Pre-Christmas Decorating? Really?
Yes, really! It's a good idea! I swear! Just listen to my rational before you start yelling at me....
So, There are a couple of things that can be done to make the Christmas decorating fiasco less of a fiasco and a little more enjoyable. This can be done easily at my house because we don't host any Thanksgiving festivities, so I feel less obligated to leave up turkeys and fall decor until after November 23rd. So, before you haul 3,000 boxes of Christmas-memories-past out of your attic, read my list of a few tips that are sure to make the decorating transition easier.
#1- If you use different dishes in your china cabinet or displayed elsewhere in your home at Christmas Time as you do the rest of the year, go ahead and change them out before you haul the 3,000 boxes into the house and you get overwhelmed. This is something that always takes alot of time, so I try to go ahead and get them swapped out. I try to get out some of the serving pieces that I use during this time too. I go ahead and wash them up if needed and put them in a convenient location so that whenever ALL of those holiday parties, dinners, and gatherings come up, I'm not stressed and trying to dig out serveware and platters that may be stuffed somewhere under piles of bought-yet-not-yet-wrapped gifts, or other decorations, or a dusting of powdered sugar.... Usually I limit this to dishes and serving pieces that I store in the house throughout the rest of the year, but this year (since I have a 9 month old Wild Thing to get into everything...) I also went ahead and made a premature trip up to the attic and found my box of Christmas dishes and serveware and went ahead and got them out too.
#2- If you change out your bedding for winter/Christmas go ahead and get that done too. I did this last week and I am so glad that I did. It's just one extra thing that I don't have to do whenever I finally do get all of those boxes down from the attic. It also creates alot of extra laundry to wash extra sheets and blankets that you took off, so it's good to get that added mess out of the way.
I found a few cute things that I'm so excited to use this year at TJ Maxx. I bought this Eddie Bauer buffalo check blanket that I am using on my bed that just so happens to perfectly match my red throw pillows that I bought last year. I love it when unplanned things like that work out in my favor! 😂I got my blanket for much less than the one I linked here on Amazon, but it feels amazing and we absolutely love it. Target sells the blanket but in a smaller, throw size. I also found some cute, doggy winter sheets (also more expensive on Amazon) to use on Wild Thing's bed. Picky Eater has red and black, plaid flannel sheets that I purchased several years ago from Kohl's (They don't have his exact sheets, but they have a large variety of really cute ones). It's so nice to have the cozy sheets and blankets on for the cooler nights. Also, it's good to have fresh linens on for overnight Holiday guests if you have a guest bed.
#3- Get out any other Christmas or winter decor that you store in your house. Last weekend I got out all of our Christmas books that Picky Eater likes to read, along with the snow globe, candles, BIG Santa picture and other wall decor that I store inside under beds and in cabinets because I don't want the heat from the attic during summer to ruin or fade them. (In case you didn't know... if you put a snow globe in the attic, it will dry up.... If it sounds like I know from experience, it's because I DO!!!)
#4- Clean out your pantry and take inventory of the ingredients that you know you'll be needing for holiday baking; things like: nuts, sugar, powdered sugar, flour, pumpkin filling, chocolate chips, baking powder, cinnamon, and anything else that you know you'll be needing.... This is a simple task that probably won't take you very long and will really help you out whenever you're up to your elbows in flour and discover that you are all out of baking powder (If it sounds like I know from experience, it's because I DO!!!) Don't forget to take an inventory of your spices too. Some may be outdated or you may need more of certain things. It's better to discover this before you are in the middle of a baking extravaganza. Also, if your pantry is anything like mine, it's an area that gets unorganized rather easily and could use a little rearranging and straitening.
#5- Finish up any lingering projects!!! This one is HUGE and I need to heed my own advise on this one. I had several things that I had "shopped" from my own garage sale from the summer that I have intended on painting.( LOL! I know, I know.) I just got around to doing this. I also have some curtain panels that I, embarrassingly, have needed/wanted to get hemmed for a YEAR and some others that I wanted some cute fabric added to the bottom to lengthen them and give them a little pizzazz. I am planning to get that done this week. It's one of those projects that I am sure I'll be kicking myself for not doing sooner once it gets accomplished. I also ordered different curtains for Picky Eater's room that have been needing replaced for a brighter look. These are all things that just take a little bit of time and can really make you appreciate and enjoy your home more during the Christmas season if you get them done beforehand. So, just get them done. It's easy, right? 😉 Also, I went ahead and spruced up the coffee/hot chocolate station in my kitchen so it's ready for the chilly days ahead.
#6- Cut out the dang clutter! This still needs to be done at my house in many rooms. Picky Eater's room is first on the list. I need to go through and organize all of his toys and make a nice donation to The Salvation Army before Santa makes his big debut at our house. Counter tops and bookshelves are other areas that I like to hit before Christmas decorating because I always replace some of my existing decor with Christmas decor and it's nice to already have it out of the way before the 3,000 boxes get transported in. I also like to only have things out on my kitchen counter that are necessary because of holiday baking and parties I need all the extra counter-top space that I can get!
#7- If you send out personalized Christmas Cards, get them organized, made, and ordered NOW. We just had our Christmas Card pictures made this last weekend. This is something that I do every year and I am getting better at it each year. It's so much easier to get this done earlier rather than later. If you run out of time you can set up your smart phone and take your own picture, but I highly suggest finding a photographer that you like and book with them well in advance so that you will get your pictures back in time. If you are local, I recommend Photography by Aubree. I use her for our family portraits and to document my boys growing up. She is awesome and so easy to work with. I usually always have ideas of things that I want to do (aka pinterest inspired projects). She is so sweet and is never offended with my extensive list of crazy ideas.
So, There are a couple of things that can be done to make the Christmas decorating fiasco less of a fiasco and a little more enjoyable. This can be done easily at my house because we don't host any Thanksgiving festivities, so I feel less obligated to leave up turkeys and fall decor until after November 23rd. So, before you haul 3,000 boxes of Christmas-memories-past out of your attic, read my list of a few tips that are sure to make the decorating transition easier.
#1- If you use different dishes in your china cabinet or displayed elsewhere in your home at Christmas Time as you do the rest of the year, go ahead and change them out before you haul the 3,000 boxes into the house and you get overwhelmed. This is something that always takes alot of time, so I try to go ahead and get them swapped out. I try to get out some of the serving pieces that I use during this time too. I go ahead and wash them up if needed and put them in a convenient location so that whenever ALL of those holiday parties, dinners, and gatherings come up, I'm not stressed and trying to dig out serveware and platters that may be stuffed somewhere under piles of bought-yet-not-yet-wrapped gifts, or other decorations, or a dusting of powdered sugar.... Usually I limit this to dishes and serving pieces that I store in the house throughout the rest of the year, but this year (since I have a 9 month old Wild Thing to get into everything...) I also went ahead and made a premature trip up to the attic and found my box of Christmas dishes and serveware and went ahead and got them out too.
 |
| This year, I mixed my white and gold Greek-Key china with red and green accents. |
I found a few cute things that I'm so excited to use this year at TJ Maxx. I bought this Eddie Bauer buffalo check blanket that I am using on my bed that just so happens to perfectly match my red throw pillows that I bought last year. I love it when unplanned things like that work out in my favor! 😂I got my blanket for much less than the one I linked here on Amazon, but it feels amazing and we absolutely love it. Target sells the blanket but in a smaller, throw size. I also found some cute, doggy winter sheets (also more expensive on Amazon) to use on Wild Thing's bed. Picky Eater has red and black, plaid flannel sheets that I purchased several years ago from Kohl's (They don't have his exact sheets, but they have a large variety of really cute ones). It's so nice to have the cozy sheets and blankets on for the cooler nights. Also, it's good to have fresh linens on for overnight Holiday guests if you have a guest bed.
#3- Get out any other Christmas or winter decor that you store in your house. Last weekend I got out all of our Christmas books that Picky Eater likes to read, along with the snow globe, candles, BIG Santa picture and other wall decor that I store inside under beds and in cabinets because I don't want the heat from the attic during summer to ruin or fade them. (In case you didn't know... if you put a snow globe in the attic, it will dry up.... If it sounds like I know from experience, it's because I DO!!!)
#4- Clean out your pantry and take inventory of the ingredients that you know you'll be needing for holiday baking; things like: nuts, sugar, powdered sugar, flour, pumpkin filling, chocolate chips, baking powder, cinnamon, and anything else that you know you'll be needing.... This is a simple task that probably won't take you very long and will really help you out whenever you're up to your elbows in flour and discover that you are all out of baking powder (If it sounds like I know from experience, it's because I DO!!!) Don't forget to take an inventory of your spices too. Some may be outdated or you may need more of certain things. It's better to discover this before you are in the middle of a baking extravaganza. Also, if your pantry is anything like mine, it's an area that gets unorganized rather easily and could use a little rearranging and straitening.
#5- Finish up any lingering projects!!! This one is HUGE and I need to heed my own advise on this one. I had several things that I had "shopped" from my own garage sale from the summer that I have intended on painting.( LOL! I know, I know.) I just got around to doing this. I also have some curtain panels that I, embarrassingly, have needed/wanted to get hemmed for a YEAR and some others that I wanted some cute fabric added to the bottom to lengthen them and give them a little pizzazz. I am planning to get that done this week. It's one of those projects that I am sure I'll be kicking myself for not doing sooner once it gets accomplished. I also ordered different curtains for Picky Eater's room that have been needing replaced for a brighter look. These are all things that just take a little bit of time and can really make you appreciate and enjoy your home more during the Christmas season if you get them done beforehand. So, just get them done. It's easy, right? 😉 Also, I went ahead and spruced up the coffee/hot chocolate station in my kitchen so it's ready for the chilly days ahead.
 |
| These are a few of the things that I rescued from my own garage sale. I'll let you know how they turn out later. ☺ |
#7- If you send out personalized Christmas Cards, get them organized, made, and ordered NOW. We just had our Christmas Card pictures made this last weekend. This is something that I do every year and I am getting better at it each year. It's so much easier to get this done earlier rather than later. If you run out of time you can set up your smart phone and take your own picture, but I highly suggest finding a photographer that you like and book with them well in advance so that you will get your pictures back in time. If you are local, I recommend Photography by Aubree. I use her for our family portraits and to document my boys growing up. She is awesome and so easy to work with. I usually always have ideas of things that I want to do (aka pinterest inspired projects). She is so sweet and is never offended with my extensive list of crazy ideas.
 |
This is one of the photos that Photography by Aubree took for Wild Thing's 6 month pictures. |
For my photo needs I like to use Shutterfly for photo storage, picture printing, and personalized card-making projects. They have a great variety of gifts, print sizes, and free photo storage without a limit. I have been using them for years and all of my projects always turn out beautifully and on the rare occasion that I have had a problem, their customer service is awesome and they fixed the issue(s) right away.
OK, OK, I know, that's more than a few but you'll be so glad that you tackled some of these things before you haul ALL of those boxes down from the attic. Did I forget anything? Let me know what pre-decorating you do? Which ones are you going to try? I would love to hear from you so leave a comment and/or share! Thanks for stopping by!!!
XOXO,
Danielle
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