How To Be Organised This Christmas!

Christmas is propbably the most chaotic time of the year! In true “Steph” style, I want to help you be organised (and prevent you from any mental breakdowns, that will may result in copious amounts of pudding and rum…which probably doesn’t sounds too bad!). Here are all my Christmas organisation tips and ideas, to help make this holiday season a bit easier for you! Plus I have created a FREE downloadable Christmas List and Meal Plan! Below you will find all your Christmas decor storage ideas, easy food ideas, planning and tips for buying presents for the kids (to avoid any tantrums. Enjoy!

Christmas Storage + Organisation

Now for a proper Christmas the first thing you need is Christmas Decorations and gifts! You don’t want to be rummaging around the garage all day trying to find your old Kmart bag full of ornaments or be running out on Christmas Eve to buy wrapping paper! Here are some awesome storage ideas for your décor and wrapping!

Tree Storage 

DIY Tip: Alternatively you can wrap the tree in unused plastic and place in an old long camping/travel bag!

Lights Storage 

DIY Tip: Alternatively you can cut up some cardboard into a H shape and wrap the lights around, then store in a spare drawstring bag!

Wrapping Storage

DIY Tip: Alternatively grab yourself a long box and store them under the bed!

Ornaments Storage

DIY Tip: Alternatively, store in a large plastic tub and create your own sections using cardboard!

Meal Plan

The days coming up to Christmas you are going to busy enough as it is, so pre-plan what you/ your family are going to cook and serve if you are having guests over! Food that doesn’t need any effort like prawns and a big Christmas Ham are perfect for a fuss-free Christmas day! Heck you can even buy a couple of pre-made salads from woollies, bread rolls and throw it into a fancy bowl! Besides, us mamas really should be sitting down with a glass of wine! Click on the Meal Plan below to download your very own!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE CHRISTMAS MEAL PLAN

Easy Christmas Food Ideas:

• Ham
• Prawns
• Oven ready foods such as spinach ricotta pastries, chicken drumsticks, sausage rolls (besides we are Aussie!)
• Fruit Platters
• Salad Mixes
• Premade Pasta Salad + Cole slaw
• You can even make my Slow Cooked Lamb Roast (but cook it on high for a lunch time meal, or on slow for a Christmas dinner)
• Dessert Ideas: Grab a bag of mini gingerbread men, plum pudding and custard! Place the pudding on a platter, drizzle with custard and place gingermen around it for a yummy decoration!

Declutter

Shortly you will be filling your home up with more stuff, which ultimately adds to more clutter. A decent declutter a couple of months prior to Christmas will do you a world of good! Now I’m not saying declutter the whole house but just the items you know the family will be receiving. Sort through toys and donate and discard as needed. You will be surprised how much you get rid of, and this will make room for the new gifts! Here is my Pre-Christmas Declutter Check List;

Best Way to Buy for the Kids

Buying your kids presents can be so tough (not to mention it adds to the clutter very quickly!). We all know most kids love their new toys for a month then it goes in the back of the closet never to be seen again. A few years ago I saw this amazing method around buying gifts for your kids, and it stuck with me. So here is a great strategy you can use that will give the kids what they want, brings variety, and some of these gifts will actually be useful! Here are the 4 Rules when gifting your children;

WANT: A present they have been asking for and wanting for a while is an obvious gift choice at Christmas (and let’s face it, will save us many tantrums on the day)

NEED: Something they actually need; it may be a school backpack, bed sheets, running shoes (you get this gist)

WEAR: A new cute outfit, possibly something they can wear on Christmas or just something for everyday clothes (I usually always buy one size up for longevity).

READ: Now something for their little minds and imagination; books! Now this can just be one book but having some new reading material may come in handy after the Christmas sugar high comes crashing down later that afternoon!

Write Everything Down!

Could you imagine the horror of forgetting someone’s gift on Christmas Day- yep you’d pretty much feel like a complete asshole. If your mind is a tad frazzled like mine keep a notepad on your bedside table and write down all your guests/people the buy for. You can keep adding people or gift ideas as you go! This way no one ends up feeling left out and getting drunk on egg nog.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE CHRISTMAS TO-DO LIST

I hope you have found these tips and templates helpful for planning your Christmas celebrations this year! Please tag me using your planners and what organisation you do for Xmas!!