This is the sixth post in a year-long series all about taking baby steps to prepare for a stress-free Christmas next year. Here’s what to do in July to prepare for next Christmas!
Well, it’s safe to say that this hasn’t been the most well-executed endeavour that I’ve ever embarked on. Where was June’s post you ask? Well, things have been going pretty much as you’d expect them to when everything in your town is closed, so there wasn’t much progress to report in terms of getting things prepared for Christmas, and honestly I just didn’t feel like fighting through it. The spirit of this whole plan has always been that if you don’t get absolutely everything accomplished, that’s still OK, because you’re still ahead of where you would have been otherwise. So I’ve been embracing that. We’re starting to come out of lockdown in our area now and our non-essential stores have been open with limited capacity for a few weeks now, so I’m starting to feel hopeful and ready to get back into the swing of things. So here’s what to do in July to prepare for next Christmas! If you’ve fallen off the bandwagon like I have, now’s a great time to jump back on!
How This Works
Every month, I’ll share a short list of three to five actionable items. These will be little baby steps that you can take care of to get some of the tasks you might normally find yourself doing in December done well ahead of time. The goal here is to free you up to actually enjoy the holiday season as much as possible and to leave some time for things like spontaneous baking, winter walks with the family, fun decor projects, and things like that without making you feel stressed out about all the stuff you’re putting off doing, because all of the “have to do” stuff will already be done!
How I did in June
I did nothing! Ha! We’ll try to work on this month again when it rolls around next year. Progress over perfection! 🙂
What to do in July to Prepare for Next Christmas
Decide on Advent Calendar Strategy, if Using
By this, I mean that if you put together advent calendars for your kids each year, how are you going to do it? Will you buy a pre-made one? Follow a theme and buy all little gifts that go with that theme? A separate calendar for each kid, or will it be shared? I find it really helps to give myself a running start with this so I can pick up one or two things here or there as I go along. When it comes time to finish it off, there isn’t much left to buy and I can just get straight to wrapping each little thing.
Buy Scotch Tape and Tissue Paper
So so so easy, but so nice to have all stocked up so you don’t run into that dreaded moment when you’re up to your neck in wrapping and you realize that you’re out.
Buy Bathing Suits and Beach Towels for Gifts on Clearance
The end of July, especially, is a great time for stocking up on summery things because they all start to go on sale. Christmas time is a great time to gift these items as we start to think about spring and especially (hopefully?) vacations to somewhere warm during the winter months.
Use Summer Markets as Early Gift Buying Opportunities
I love love love this one. Summer markets were of course cancelled here last year, but I absolutely love them and they’re starting to pop back up here and there this year in our area. Doing a little Christmas shopping gives you a great excuse to get out and enjoy them, support local small businesses, and also check a few things off your list!
MORE LIKE THIS
- What to do in May to Prepare for Next Christmas
- What to do in April to Prepare for Next Christmas
- What to do in March to Prepare for Next Christmas
- The Monthly Christmas Countdown Archives
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.