How many times have you been asked lately, “so, are you ready for Christmas?” Most of the time people are just asking about getting all of your gifts, wrapping everything, and be prepared for any gatherings.
As you are frantically searching for those last-minute gifts or checking off the to-do list, don’t forget to plan for Christmas morning to make it a huge success for everyone and reduce stress.
1. Stock Up On Batteries of ALL Sizes - there is nothing worse than your kids getting their favorite toy ever but not being able to play with it because it needs batteries...wah wah. You will look like a real hero if you swoop in with exactly the batteries, tools needed to let the fun begin. Take that Santa, parent win!
Head over to Amazon to grab Energizer AAA batteries on sale and be at your door within 2 days
2. Trash Bag Ready - be prepared for all of the wrapping paper, tags, etc...that will be tossed in the air from pure joy and excitement. You can enjoy the fun but also clean it up at the time with your trash bag ready
Grab the big strong trash bags, these are at amazon.
3. A Home for Nice Gift Bags - have a place set aside to stack all of those nice, fancy gift bags that you can reuse again in the future. Gift bags are expensive, so you can save money from buying new ones. I place mine in airtight bins with Christmas decorations and label them so I can just grab, go through the holiday season.
In my opinion, Sterilite makes a great storage container and you can use these when putting Christmas decorations back as well.
4. Camera & Cell Phone Charged - you want to capture all of the moments and smiles on everyone’s face, but can’t do that if everything is dead or on 5% battery life.
5. Breakfast Prepped - it is a tradition that Ryan and I started that anytime we have guests in town or an event, we always make breakfast casseroles for the AM. When we had kids, we kept this tradition alive and started doing it on Christmas morning. You can prep everything day before and then all you have to do is heat and serve!
Here are a few of my favorite recipes:
6. Coffee is Ready - You may be up late checking everything off the list, so have that coffee ready to roll when your feet hit the ground.
7. Good Christmas Music - music is good for your soul and who doesn’t smile when a good tune comes on and you can have a dance party in the kitchen?
This song is, and always will be, on my Christmas morning playlist.
These tips have been a game changer for our family the last few years to be able to fully enjoy the Christmas experience.
As Kevin said in my favorite Christmas movie of all time…”Merry Christmas, you (clean and tidy) animal.”
Happy Holidays!
Kim