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
Deep clean kitchen
Prune roses 2 done, 26 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)
DH stocking
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?)
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
Are we doing a newsletter this year?
Food:
Ring butcher and order Christmas meat
Veg and fruit
Christmas “goodies” – cheeses, biscuits for cheese, sweet 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!)
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)
Women’s group meditation and meal (is this going ahead, as the lady who usually organises this is now extremely unwell.) I could offer to *help* organise it, but not do the whole thing. I know my limits, and I'm already doing parish Christmas lunch.
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).
Find phone number for caterers
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 a ticketed event, so liaise with D (parish administrator over design of tickets )
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? 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?
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?
Date to visit DBIL and family? (Probably early January)
To be continued...
There will probably be a gap before I get anything else done, but so long as I can get all the "public" areas of the house done before Christmas, I'll be happy.