Holiday Prep Days

I’m not much of a shop and wrap as you go kind of girl. Nor am I good at decorating little by little, or baking here and there. For some reason, that stresses me out and causes me a lot of anxiety.  I spend more time stressing over what I need to do than actually doing the tasks themselves. Total waste of my time and sanity. “When am I going to do this? How am I going to get it all done? I don’t have time for all of this Holiday what-not when I am swamped in other things that must get done.” I can feel my blood pressure rise and my chest tighten just thinking about it. I’m more of an all-in or all-out kind of girl, so if I’m doing something I have to DO IT.

To save myself a lot of time, stress and anxiety, I have created Holiday Prep Days. These are days that I dedicate to preparing for the holidays. The number of Holiday Prep Days you need, depends on how ambitious you are during the holidays. This year I only need two or three because we are not going to be here for Christmas, so I have no decorating or feasts to shop and prepare for. Leading up to my Holiday Prep Days, I make a list of everything that needs to be done for the holidays and prioritize them. Once the item is on the list, I am no longer allowed to stress about it or even think of it. Then, on Holiday Prep Days, I put on my elf ears (figuratively speaking) and get to work. I get as much holiday stuff done as possible. Other than basic household tasks, like making sure everyone is clean and fed, only holiday things get done on Holiday Prep Days. If something doesn’t get complete on a Holiday Prep Day, then it gets finished on the next Holiday Prep Day. When the last Holiday Prep Day is complete, if I didn’t mark something off the list, then it doesn’t get done – maybe next year I’ll get to it. This is why I prioritize my list so that the vital things are done and towards the end I’m left with the fun but not necessary things.

You have no idea how much time, energy and sanity Holiday Prep Days save me. They allow me to enjoy the last month out of the year so much more than I used to. Instead of wasting time wondering when and how I’m going to get everything done, I know when it’s going to get done and I have a lot more time to enjoy the wonderful things about the holidays like charity projects, taking Christmas lights drives, doing church activities, eating, spending time with special people and so on. If you are someone that works better little-by-little, you are this person if you started your term paper the day it was assigned and spent fifteen minutes each night working on it, Holiday Prep Days will probably make you crazy. However, if you are like me and work better under pressure, you are this person if you waited until the last possible minute to write your term paper and stayed up for three days straight living off of Coke and Doritos and hit the submit button with less than a minute to spare, then Holiday Prep Days may be the solution to your holiday anxiety.

Today is a Holiday Prep Day for me. Today I am going to finish the holiday shopping (and I mean FINISH). Since a lot of my shopping was done online I will wait until my next HPD to wrap everything at once. I’m also going to stuff and address all of my Christmas cards. Monday I will take them to the post office (they are going to need extra postage) with other things I need to mail and send them on their way. The last thing on my list today is to make a list of what I need to pack to go, “Over the mountains and through the woods to Grandmom and GrandPops house” for our big fat Christmas celebration.

**Please note: drinking lots of hot chocolate in many different variates are vital to the success of a Holiday Prep Day.

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