So I’m off work until January and verily launched into Christmas prep. I’m a powerful strategist in terms of getting everything done on time and avoiding the Christmas rush that comes so naturally (and sometimes gleefully) to many Trinbagonians. Me? Unless it’s a Carnival-related event, I hate crowds and will do anything to avoid the near mass hysteria so the following is what I try to do to leave me with some semblance of sanity for the Christmas holiday.

Plan early

As conventional wisdom states,The early bird catches the worm and this is so true regarding Christmas, whether it be cleaning, shopping or cooking.Once you start planning early you have a sense of exactly what you want and what you want to do before you engage.  I visualize everything from room decor to Christmas meal. I also like to write so I have a little book scored with everything from lists to budgets to thoughts from month to month, I “ideate” then create!

Browse early

I tend to wander into store and store and spend nothing until I am ready. “Do you need help?” “No thanks, just looking!” I will visit a store over and over to see if I have it right, if I want anything else, if they have new stock until I am ready. There’s a new store that opened recently that I visited so much times that I started to wonder if they had me flagged on their cameras (it was really because I felt so “Christmassy” when I went in that it became addictive). One may say that I am wasting time but when I do this I don’t feel the pressure of buying one time or having to wonder if another store has it cheaper. This also allows me to have a plan b and c as well when it is time to purchase and my plan a disappears which is rare. I tend to start early on this activity as well and it works from gifts to cleaning supplies.

Start early

Yes, I’m on vacation and I have the luxury of sleeping late but once it hits past 12 I don’t feel like doing a thing, so I get up at five as normal. Some people prefer to do this in the evening into night though and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. More power to ya! Even when I was working through the holidays the same applied so I would get up and clean just ONE thing and in the afternoon do the same so when the weekend comes there would be less to do!  I’m the one in the parking lot sitting in my car waiting for the grocery/mall/cloth store to open and I’m usually in and out in no time because I already have my stuff (and price) written in my trusty little book 😉

As you can see my common thread is ‘early’ but it is only so that I don’t feel bothered and frustrated coming down to the end. It may or may not be applicable to you even as this is the last full week and there is still time. This is not to take away from those who LOVE the rush or from those who have no choice having been paid just before the holiday. I’m also waiting for December’s paycheck to finalize but I need to be clear and how that money is going to be spent before I get caught up. Even with the preparations, there is life after Christmas. (Put away that January money first!)

Right! So back to the prep!

Bless up

TMIDM