How do you stay organized and on track for the holidays?

[faerywings]

I know, it's too early to be thinking about the holidays. Way too early

However... it *is* November and time really flies this time of year. Especially for people who are chronically disorganized.

yeah, me.
Through no fault of my own, I am hosting Thanksgiving for the very first time. It's going to be extremely low-key, just my immediate family, my parents, and my kids' SO's. Eight people. (2 dogs, but do they really count? Noise wise YES! Food wise, nope)
That was an unexpected wrench but dealable. I am always anxious about Christmas and Christmas gift-making and shopping and baking and all of that. This year feels like I am already on edge and scattered. Not the best way to start the season.

I typically go "old school" with handwritten To-Do lists, baking/recipe lists, and a gift table. I am not sure if that is the best way this year. *looks around the mess of papers on my desk already*
Do you use an online planner? Bullet journal?
I am looking for something that I will want to keep up with. Something that will keep me in the spirit of the season as well.
(totally not a tall order, i get it LOL)

hit me up! What is the secret to your organizational success?
If it is not starting with any expectation of success or heavily spiked egg nog, I feel ya.

 

[Kythe]

I don’t think I will be much help. I go old school like you. First I do the menu planning/shopping. Then I always bake ahead and freeze if possible.
I keep a calendar on the fridge where I will see it (not on the computer where I will ignore it). The calendar has what I need to do and the day I am to do it. It gives me great pleasure to cross off the accomplishments.
It also serves to show the family the amount of work it takes in hopes that I will get help. Lol that doesn’t always work ha ha
For our Thanksgiving, everyone brought some item of food that I asked them to bring. Saved me a lot of extra tiime. I actually got to visit this year.

 

[scribler]

Don't look at me. We eat out for Thanksgiving and we always go to his dad's for Christmas. So I organize nothing. lol

(I will say that my fur babies said that the fur babies absolutely do count when considering food planning. If there will not be leftovers for the fur babies, there is not enough food. )

 

[faerywings]

I don’t think I will be much help. I go old school like you. First I do the menu planning/shopping. Then I always bake ahead and freeze if possible.
I keep a calendar on the fridge where I will see it (not on the computer where I will ignore it). The calendar has what I need to do and the day I am to do it. It gives me great pleasure to cross off the accomplishments.
It also serves to show the family the amount of work it takes in hopes that I will get help. Lol that doesn’t always work ha ha
For our Thanksgiving, everyone brought some item of food that I asked them to bring. Saved me a lot of extra tiime. I actually got to visit this year.

Yeah, that sounds like the things I try to do. I love my to-do list and crossing things off it. What a great feeling! I think my mom is going to bring some turkey for Thanksgiving since I won't cook it. Ick.
the only time I was ever home on Thanksgiving was in 2020 when we were in lockdown and it was just the 4 of us which was honestly pretty nice.

 

[faerywings]

Don't look at me. We eat out for Thanksgiving and we always go to his dad's for Christmas. So I organize nothing. lol

(I will say that my fur babies said that the fur babies absolutely do count when considering food planning. If there will not be leftovers for the fur babies, there is not enough food. )

Hahahahaha!!! My furbabies agree with your furbabies and both are pretty mad at me for not counting them in.

 

[LSlycord]

So a big (huge) part of my holiday season is meals. The menus are always the same because the kids insist on it. (Which makes me happy that they have happy memories associated with our meals at the holidays.) But last Thanksgiving, I put together an Excel spreadsheet with all of the menu items that I make. Then I put down all of the ingredients needed for each dish and I even broke it down one further category to what items I can buy ahead. So, sometime this week, I will take my list of items that I can buy ahead and get to the store. (I have a similar list for Christmas so I may actually do some of the "ahead" buying for that holiday as well.)

I started some holiday baking last night. Well...kind of... I read someone was saying that they freeze chocolate no-bake cookies. So I made a batch and put a few in the freezer to test this out. LOL

As far as gifts, it's mainly just the kids and I don't think it will be much this year. I'll send something home to nieces and nephew but that will just be a Venmo transfer. And need to get a gift for each of the greats (I have one more on the way next summer).

Of course, we have 4 birthdays in November...my niece, my brother, Shaun and my great-nephew. Good grief. I think that I need to get going!

 

[LSlycord]

I don’t think I will be much help. I go old school like you. First I do the menu planning/shopping. Then I always bake ahead and freeze if possible.
I keep a calendar on the fridge where I will see it (not on the computer where I will ignore it). The calendar has what I need to do and the day I am to do it. It gives me great pleasure to cross off the accomplishments.
It also serves to show the family the amount of work it takes in hopes that I will get help. Lol that doesn’t always work ha ha
For our Thanksgiving, everyone brought some item of food that I asked them to bring. Saved me a lot of extra tiime. I actually got to visit this year.

I love the idea of the calendar on the refrigerator. I think that I'm going to try that!

 

[vickyday]

Sorry, can't help you! I work best under stress, LOL!
About the only "organizing" I do for a big meal prep is figure out what I'm fixing, buy it the week before the event, try to mix and prep everything the day before and cook it on the day of!

 

[vickyday]

And very few gifts! It's money in their pockets! We MIGHT buy gifts for the younger ones.....but usually give the money to mom to buy what the baby needs!

 

[Amandajk]

Weeelll, we "lost" Thanksgiving when son married; they always go to her parents , and daughter moved across country. So it's just the two of us. All other family is 800+ miles away. We still do a small traditional TDay meal, but no real planning goes into it.
Christmas isn't much different. We dont' have a bunch of Christmas related activities . I grew up with public school doing a Christmas play or concert every year. But they don't seem to happen anymore- at least not here.
We DO have a Tamalinda every year- when we make a HUGE batch of tamales!! We do ugly sweater cookie decorating, and have a piñata. It's a BLAST!!!
Honestly, I am happy that we have decided to simplify- for the past 8 years. We've made it more of a meditative time. and have not dealt with crazed shopping, eating nor activities. Christmas for us is a spiritual thing which is every day- so we don't get hung up on the calendar. That was odd at first, but now we wouldn't go any other way!
We do have two birthdays "Christmas week" - son's and husband's, we usually celebrate them on same day- not usually on either' actual birth-date.
I make a paper list of gifts, most of which I end up creating, and then it is done!!!

 

[tanteva]

I have the solution! Quit celebrating ALL holidays.

Problem solved!

 

[Jam-on-toast]

I just can't wait for the collective madness to begin. There is something incredibly uplifting in how the whole country tunes in and decorates and celebrates. I love it. We have already had a conversation as to when it is considred socially acceptable to start decorating.

That being said, I don't bake the 17 or so types of Xmas cookies my neightbors do anymore. I did once in the past and that year we all realized that we only like three of those types, so these are the ones that get baked and craved. We plan a family baking session - sometimes it's just hubby and me and a bottle of wine - and have a blast. Kids get to/are required to chip in too. I decocrate the house throughout December - we put the tree up around December 1 - as a family - and then I'd be adding bits and pieces as I have time and am feeling in the mood. The meal itself - we cook what we love to eat (with a nod to tradition of course) and the house is usually decorated by then.

Definitely no excel sheets are involved, but I do have a couple of yellow post-its on my desk - mostly because I love making daily to-do lists for the sake of crossing tasks out, not because I seriously think I'd forget to buy wrapping paper or bake walnut crescents.