Are You Ready For The Madness?

On one of my favorite blogs, I was smacked upside the head with a pledge request. The crazy lady Karen at The Art Of Doing Stuff is trying to get people to take this absurd pledge with her. It can't be that time of year yet, can it?!

 

“I,    (insert name here)   being of sound mind and slightly jiggly body, agree to take the Christmas Pledge.  I pledge to get all the crap done I need to, by December 5th.  And then I will lounge and eat chips.” 

I must be crazy, too, because I took the pledge last year. It left so much time during the month of December to bake cookies and enjoy the season. How many of you actually enjoy the Christmas holiday season? Or do you run yourself ragged and stress out trying to find all the perfect gifts you feel you need to be buying for everyone you ever met? Why not get a lot of the work out of the way before the hectic schedules begin? Do your cards, shopping lists, gift buying and wrapping, menus, food shopping lists, and decorating early.

I want to enjoy Thanksgiving before I decorate, but some of the other tasks like writing your Christmas letter or addressing all your card/ envelopes can be done early. You can also plan your menus for Thanksgiving and Christmas and make up a grocery list for those. You can make your gift lists and get things bought ahead of time. I do most of my shopping online. I can avoid impulse buying and watch my budget better from home.

Click on the snowflake image and check out Karen's blog site. She's crazy, but quite funny.

One more thing that makes the holiday season, Thanksgiving included, more relaxing is to de-clutter your home. I did this last year, too, and was surprised at the difference it made. I could go out and shop and come home to a clean home, one that was clutter free. It made decorating so much more fun. The dust was gone before I put up the lights. My counters were clear and ready for the bags of goodies I brought in. The kitchen was organized, making baking so much more fun. I was just much more relaxed during the season.

This year will be the first one I've spent at home since I met my husband 18 years ago. I am really looking forward to it! I can't wait to watch the kids actually get to play with their gifts instead of looking at them and putting them away until we get back from the in-laws'.

Will you pledge to try to get things done early? Or do you thrive on shopping December 24th?