photo credit: Her Creative Studio via Style Collective /

The holiday season is upon us, so now is the time to get organized so we can all stay sane during the busiest time of the year! If you are like me, you have holiday activities already popping up on your calendar. To top things off, you might be hosting a holiday event at your house, plus, you have a ton of shopping to do! Also, if you run your own business, you might be in your fiscal fourth quarter and have year-end financials to reconcile; as well as other loose ends to tie up. It can be hectic this time of year!

The best way to stay sane during the holidays, and to stay on track in order to get everything done during the holidays, is to get organized and have a master plan now. In addition, it’s important to schedule breaks in your schedule and add in some relaxation time!

Without further ado, here are my tips on how to stay sane during the holiday season, and just have fun!

• Plan your calendar. Make sure you schedule everything that has to do with the holiday season clearly on your calender. You can use a paper planner, or an online planner; which ever makes your schedule crystal clear to you and anyone in your family involved. Also, be sure you are including food shopping. It is good to shop for food 1-2 days ahead of time if you are hosting an event.
• Order a main course ten days in advance: For Thanksgiving, we usually order our Turkey from the butcher or supermarket about ten days before the day we want to pick it up. This is important to do in order to ensure there is a bird reserved for you ahead of time. We do this for Christmas too with a ham. Whatever your main course is, reserve it ahead of time to make sure it isn’t sold out when you get to the store. It’s nice to have things reserved in your name.
• Buy groceries two days in advance. For Thanksgiving, buy your groceries on Tuesday. This way, if you forget something, you can still go back on Wednesday to pick it up.
• Shop when the stores open: Never go to the mall or the store in the middle of the day during the holidays. Always go right when the store opens in order to avoid crowds. This may mean waking up before the rooster on a weekend; but it will make your whole day less stressful, and much easier.
• Keep your lists in a safe place: I use an excel spreadsheet for holidays gifts and shopping lists. I keep it in my cloud so that I can access it from my laptop or phone. This is handy because you never know when you need to reference your list when you are on the go. Plus, paper lists can get lost.
• Schedule me time: The holidays are crazy! Be sure to schedule at least one day of relaxation so you can regroup and refresh your body and brain. You will thank yourself!
• Workout regularly: If your workout routine gets off track, you get off track. Stick to your regular workout schedule and don’t let anything get in the way; unless there is a medical emergency-then please, skip spin.
• Run errands in the morning: Try to schedule your errands before noon, this way you can get everything done in the morning and then relax and enjoy the rest of your day. We are all more productive in the morning, so it’s the best time to get errands done!
• Make a budget and stick to it: Plan out how much you are going to spend on every single holiday related expense-then, stick to your budget! This will keep you from overspending and you won’t have to stress out about the holidays during the holidays; you can enjoy them! It makes January easier too, because you don’t have to worry about huge credit card bills arriving in the mail that you can’t afford. When in doubt, stick to your budget!
• Shop early: Don’t wait until the week before Christmas to buy gifts. Try to get as much shopping done before Thanksgiving as possible. This will allow you time to enjoy the holiday season, and wrap presents in peace.
• Shop online: If you already know what you need to buy, buy it online. This way you can avoid the crowds and carefully watch your budget. Look for free shipping coupon codes, and special discount codes, starting the week before Thanksgiving. Black Friday isn’t just one day now, stores are starting to offer deals a week or more in advance; so take advantage of them. Be sure to keep checking out my holiday gift guides for online shopping guidance and ideas!
• Have fun! It’s the holidays. Don’t let your busy schedule and long to-do list get you down. If you are organized and stay on track, everything will fall into place.

That’s it! If you stay organized, on budget, and on track, you are sure to keep your sanity intact this holiday season! Love that!

Do you have any tips for staying sane during the holiday season? Please leave them in the comments below!

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy