THINGS I AM DOING FOR A STRESS FREE CHRISTMAS

I say it every year when November comes around, how fast the year has gone but really, this year has flown by and I am determined to have a stress-free Christmas this year. The chaos of getting Christmas sorted earlier than Christmas Eve, yes, I am that parent that is still wrapping early hours on Christmas Eve, and I really would love to be more present this year.

Here are a few things  I am doing for a stress-free Christmas...

WRITE A LIST

The first thing I did was make my lists. I have one on my notes on my phone of all the food I want to get for the festive period and things that I need ... batteries, sellotape etc and I tick it off as I go. This way my head doesn't feel like it is going to explode and I can add to this list if I do remember anything else.

Another list I have done since Kadiann was little is the present list. I do this on paper and split it into three columns for the girls to have one each. As soon as I have bought something I will write it down. This way I can keep track of what I have bought and also make sure the children have the same amount of presents to open.

DE-CLUTTER

I don't know about you but the Kallax units in our house are full to the brim of absolute rubbish, you know the usual, broken Macdonalds toys, pictures that have been screwed up and shoved in a box, broken Barbie legs, you name it I will find it.

I have made quite an impressive start, if. I do say so myself. A whole wheelie bin to be exact. A clear house means a clear mind and it also means we have space for the Christmas presents to go this year :)

SHOP WEEKLY

Christmas can be so costly all in one big go so I try and use my Fridays off work to do a bit of Christmas shopping every week to the run-up. I have got the Manchester Christmas market planned for next month to get some more Christmas bits but shopping every week keeps the cost down and you can 

WRAP AS I GO

I have been wrapping as I go this year. I started doing this more so last year as the previous years I have been up until 4am wrapping presents on Christmas Eve, madness I know!. So I have been wrapping, popping the presents in a bag and then storing them away. 

Same with Christmas cards. Leaving the kids to do their Christmas cards last minute is a nightmare and takes forever, so doing them nice and early takes the stress away and they can enjoy doing their friend's cards with no time frame on them.

Danilo has a brilliant range of Christmas cards and wrapping paper that I use every year. We've got some really cute Barbie cards for Nila to use :)

PLAN YOUR EVENTS

All the festive events are coming up now. Christmas light switch-ons, markets and all the fun fairs you can think of. Put them in your calendar so they are not missed so you and the family can have some fun days to look forward to and make some Christmas memories.

PREPARE THE STUFFING!

I always cook the turkey the night before. It saves so much time on Christmas day because half the morning is spent sorting out the dinner right?. If you can prepare some of the food beforehand, it makes such a difference.

It doesn't have to be the full monty. Make the gravy or stuffing and freeze it then get it out the night before, or make the Turkey Christmas Eve. These little things will help Christmas Day run smoothly :)

I would love to know what things you are doing for a stress-free Christmas this year..