check. How's your stash of holiday music? If the sounds of the season move you, review the family's collection of Christmas music. Note favorites on a holiday favorites planner page.
- Movie review: check the family's holiday movie library. Whether it's A Christmas Story or It's a Wonderful Life, review the family's holiday movies. Is it the year to add new titles to the gift list? Get ready for December popcorn nights!
- Start amaryllis bulbs. Fresh flowers at the holidays are a fragrant--and frugal--gift. If you'll be giving holiday plants, start amaryllis bulbs now; they'll need eight weeks to be ready.
- Mail overseas gift packages. International mailing can take weeks ... or more. If your gift list includes packages to be sent overseas, mailing deadlines loom. Be sure to mail all overseas parcels early, so they'll arrive by the holiday.
- Create a holiday housework plan. Many hands make light work and never more than at the holidays. Negotiate a holiday housework plan, assign jobs and work together to keep family spaces clean. Print a chore checklist to remind family members of assigned jobs. Post it publicly to encourage accountability for designated chores.
- Finish working on Christmas cards. How are Christmas cards and letters coming along? Finish addressing, signing and assembling Christmas cards in the next two weeks.


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

[trissie]

Holiday Grand Plan Week 8: Kitchen

https://holidaygrandplan.com/08-kitchen-week/

HOLIDAY PREP
- Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
- Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.
- Buy two canned food items from menus (get 2 of each item, one to use and one to donate to food drive).
- Buy 1/8th of TO BUY gifts. Save all receipts, note return policy before buying. Ask for gift boxes.
- Wrap and label packages. If needing to ship, get some shipping boxes now and store packages in them.
- Work at least 1 hour a day on homemade gifts.

CLEANING/ORGANIZING AREA: KITCHEN

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 WIP
Deep clean bedroom WIP
Declutter spare room/ office
Deep clean spare room/ office
Declutter kitchen
Deep clean kitchen

Prune roses 22 done, 4 to do.

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) WIP
DH stocking WIP
DF E
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
DH is supposed to be buying for his family
Wrap gifts
Cards:
Do I need to buy more?
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 I .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?

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?
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?

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?

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 souch 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)
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
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 )
Bite sized mince pies?
How / when do we publicise it? Ask D to print poster advertising the event
Tickets and poster now printed!


Carol service at church? Am I reading? ( does the catering committee want me to do the mulled wine?)
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)

To be continued...

[trissie]

House & Holidays Plan Week 9: Public Space Week

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

This Week's Focus: Living Room or Public Space
The pace of the season is picking up, with Halloween's spooks and goblins at the door. Are you ready to welcome drop-in visitors?
This week, we're moving to the living room to declutter, deep-clean and organize the place where we entertain guests. Having this area clean and ready means your focus will be on your friends, not on your furniture.
In holiday prep, we'll prepare for Halloween and make more progress on holiday gifts. Completing our Christmas cards or letters gives a great feeling of readiness as the holiday approaches.

This Week's Household Checklist
- Declutter, clean and organize the living room or public space. With the holidays hard upon us, your household's living room or public space will be on display. Prepare for family events and drop-in visitors! Remove all clutter from the living room using the STOP clutter method, then deep-clean the room. Move furniture pieces and vacuum beneath them, polish fine woods, and clean or vacuum draperies, window coverings or blinds.
- Pare down living room decor. Once the living room is clean and free from clutter, take a minimalist's eye to the room 's decorations. Will your holiday decor shine, or will it compete with current decor items? Clear tabletops, shelves and corners for the holiday decorations to come

This Week's Holiday Prep Checklist
- Buy holiday stamps. Seasonal stamp designs will be available soon, so buy holiday stamps early for best selection. Ordering online from USPS.Com is easy and convenient, with delivery right to your mailbox!
- Begin saving packaging materials. Recycling makes sense ... and cents. As catalog orders arrive, begin to stockpile mailing boxes and packaging material for re-use in December. Store them close to your wrap and mail center to speed holiday mailing chores.
- Prepare to mail Christmas cards or letters. Christmas cards should be nearly finished and ready for mailing. ; Stamp envelopes and set them aside until it's time to mail them next month. Tip: leaving envelopes unsealed makes it easy to add a newsy post-script if the spirit moves.

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

[trissie]

Holiday Grand Plan Week 9: Pantry/Closets

https://holidaygrandplan.com/09-pantry-closets-week/

HOLIDAY PREP
- Make one batch of Holiday Goodies.
- Make one extra meal for freezer again labeled HOLIDAY MEAL.
- Buy two canned food items from menus (get 2 of each item, one to use and one to donate to food drive).
- Buy 1/8th of TO BUY gifts. Save all receipts, note return policy before buying. Ask for gift boxes.
- Wrap and label packages. If needing to ship, get some shipping boxes now and store packages in them.
- Work at least 1 hour a day on homemade gifts.
- Start addressing Christmas cards and writing Christmas letter. Involve the whole family. Do not seal cards yet, keep them in a box in alphabetical order, as you think of things that you want to say to them pull out the card and add a note.
- Find family photo suitable for inclusion with Christmas card.
- Send invitations for Thanksgiving.
- Prepare for special needs-extra beds, babies?
- Buy extra batteries (check gifts).
- Order turkey.

CLEANING/ORGANIZING AREA: PANTRY AND CLOSETS

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

[trissie]

Week 9 - living room
- clean door
- clean lights
- clean windows
- wash and hang back sheers
- wash and hang back curtains
- deep scrubbing of floor
- clean baseboards
- clean convector
- wash washable parts of sofa
- clean/reorganize storage in sofa
- detail cleaning and oiling of dining table
- detail cleaning and oiling of dining room chairs
- detail dusting and oiling of piano
- wash all glassware from glass cabinet
- clean/reorganize glass cabinet
- clean/reorganize TV stand
- clean/reorganize bookcase
- clean/reorganize shelf with board games
- clean/reorganize coffee table (has storage)
- clean/reorganize/declutter toy stand
- clean/reorganize LEGO boxes
- declutter rolling cart with school stuff
- declutter pens and pencils

[trissie]

And this is a list that was supposed to go up at the beginning but I totally forgot!

Week 1: Planning and Paperwork
- Make a plan how/when to plan.
- Set up a Christmas notebook.
- Family Values Worksheet.
- Create a Christmas activity center.
- Establish a holiday budget.
- Begin a Master Gift List.

Week 2: Calendar and Creativity
- Create a seasonal calendar.
- Hold a scheduling session.
- Start a set of tear files.
- Start--and use--a shopping list.
- Review gift lists.
- Inventory unfinished crafts projects.

Week 3: Me and Mine Week
- Inventory holiday cards, gift wrap, and mailing supplies
- Make a Christmas card list.
- Use a computer address book for Christmas cards.
- Plan personal pampering sessions, and add them to December's calendar
- Set aside a gift closet or create a gift box; inventory any previously-purchased gifts.

Week 4: Close to Home Week
- Seasonal Spruce-Up exercise.
- Declutter children's toys.
- Hit the back-to-school clearance sales.
- Consult the kids and decide on Halloween costumes.
- Think ahead to family Advent celebrations.
- Take note of birthdays and anniversaries.

Week 5: Guest Room Week
- Status Check!
- Begin planning holiday decorating.
- Inventory holiday decorations.
- Declutter before you decorate for autumn
- Decorate for autumn.

Week 6: Wardrobe Week
- Check family wardrobes.
- Plan photo outfits.
- Update individual "gift suggestion" lists for each family member.
- Clear out the coat closet.
- Begin shopping catalogs or the Internet.

Week 7: Bedding and Bath Week
- Make a pre-holiday linen check.
- Start stocking up on bathroom basics.
- Set up a holiday wrap and mail center.
- Begin shopping holiday bazaars--or swaps.

Week 8: Family Space Week
- Decorate for Halloween.
- Costume check!
- Stock up on Halloween candy
- Make a music check.
- Movie review: check the family's holiday movie library.
- Create a holiday housework plan.

Week 9: Public Space Week

Week 10: Cooking Space Week
- Status Check!
- Recycle trick-or-treat candy for holiday baking or decor items.
- Organize holiday recipes.
- Plan holiday baking.
- Buy containers for freezer meals, baked goods or kitchen gifts.
- Make a tabletop check.
- Bake any fruitcakes or Christmas cakes which require mellowing.

Week 11: Food Storage Week
- Start a freezer inventory.
- Inventory the pantry.
- Give spices the sniff test.
- Review recipes and make a shopping list.
- Eat from the freezer and pantry this week.
- Stock up on seasonal staples.
- Stockpile freezer meals.
- Check out cooking equipment

Week 12: Dining Space Week
- Start a Black Friday Sales game plan.
- Plan holiday parties.

Week 13: Entry Space Week
- Double up on freezer-friendly dishes
- Shop Black Friday sales!
- Inspect and inventory decorations.
- Begin holiday decorating.
- Send party invitations.

Week 14: Storage Space Week
- Shop Cyber-Monday sales.
- Status check.
- Begin family Advent observances.
- Invite a Magic Elf to visit.
- Continue holiday decorating.
- Finish gift shopping.
- Wrap gifts as they are purchased.
- Package send-away gifts for mailing.
- Mail domestic gifts.

Week 15: Final Clean Week
- Wrap party!
- Eat from the freezer.
- Plan Christmas menus.
- Update address book.
- Mail Christmas cards or holiday letters.
- Complete gift wrapping.
- Buy Christmas trees and/or fresh greens.
- Make an under-tree "emergency box".
- Order, buy or print Christmas cards or letters
- Order the Christmas ham, roast or poultry.

Week 16: Nearly there
- Decorate and wrap baked goods.
- Start or add to an ornament journal.
- Help children write letters to Santa.
- Start a holiday journal.

Week 17: Celebration Week
- Put together any "assembly required" toys.
- Check and organize stocking stuffers.
- Journal holiday memories.
- Keep tabs on Christmas collections.
- Prepare for Christmas dinner.

Week 18: New Year's Week
- Recycle holiday paper.
- 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 debriefind.
- Mark your calendar for next year.

[L.Ann]

Next weekend’s goal is to get all birthday cards and birthday gift cards.

Cleaning October and November
-spare bedroom
-DD32’s room
-my room
-hall
-kitchen-done except for scrubbing the floor
-dining room
-living room
-bathroom

Decorations
-tree
-bins from shed

Gifts
Christmas
Brother, sister in law, sister, brother in law
DD32(half done), DD39(half done), DD41
DD39’s DH, DD41’s DH
Little Bit, DGD12- Duolingo, DGD6, DGS6, DGS11
2gifts for gift exchange

Birthdays
DD38-handprint card w/flamingo, DD32 got her gift, two cards
DD41
DGD12
DGD6-DD32 got her gift and I got mine, got card
DGS6-DD32 got her gift and I got mine, got cars
DD32-12/19 hotel weekend w/ICE and Holidaze cirque tickets

Christmas cards, Christmas stamps, mail gifts, wrap gifts-cards and stamps bought, working on cards
Christmas shopping plans
Christmas activities-Tuba Christmas@1 12/13, Little Bit overnight 12/13
Shutterfly thing-make card, DD32 2025 book, Little Bit 2024 book, calendar for DD38, Little Bit 2025 book, Little Bit 2024 school book

[Kittykatt]

Thank you, Trissie! This has reminded me I really need to start on our newsletter and also go through the card list!