I’m sure our Polar Express was a hit and everyone had a good time as they always do. Now we really need to focus on Christmas! Here are some of the things that we will be working on this week:

1. We continue to look for things that don’t belong and get them put away where they belong or get rid of things we don’t really need as we do our weekly ‘Home Blessings’. We will make sure to wash sheets and get areas ready for guests who may be coming to stay. I’ve had the kids working on sorting through things so I will make sure those items get to the donation center if they haven’t already.
2. We will continue the process of wrapping things up but I’m hoping to be about finished.
3. I will continue to review the menu lists in my Holiday Planner so I can try to add as many of the pantry goods to my weekly grocery list as well as double checking to make sure that we have plenty of the everyday essentials like toilet paper and paper towels because we don’t want to run out of those things when we have guests. I will focus mainly on the items that we will need for the upcoming Christmas Dinner but I also need to be looking ahead to New Year’s Dinner as well.
4. I’ll review my list of ‘make-ahead’ items and try to knock out a few of them so there will be less to do at Christmas. I will also make a trip to the store to gather any small sticking stuffers that we may want to use.
5. I need to double-check that I have the items for Christmas breakfast as well as for dinner and make sure about any travel plans we may have in case I need to take any dishes with me.
6. I will also review notes/ideas about Polar Express and St. Nicholas and add them to our folders for next year.
7. I will also review what gifts and items we have already received or purchased and make sure that we haven’t left anyone out.
8. I’m also trying to plan to do the 3 gift rule here this year but I’m not sure how it will go yet. I’ve got some links about this idea HERE, HERE, and HERE. This will hopefully encourage the focus to be more on Jesus than Santa and the gifts he will bring.
9. We will continue to work on our homemade gift ideas as well. Some of these will need to happen closer to the Polar Express Party and Christmas so that they are fresh but we will try to knock out a few of the craft-based ones as we can. We have found some great ideas HERE, HERE, and HERE. I also love giving and receiving experience gifts whenever possible!
10. One of those gift ideas I will be focused on will be the fudge I always make for the holidays… everyone loves it and they have been asking about it for weeks now. I’m not sure if I’ll try any new flavors but I may try out a couple of Keto recipes if I can find some.
11. We will still be focusing on some Advent activities in our homeschool along with some reading and math but the schedules will allow for a lot more time to enjoy the holidays. You can check this post HERE for some ideas! We have a 2-week break planned after this week!
12. We also plan to fit in some time to go see Christmas lights or Nativity scenes. I’ll need to make sure that we have some popcorn on hand to take with us and mix up some Hot Cocoa mix so we can take some of that along as well… don’t forget to add the marshmallows to your grocery list!
13. Don’t forget to think about what you plan to wear for the upcoming event(s). Does it need cleaned, mended, or itoned? Also check with other family members about what they plan to wear.

Life is crazy enough without adding holiday stress to it. The simpler we can keep things, the better in most cases and we are always trying to find creative solutions to things we need to get done. By spending just a few minutes a day working on these tasks it helps to get us prepared without causing a lot of unnecessary stress.

*Don’t try to do EVERYTHING all at once… we have gradually incorporated more ideas into our holiday season but there have been years when we just couldn’t do it all. The kids still had a great holiday season and everyone appreciated the special events more the next time we were able to have them. If you aren’t sure where to start then just try to think of the most special memories you had as a child and recreate them for your little ones!

For more great ideas you can check out the FlyLady website HERE.

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Here are a few pics from our Christmas folder: