If you’re just joining us, we’re tackling a series called An Organized Christmas. The purpose is to plan and prepare now so that we can all kick back, relax, and enjoy the holiday season with our friends and family.

It’s not Spring, but it’s time to talk about cleaning anyways. This is one of my weakest areas. I tend to clean what’s necessary when it’s necessary. I’m sure I’m not alone in that. I’ve been making a conscious effort over the past week to start cleaning and organizing more. We’re still in the process of unpacking boxes, but the Christmas tree doesn’t care about unpacked boxes. It’s on its way regardless.

I personally don’t want to decorate dirt. That means that it’s time to get busy cleaning. Here’s my plan.

• Clean well now. That means the in corners, behind the couches, and even the light fixtures. This is like the winter version of spring cleaning.
• Do ongoing cleaning. This means that each day I need to be aware of what needs cleaned and do it. I can’t save it all, or I’ll be in a tizzy by the time my company arrives! Each day I need to dust just a little or straighten up the guest room a smidge. Those little touches add up to a lot less last-minute cleaning when it’s time for guests. I’m thinking that I may just focus on one room each day and do a few little touch-ups in that one room. Over the course of a couple of weeks, I’ll hit all the rooms at least once, even if I miss a day.
• Last-minute touchups are okay. I refuse to run around like a crazy cleaning woman before company comes. If I can hold myself to the first two steps, all I’ll have left is a few last-minute touchups. That means that I’ll be more relaxed when people arrive, making me more pleasant to be around.

I’ve spent some time this past week starting my cleaning process. I even organized the linen closet… just for kicks. I’m hoping that someone will have to go grab an extra pillow and maybe even get a peek at my mad organizational skills.  But I know that I feel better about our home when things are clean and orderly.

Now I’m off to dust something…

You can catch up on the other posts from the series An Organized Christmas here. I hope that you’ll join me in making this Christmas more meaningful and peaceful.

When I think back to holidays past, many of my fondest memories are centered around family traditions. A special soup prepared just for Christmas brunch, the story of Christ’s birth read aloud before the gifts were opened, a baby doll each year for a little girl, gifts given to needy families, time spent with family. Traditions are what help us build those sweet memories of holidays past.

For our family, traditions take some planning. Sure, we may do something on a whim one year and decide to do it again year after year. But usually the traditions that endure are the ones that we’ve put some thought into. Here are some fun tradition ideas.

The Jesse Tree

Last year we did our first Jesse Tree with Emma. If you’ve never heard of a Jesse Tree, it’s an advent activity. Each day you color an ornament that represents a bit of the lineage of Christ. The tree begins with creation and stretches through the Old and New Testaments until you reach the story of the birth of Jesus. Each day you read the scripture and add a corresponding ornament to a small tree. The tree can be a small artificial Christmas tree, some branches in a bucket… whatever works for you.

If you want to try this activity this year, I recommend keeping it simple. You can download some FREE printable Jesse Tree ornaments that my husband created for Mandi at Life… Your Way. These are the ones that we’ll be using with Emma. We usually do our Jesse Tree ornament after dinner each evening. We read the scripture, Emma colors the ornament, and we put it together and hang it on the tree. It’s a simple daily reminder that we’re celebrating Jesus this season.

The Elf on the Shelf

A friend told me about doing the Elf on the Shelf tradition with her grandkids. I had never heard of it, but it sounds like lots of fun! If you’re not familiar with the Elf on the Shelf tradition, let me explain.

Author Carol Aebersold began the tradition with her family in the 1970s, explaining to her children that Santa sends a scout elf to every home. During the holiday season, she put out a little elf doll to “watch” the kids. The elf watches children by day and reports to Santa each night. When the children awake each day, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be found hiding in a different location. This activity makes The Elf on the Shelf a fun hide-and-seek game.

You can get an Elf on the Shelf kit from Amazon, and there’s even an elf skirt available if you prefer a girl elf.

Operation Christmas Child

This week is the collection week for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. If you’re not familiar with Operation Christmas Child, it’s a branch of Samaritan’s Purse that takes boxes of toys and necessities to kids in need around the world. Your family can get involved by packing a shoeboxes (or lots of shoeboxes!) and getting them to a local drop-off location. Check out the Samaritan’s Purse website to learn more about what to pack and how to pack it.

Other Traditions

We’ll be taking part in some other traditions such as reading the story of Christ’s birth before the gifts are opened and visiting with family. We may even add a new tradition or two this year. But NOW is the time to start thinking about which traditions should be a priority. That way we have time to gather any materials we need, make any plans we need to make, and make sure that the activities actually happen.

Does your family have any fun holiday traditions?

You may already be in the holiday spirit and have all of your decorations up. We’re not quite that far yet. In fact, we’re still unpacking boxes from our move! So this part of An Organized Christmas is going to be a bit of a challenge for me. It’s time to tackle the decorations.

I have a two-fold plan for this year. One, I need to take stock of what decorations I already have. I need to drag out all the totes full of lights, candles, and ornaments. I need to see what’s truly in those boxes. It seems that we never unpack them all the way on any given year. This is the year to dive in!

I’m going to be dragging out the tubs, doing an inventory, and seeing what we’re really going to be using. Being in a new location means that some of our decorations that we weren’t using before just might have a home now. And some of the things that we used to use may not be useful any more.

That brings me to the second part of my plan. It’s time to get rid of the things that we no longer want, need, or use. If decorations are just sitting in tubs from year to year and never being used, what’s the point? We may as well find them a new home where someone can appreciate them!

It sounds like a simple task. It may well be. But it feels a bit overwhelming at this point in time. Maybe it’s all the boxes that still need to be unpacked. But if I wait until the first of December for this task, I know that I’ll be stressed. So it’s time to tackle it! Anyone with me?

The Christmas photo deals are starting to roll in already! If you want to be able to take advantage of the Christmas card deals, you have to be ready for them. Once a great deal on cards shows up, you only have a limited amount of time to take advantage of it. Here’s our strategy for getting the best deal on Christmas cards.

The Photo

For every family who sends photo Christmas cards there’s a different idea of what type of picture makes the ideal card photo. Some people want to have a professional photo taken. Others opt for a collage of snapshots from the past year. We usually take a picture of Emma (or have my dad take one) in front of our decorated Christmas tree. No matter what your preference, it’s time to decide what type of photo you want to use.

The Clothes

Before we can even think about taking a picture for our Christmas cards, we need to make sure that we have the clothes that we want for the pictures. It could be something that we own already, or maybe we just need a small accessory to bring an outfit together. Maybe that means shopping for a new dress for Emma. Whatever it is, it needs to be done now so that we can get our photo done.

On a side note…. I’m big on using what you have if it still works. Emma wore the same Christmas dress last year as she did the year before that. It was a gorgeous dress, and it still fit. I highly doubt that anyone remembered that it was the same dress. Plus she got new hair bows to match it, bows she’s worn a lot since that time. What’s more fun than that!? Just remember, you don’t HAVE to buy a new outfit for the kiddos (or yourself) if you already have something that will do the job.

The List

Did you notice that the mailing list comes next BEFORE ordering cards? That’s because last year I had over 50 photo cards left over after we mailed ours. I can’t think of a good use for 50 photo cards, so that’s just a huge waste! Instead, it’s time to sit down with our mailing lists and figure out who we’re sending cards to this year.

We’ve lived and worked in a lot of places. That means that we know a LOT of people. In fact, one year we mailed out over 100 Christmas cards. We’re not doing that this year. Even if we score a great deal on cards, they still cost $.44 each to mail. And that can add up quickly.

So our big task this week is to sit down with our mailing list and see who we really want to send Christmas cards to. We’re in an interesting situation, because my old computer died and took with it our Christmas card mailing list spreadsheet. That means that we’re really going to be thinking through who we’re mailing cards to this year!

The Cards

Once we know how many cards we need, we can watch for the best card deals. Yes, I did type dealS… plural. I’ve noticed that most of the great deals that come around aren’t for as many cards as we need. So I order from multiple companies. I don’t think my aunt is going to care if my grandma gets a different card. In fact, I doubt they’re going to compare notes at all. So I will be piecing together our Christmas cards as deals come from different companies.

I also bought an Eversave deal for a Picboo voucher (expired now). I’m going to keep an eye out for these, because they’re more flexible than deals with deadlines. I got a $75 Picaboo voucher for $25. It’s good past Christmas, so I can save it if I find a better deal. These vouchers are fabulous, because they allow you to buy now and create your cards later.

The Stamps

This is also a great time to go and buy the stamps that you’ll need for mailing your cards. If you have a lot of cards to mail, you may be able to buy part of the stamps this week and part in a couple of weeks… still leaving you plenty of time for mailing.

The Mailing

For the past two years I’ve mailed our Christmas cards just a few days before Christmas. I’m guessing that with people being so busy right before Christmas, our cards didn’t get much attention. The benefit of sending cards earlier is that people have time to spend reading your greetings. (Plus it’s one less thing for you to worry about!)

I had a friend who opted for a unique mailing one year. Instead of trying to get her family’s cards out at Christmastime, she sent Happy New Year cards. If you want to avoid the holiday rush, that might be an option. I can tell you that their card got our undivided attention. In fact, I’m writing about it years later!

The Deals

So now that we have a game plan, it’s time to get those Christmas cards! I’m going to be posting some great card deals in the next weeks. You may want to bookmark my Photo Deals category of posts and check back for the best deals. Here are my favorites right now:

• 5 Free Photo Cards + Free Shipping from MyPublisher
• 20 Custom Photo Cards $3 (+$3.99 shipping) from InkGarden
• 15 Free Photo Cards (free in-store pick-up) from Rite Aid

I’m sure there will be more deals coming, so stop back to check for them.

We LOVE to bake, especially at Christmastime. Baking is something that Emma and I can do together. We bake for our family, our extended family, our neighbors, and anyone else we might need a small gift for. Who doesn’t love baked goods?

Now is the time to start thinking about what we’ll be baking and what ingredients we’ll need for our baking. I don’t want to be rushing out to the grocery store (or sending my sweet hubby) in the middle of mixing! (Yes, I’ve been known to do that!)

So let’s get organized and figure out what we’re going to bake. I’ve created this printable Holiday Baking Organizer for us to use. (Just click to download & print.)

You can print however many copies you want and fill in what you’re baking, how much, and which ingredients you need to buy. There are checkboxes so you can mark off the ingredients as you buy them and mark them done. There’s also a column where you can keep track of which treats you’re giving as gifts.

I’m planning to make our list and do our ingredient inventory this weekend. Then I’ll be carrying my Baking Organizer in my purse so that I can watch for sales on the ingredients that we still need to buy. I’m also planning to pick up an extra bag of flour or sugar or something each time I go to the grocery store in November. Hopefully this will help us all stay more organized and save money on our baking.

Need some ideas to kick-start your Holiday Baking Organizer? Here are some fun treats that I found online.

You can find details and directions here:

1. Christmas Tree Scones
2. Cookie Cutter Fudge
3. Santa Party Mix
4. Cranberry-Caramel Chex Mix
5. Nutter Butter Snowmen
6. Pretzel Turtles
7. Oreo Truffles
8. Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies
9. English Toffee

Feel free to share your favorite holiday recipes too. I’m getting my organizer ready this weekend, so I’m looking for inspiration.