I love the holiday season, but like most people, it is a crazy and busy time for our family.It’s easy to get frustrated at this special time of the year, it often exhausts us all before December 25 even arrives. Traditions, a hectic lifestyle and conflicting schedules can steam roll a families good intentions to have a simple holiday season.In order to savour the festive season without wishing for its end, you need to plan ahead. When you take care of the little details in advance, the overall holiday season is much more enjoyable.

We reckon that about 12 weeks before Christmas is when you should start getting ready and to help you I have created this weekly breakdown. Week12: Decide your Christmas budget. Week 11: Organize your mailing addresses for Christmas cards and consider emailing your friends and family. Week 10: Start (or finish!) gift shopping. Week 9: Research ways to donate gifts or time as a family. Week 8: Decide on your holiday dcor, check the decorations you have and list the items to look for in the sales. Week 7: Finalize your holiday calendar, schedule dates and events . Week 6: Decide where your family will celebrate Christmas. Week 5: Design, buy or order your Christmas cards,stamps and address envelopes. Week 4: Decorate your home for Christmas . Week 3: Make meal plans; batch cook and freeze meals for the next few weeks. Week 2: Make and prepare any food gifts. Week 1: Clean the home, prepare for guests or prepare to be a guest

Set yourself a Christmas budget, some people start saving in advance but if you haven’t, this can be a little challenging.however it isstill possible. There is no need to rely on credit to have a good Christmas.

When you save a little each month all year, the Christmas season becomes something worth anticipating. Christmas is not an emergency – it falls on December 25 every year, so you know it’s coming. Every family has unique circumstances and spending needs but I obviously advocate keeping Christmas simple and stress free.

Will my Christmas shopping be expensive? If you haven’t done a list in advance, it will be! No doubt! So make a list and take your time doing it or the little things that you miss will come back to haunt you the day before Christmas and will put you in a stressful and expensive situation that could have been avoided by good planning.

So what happens If That Number is Scary? Embrace a Christmas of simplicity to fit your budget, shop around and make the most of all the offers that are available. You can easily make decorations and limit the amount of gifts that you are giving. If you are still short of cash there are lots of businesses that advertise for seasonal jobs, this could give you an extra income with no commitment after the festive season.

And last but by no means least if you haven’t started to save for this Christmas start saving for next year. If you start in January saving a little a month it will feel like nothing and you won’t have to rely onany credit cards!

Happy Planning and Happy Shopping!

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