One Final Task to Make Next Year’s Holidays Easier

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one final task

The New Year’s Eve champagne has gone flat. The holiday cards have come off the mantel. The Christmas tree is headed for the compost bin. And the kids are (finally) back in school. Mamas, you did it: You made it through the holidays. And now you get to settle back into your comfortable routine.

But there’s one last thing you can do now to make the 2015 holiday season a lot easier.

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2014’s holiday season is over, but you can prepare now for 2015.

Every year, it’s the same: I try to remember where I got our wreath last year, the one that fit perfectly between the front door and the storm door and didn’t start dropping needles after the first week. Or I spend an hour, again, looking on Pinterest for the recipe we use for Christmas morning cinnamon rolls, only to remember that it’s actually in the Joy of Cooking.

The solution: Write it down. Twenty minutes of careful notes right now will save you hours next holiday season. I swear it will be worth your time.

Take a piece of paper — you only need one for now — and write down what you did this holiday that worked well, and what didn’t work well. Hated the cards you got from that online store? Write it down so you don’t make the same mistake next year. Loved the ones your best friend sent? Find out where she got them from and write that down too. (Ask her now, because she might have forgotten by next year!) Save the list in a place you’ll find it when you’re planning next year’s holidays — clipped to the November page of your calendar, or stored with the first box of holiday decorations you unpack each year.

Here’s some of what’s on my list from this year:

  • Lights at the zoo – just okay. Will was more interested in animals than lights. Try again in a few years?
  • Need new Advent candles
  • CVS had a great deal on cardstock cards but you have to order early.
  • DO NOT attempt gingerbread houses again.
  • Playgroup had Santa come to someone’s home – so smart! Calmer than the mall.
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A bit of note-taking now will save you angst next December.

You get the idea. The point is, you know you’re going to forget some of this by next year; and you know you’re going to want to remember it. So write it down, and save yourself the brain space.

If you’re really into this idea, you could devote a whole notebook or binder to it. Printable pages to create your own holiday planning/notes binder are available (free!) at FlyLady.net and Thirty Handmade Days.

The one from Thirty Handmade Days is more about keeping track of what gifts and cards you’ve sent; there’s a section for tracking birthdays and anniversaries throughout the year, too.

The FlyLady one is the big kahuna; she covers just about everything anyone might need when planning the holidays. If you’re not familiar with the FlyLady system, I’d skip the first few pages and go right to the lists on page 9. That’s where the rubber really meets the road when it comes to planning. I especially like the baking checklist on page 16. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to sit down mid-baking and figure out just how much butter I need. When you’re making several recipes at a time, things add up. A stick here, a stick there, and all of a sudden “oh, sure, we have butter” isn’t quite enough. Make a list, add up what you need, and you won’t have to run to the store mid-mixing ever again.

Are my holidays perfect with this note-keeping system? Decidedly not. (We won’t talk about how our tree fell over … twice.) But at least I don’t make the same mistake two years in a row.

Do you prepare for next year’s holidays now? Talk about it in the comments.

Photo credits, top to bottom: hownowdesign / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND; Robert S. Donovan / Foter / CC BY-NC; danielfoster437 / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA
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Marian
As a writer and editor, Marian Cowhig Owen made her living crafting – or at least striving for – perfect prose. But motherhood taught her quickly that there’s no such thing as a perfect parent. It’s a lesson she’s learning over and over every day. A Midwesterner by birth, Marian lived in North Carolina for 14 years before her husband’s job brought the family to Columbia in fall 2013. She and her preschooler have quickly found new favorite haunts in the Midlands, including Saluda Shoals Park, EdVenture and the Irmo branch library. In her spare time, this NPR junkie also sings, bakes and does needlework. She’s recently taken up running, with an eye toward her first 5K race in the fall. And as for that perfection she’s been seeking? Her Pinterest boards are very carefully curated.

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