Tis the season already, can you believe it?! Christmas 2022 is upon us. Even though Halloween is still a month away, stores are replacing the scary and fright with all things merry and bright! We want to help you stay sane this holiday season with some tips to help you plan ahead for Christmas this year. 

Here are 5 things you can do right now to get ready for Christmas early:

1. Set a Christmas budget if you haven’t already. Even though that’s an obvious tip, it’s one many families never take the time to sit down and do. The holidays are more financially stressful when you go headlong into the season without a budget in place. Get on the same page with your spouse/ significant other about what’s reasonable to spend for each category. We recommend both a gift-giving budget and holiday food budget. Set money aside in a separate savings account labeled “Christmas” to  help you keep track of what you are saving/ spending this season. 

2. Figure out who you are buying for this year. Make the list now! Does your family buy for every adult in the extended family or just the kids? Or maybe you draw names? Whatever Christmas tradition your family follows, it’s important to make a list in September of who you’ll be giving gifts to in December. 

3. Once you define who is on your Christmas list, decide who on your list is getting homemade Christmas gifts. Homeads gifts are great for teachers, coworkers, doctors, your hairstylist, and anyone who provides a regular service in your life. Pick out what homemade gift you want to create this year and get started! Buy the materials and get those gifts done early. It’s always a good idea to make a few extra for the Secret Santa exchange you’ll inevitably get added to.
   If you need some inspo, we love these ideas for DIY Christmas Gifts that Sophie put out on her My Cup Runs Over blog. 

4. Make and freeze your cookie dough now. We know you haven’t even started to think about making Christmas cookies yet, but cookie dough lasts up to a year in the freezer. That means you can prepare a few batches  now so that in December all you have to do is cut and bake. Check this out for further guidance! 

5. Speaking of holiday cookies, buy up clearance Halloween candy in October. It works great for baking. No one will know if the crushed up Snicker bar in your desert dish came out of a spooky seasonal wrapper. Candy always makes for great stocking stuffers too! 

We know things are about to get even busier than normal this holiday season. There’s not a lot we can do to prevent holiday hustle, but we hope to help you stay one step ahead of it with easy tips like these. Stay tuned, more blog posts are on the way… so is Santa!