Its officially September, so naturally, I’ve got my mind on Christmas! Haha! I’m embarrassed, and also I’m not at all embarrassed. I LOVE planning for Christmas!
We all know Christmas isn’t about gifts, so I like to get planning on those sooner than later, so when its actually the holiday season, I don’t have to put any thought into them and can focus on much more important things!
Usually, I have a savings plan set up through the year that leaves us with a good chunk of “Christmas money” on November 1st. However, that slipped pretty hard this year and we only have a few hundred set aside. Its much better than nothing, but its a good motivator to get myself organized in advance, leaving me time to be creative, and wait for sales.
This morning, in true Hailey fashion, I made an annoyingly detailed list of who we’re buying gifts for. I pulled names for a few different groups I volunteered to organize things for. I listed the kids teachers, our doctors, and a couple of friends. I wrote out the categories for each kid underneath their name so each gift is on its own line. (If you haven’t followed for long, we’ve done the four gift “method” the last few Christmases. Something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.) I made a spot under each kid that specifies I want everyone to get new jammies, also. Its a LONG list but it excites me to see it! Its laid out clearly with gift ideas beside many of the names/categories. I feel at least somewhat prepared. Already! In September!!!
Something I really want to do this year is to send out a photo Christmas card. I am SO BAD for designing them each year, and even ordering them, but never handing/sending them out! This year, I have SO MANY people to thank and connect with. It has been such a long stretch of struggle, and a beautiful group of people have formed around us, and while sending them a picture of our family doesn’t really mean a whole lot, hopefully it feels a bit like we’re reaching out and that we appreciate their presence in our life! If you want to be on our list but I don’t have your address, message me!
Whether we like it or not, the cold is coming, and thinking ahead to Christmas helps me accept it all juuust a little bit more than I would otherwise 😉 Christmas, mukluks, and comfort food are what make winter great!