Give the Gift of No Clutter!

 

It’s great to give and receive gifts from family and friends during the holidays, but more often than not these “gifts” become dust collectors and clutter around a home. When shopping for gifts this holiday (even at the last minute!) consider giving loved ones the gift of an experience that they can enjoy and use.

An experience could be signing up and paying for a cooking class, dance or sports lessons, a vacation, road trip (even if it’s just for a day), golf or skiing passes, amusement park or museum passes, like Heritage Park and the Calgary Zoo, or even a home organizer! Another option could be creating customized coupons for free babysitting, house cleaning, baking, cooking, dog walking, etc. Although these ideas may not be large in the tangible sense, the real-life act of doing these activities or having them done will be much more appreciated.

Other ideas could be for certificates that will help someone out in everyday life. For example, gas cards, AMA coverage, spa gift cards, dinner gift certificates, and transit passes. People may not like giving out just a piece of paper or gift card, but these little “extras” that people pay for everyday can add up, and it can be nice to have those expenses covered.

In the spirit of helping and giving back to others during the holidays, giving a donation or donating food or toys in someone’s name can be just as rewarding. For those who have everything, the knowledge that they can help someone is a gift in itself.

This year, don’t let your gifts become clutter. Instead, consider giving a gift that will be treasured long after the holiday season is over!

Getting Ready for the Holidays

November is here, which means it’s time to get organized for the upcoming holiday season!

First things first, one has to determine what needs to be done. To break things down, we can look at the holidays in terms of gifts and cards, the meal, decorating, and holiday activities, and organize these topics chronologically.

All of these topics require planning, thinking of ideas, and making lists. This time-consuming task doesn’t have to be done all at once. While waiting for kids to finish lessons, on the train to work, waiting for an appointment – use these moments of time to think of gift ideas, guest lists, menus, shopping lists, etc.

Another important thing to remember is that it’s hard for a person to do these tasks by oneself – get family and friends to participate and help out!  

 

Beginning of November

-       Gifts and Cards

o   Start shopping: Especially when buying items online, it’s best to get them ordered sooner rather than later to make sure you receive before the holidays. Buying gifts is usually cheaper if you purchase them ahead of time, because they are more likely to be on sale and the stores are usually not as crowded, which makes for a less stressful shopping experience!

o   Create Christmas cards: Although they don’t have to be sent yet, get your kids to make up an ecard or design a print-out online. There are many websites that will offer easy print out picture options that are great to send out as well.

-       Holiday Activities

o   Charity/donations: A lot of people want to give back or support local charities by volunteering, but around the holiday time there are almost too many people that want to help. Consider making a donation or volunteering earlier – these charities don’t just need help around the holidays.

 

Mid-November

-       Gifts and Cards

o   Send U.S./International holiday cards and presents: A list of the deadlines for Canada Post’s letter and parcel shipping for the U.S. and International destinations can be found here. Don’t leave this to the last minute!

o   Wrapping: Now is a good time to make sure that you have the wrapping paper and gift bags that are needed for this year. As you purchase Christmas gifts, wrap them when you have time in the evenings in front of the T.V. or on the weekend.

-       Holiday Activities

o   Christmas parties: A lot of companies tend to host Christmas parties around the middle to end of November. Make sure you have an outfit to wear, item for donation, and potentially a food item to bring if it’s potluck!

 

End of November

-       Gifts and Cards

o   Send out Christmas cards: It may seem early, but get cards printed or make sure all of them are written and addressed, and send them out during the last couple of days of the month. That way, they are guaranteed to be received during the beginning of December and you will have one less task to worry about!

-       The Meal

o   Create a guest list and menu: Decide who will be coming, when you’ll be hosting, and what you’ll be eating. Is it sit down, potluck or buffet? Get this figured out now so you can start preparing your schedule for December.

o   Bread cubes: Another item that can be checked off the list early. Cube up the bread, dry it out, and pop it in the freezer.

o   Baking: Get some of the Christmas baking out of the way. A lot of cookie dough, squares, and cakes can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer.

 

Beginning of December

-       The Meal

o   For a break down of managing and planning out a meal, check out our previous post for Thanksgiving Time Management. Different holiday, but the same guidelines apply!

-       Decorating

o   Christmas lights: Lights can be put up anytime throughout the month, but can be very dependent on weather. Watch out for warm chinook days and take advantage of them!

o   Christmas tree: Depending on whether you use a fake or real tree, it can be set up earlier in the month along with the rest of the decorations. It’s nice to get the house set up ahead of time! Get the family involved and make it a fun holiday activity.

All that should (hopefully) be left by this point is the rest of the meal preparation, most of which can’t be done too far ahead of time. Now, you can enjoy caroling, Christmas parties, and other activities instead of rushing last minute to buy gifts, decorate the house, and send out Christmas cards. Getting gifts and cards, decorating, and holiday activities done early allows you to enjoy the rest of the holiday season stress-free!

 

Christmas is coming! Time to think about the influx of new toys.

I know, I know, it’s only October. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t be proactive and start preparing your home for “most wonderful time of the year.” Besides for early gift shopping, which I highly recommend (try and stay on the lookout throughout the year so you can get better deals and get exactly what you’re looking for) a task that you can do to get ready for the holiday season is to de-clutter and purge your children’s toys!

For many families, especially those with a few children, Christmas means a truckload of new toys and games from friends, family, and the big man in red himself. To prepare for this overload, find time to gather the toys and games you already have throughout your home, and pick out the ones that your children don’t use anymore, are not working properly, or your children have outgrown.

Now, this might be something that you want to undertake by yourself, or with your kids’ input. Either way, once all the toys have been sorted, you can donate the remaining gently used toys that are in good shape and work properly to a local children’s charity that will accept used toys (Try checking out Boys and Girls Club, Drop-In Centre, Inn From the Cold, Salvation Army, YWCA and YMCA. Great Idea to call first to see what they are accepting. 

With the remaining toys, set up a storage solution that has room not only for the toys that you currently have, and for the anticipated stash you anticipate receiving in a couple months’ time. Every family will have a different solution that works for them, but remember that it must work with your family’s routine, and be easily accessible for children to take out and put away.

Now is the time for Pre-Christmas purge of old toys and games that can be donated for another child’s enjoyment.