How To Christmas Like A Boss
This isn’t a typical “how to” post. So, there aren’t steps to follow and when you’re done, you definitely won’t have something to share on Pinterest. But with any luck, after reading my tips for “How to Christmas Like a Boss” maybe you’ll be a little less stressed.
Hiding AND Finding Christmas Presents
If you’re anything like me, i.e. a busy parent that’s been Christmas shopping all year long, then you have presents hidden aka scattered throughout the house. No area is off-limits: laundry room, guest room, closets, office, pantry. The problem: it’s three days before Christmas and you can’t find half of what you’ve bought. There should be an app for hiding presents and recording where they are hidden but until then…a few suggestions.
Use a word document/Excel/or your phone and note what’s hidden where, this will also reduce panic because you can check your document to ensure you have everyone covered equally. Example, John’s presents: shoes/master closet, basketball/pantry, bike/neighbor’s garage. But if your kids are nosey and know all of the good hiding places.
Plan B: get a large box and work with a friend or neighbor to ship & or store presents at their place in that box. Bonus to that plan, you can wrap everything at their place. (Make sure they know they can do the same at yours)
The Dreaded Christmas Grocery Shopping Trip
Now, I should tell you I am not one of those “organized people”. My pantry isn’t organized by food type, nor is my closet. But the chaos of Christmas has inspired me to do things a bit differently. Like, creating a grocery shopping list in Google docs. You can do this once, and if you cook the same dishes every year, all you have to do is update it based on your fridge and print! Also, upload all recipes to your computer and save in Christmas folder to eliminate searching for them.
Gift Wrapping Is For Elves
Time for my least favorite part: wrapping the Christmas gifts. Confession: I am a Christmas wrapping paper snob. My Mom always used Hallmark wrapping paper, and anything else just doesn’t cut, fold, or perform the same way. Scissor glide across Hallmark paper, making it easy for those of us that are “craft impaired”. I am totally craft impaired and might be banned from wrapping in a few states.
I use different paper for each person, so on Christmas morning the kids don’t accidentally open someone else’s presents in all the excitement. By using different paper for my son, daughter and husband, the kids no longer have any reason for moving presents or handling them to see ‘who is that present for’. Also, there’s less chance of snooping or fragile items getting broken. Pro tip: use random boxes when wrapping presents, never use a shirt box for clothes. I’ve wrapped video games in shoe boxes and books in a cereal box, keeping the kids guessing.
If you wrap the presents from Santa, buy a special roll for that and use a stamp or special gift tags. I like to leave the roll by the gifts on Christmas morning with a note from Santa saying he left the extra behind for Mom and Dad. This is a great cover story in case the kids ever find a scrap of the paper lying around or in the trash.
Tips For Stocking Stuffers
My children usually get the same thing in their stockings every year. The usual suspects include: underwear, toothbrushes/toothpaste, books, and movies. This year I set aside two Amazon boxes, one for each of my kids. I’ve stored their stocking stuffer items in those boxes. On Christmas Eve, its easy to move the items from box to stocking. It also makes it easy to see if I have forgotten anything!
Panic Mode On Christmas Eve
In the past, I felt like when the calendar turns to 12/24 I started to hear a ticking sound like a countdown to a bomb exploding in the movies. Full blown panic-where did I hide the presents; does anything need to be assembled; did I forget any groceries; everything needs to be wrapped and on and on.
Finally, this year I feel like I have things under control. All the presents are wrapped, those from us are on the fireplace, those from Santa are hidden. Pro tip: I put them in a big brown dog food box and taped it up-the kids won’t ever think of looking there. So, now they just need to be placed by the tree after the kids are asleep on Christmas Eve. Also, big empty suitcases are another place you can hide gifts from Santa.
What are your secrets to handling Christmas like a boss?
