Hello Elflings,
I know a lot of people dread Christmas because it is always a big spending spree and we probably could do without spending and there’s always the mad rush to make sure everyone has everything they need. Then we need to panic that the supermarkets are going to be shop for 46 days when it’s only 1 but make sure you stock up on essentials, you know just in case the world explodes and we need some baked beans. But Christmas doesn’t have to be a big sigh every time festivities are mentioned, for me I choose to plan early. Mainly because I get excited for Christmas once my birthday has gone (3rd March, put it in your calendars I like Terry’s Chocolate Orange) but also because I know that if I wait until November/December to start Christmas shopping then I will get stressed because I won’t have money for anything and it will be such a rush that I’m bound to forget something and it will just go to pot. So here are some basic tips to make Christmas more organised and you a little less stressed.
Set a budget
There are many ways you can set yourself a budget, you can choose to set an overall budget for how much you are spending on presents as a grand total. You could also set budgets for people, if there’s someone that is super easy to buy for and you keep picking up this little bit and ooh, they’ll love that penguin hat as well then, the cost will soon mount up so invest in a little book and you’ll soon be being ruthless with your spending.
Lists
In the same way budgets help people to save money, lists help you keep your brain in gear. You may be sat there thinking, whatever ramble girl you may have all the time in the world to make lists but I do not. By just taking a Sunday afternoon, or any afternoon I am not being mean to any other afternoons, then you could potentially save yourself a huge amount of time in the long run. Make lists of everything: everyone you need to consider, shopping list, people you can spend more money on, people who probably only deserve a box of Quality Street, the people who always buy you something you don’t like even though they know it makes you feel sick, how much wrapping paper you need to buy etc. I could go on for a while but I feel like you now get my point. Flick the kettle on, choose your hot drink and get that note pad to make some killer lists, oh just make sure you don’t lose the lists otherwise you probably would’ve wasted your time. To make it even more jazzy, make a list of the lists you need to do!
Don’t Stress
Whack a Christmas CD on and chill. This is the season of goodwill and jolliness and a general excuse to eat a full pack of mince pies just because it’s Christmas. Stressing is bound to make things seem annoying and unfestive and my dear elves, we cannot be having that. Take some time to chill out and then refocus your energy, you’re bound to get more done this way than just going on a mad rush stopping for a minute and then not starting again.
I mean most importantly, have fun.
Until tomorrow,
Lia x
Life of Lia 