Quick Tips to Avoid Holiday Stress

It’s hard to imagine how it’s already the middle of October. I feel like it was just yesterday I was putting away my jackets and pulling out my shorts for summer weather. Now here I am pulling them back out.

Funny story about yours truly. I had misplaced my house key months ago. I had tore apart my house, looked through purses, cleaned out drawers, even searched my in-laws home thinking I had left it during a visit. I seriously could not find it anywhere. Which wasn’t a huge deal because our house has an electronic keypad through our garage so I didn’t really need it. But it was driving me crazy because I never lose anything. Sure, I may misplace something for a short time, but I never actually lose anything.

Fast forward to last weekend and it was a bit chilly in the morning. I pulled out my jacket and tossed it on. About an hour later I reached my hand in the pocket and you know what I found? Yep! My house key! I couldn’t believe it. After months of searching I had found it. It never occurred to me to look in my jacket pocket.

I placed my jacket up about the time our little guy was born so I guess between the commotion of having a newborn I forgot. I hate to lose things and feeling stressed about things, that’s why I am such a planner.

I love saving time, which also means saving money. Because if you can plan way ahead then you’re sure to find good deals and save up the money you need.

It might seem pretty early to start thinking about the holidays, the reality is that most of us are too busy and it will be here before we know it.

Now, I’m not the local hobby store and I’m not recommending pulling out those decorations just yet. But I have created a few quick tips on how to avoid holiday stress. If you do these now then it will really save you later on when the holiday season is in full swing. These tips will only take an hour or two at most and it will be well worth it!

Prioritize Your Yes

Sit down with your spouse and get on the same page about holidays. If you plan now and know what’s important to you and your family then you will avoid holiday burnout. Now is the time to know what Thanksgiving or Christmas will look like, who’s house are you going to be at, etc. That way when invitations start rolling in then you and your spouse will know if it’s a “yes” or a “sorry we can’t.”

Establish Your Budget

Sit down and write out every event, gift, and upcoming expense you’re going to have that is out of the ordinary. I create a spreadsheet in Google Sheets to help narrow down who, what, and how much. That way I can keep an eye out for sales. Plus, having a budget really helps keep you accountable. You can check out my process on how I do Christmas on budget.

Make Your Gift List

This goes with the budget section up above. By creating your gift list now then you can have more time to buy what you need. I created my list last week and it has been a life saver. J and I sat down decided a good idea of what we wanted to get everyone then I created my budget from my list.

Plan Your Holiday Menu

I’m not saying it’s time to make the pie or Christmas cookies, yet. Most grocery stores will advertise items at ridiculously low prices to get you to come in. So if you have an idea of what you need to get for November and December then you can add it to your normal grocery shopping. By breaking down your holiday grocery shopping way in advance then you’ll be able to save money and not have a huge bill later down the road.

What do you think? What else would you add to avoid holiday stress?