Christmas Preparations

I posted a couple of years ago about how to have a stress-free Christmas. Since this year marks something of a change from the way things have been (in that Funsize has changed everything), I thought I'd recap where we are at this time. Of course, much of this is subject to change, and some of it is likely to need revision for next year!

• Black Friday: Much as I am coming to dislike Black Friday, and even more "Black Friday Week", I admit it has its uses. There's no specific task for this week, but keep an eye out for useful bargains of all sorts!
  
• Christmas Presents: In theory, my preference for these would be to buy them all in the first weekend of December. The reality is that that's not practical - firstly because the rising tide of media pressure makes it difficult to delay, and secondly because the required lists aren't necessarily all available. So my actual position on this is that I want to finalise my list of who to buy for by December 1st, but will start buying at some likely time, and will aim to complete buying by the 10th.
  
• Advent Calendar: This should be bought as part of the last weekly shop in November. In addition, as of this year we have a reusable Advent Train which needs filled with goodies - these should also be bought in the last weekly shop in November.
  
• Christmas Decorations: Ideally, these should go up the first weekend in Advent. Even better would be the Sunday, but if scheduling makes this busy then either the Saturday or even the Friday night will work.
  
• Food Order: The big addition as of this year is that we'll be staying at home on Christmas Day, which means I'll be cooking the big meal. That means that a suitable bird needs to be ordered, and this should also be done on that first weekend in Advent.
  
• Christmas Cards: Another of my great nemeses, Christmas Cards continue to be a thing. And so, despite my vocal protestations about the environmental impact (and my real objection, which in truth is just about sheer laziness), I guess these should be done. My inclination is that the time for these is between the first and second Sundays of Advent. This gets them done in time for international postage (if applicable), and also in a slightly less busy part of the month. Anyway, get the list of recipients identified, get the cards written, addressed, and posted. (Also, as with wrapping the presents, my innate preference would be for a one-and-done approach, but I suspect it's actually a three-stage task - see the next item...)
  
• Wrapping Presents: My preference here would be a one-and-done task, to be completed in that second week after all the presents are in hand. This has failed the test of reality, which has led me to the conclusion that it's probably a three-part split - as soon as almost all the presents are in hand, set time aside to get those wrapped. Then there will need to be a second wrap party once the rest of them arrive, and then a final task of wrapping the inevitable last straggler. I've already completed the first, expect to finish the second this week, and very much hope to finish the third by that third Sunday in Advent.
  
• Stocking Fillers: These are not quite presents, but need a similar level of secrecy. Also, since they're not wrapped I don't really want them hanging around for too long. So the plan is to go get these some time in the last week before Christmas. I have a list...
  
• The Big Supermarket Shop: The weekly shop during Advent is the time for an almighty shopping expedition, stocking up on absolutely everything that is needed - ridiculous amounts of Coke and wine, stupid numbers of snacks, enough sprouts to cancel Brexit, and so on and so forth. The only exception to this is if the last weekend in Advent falls a long way before Christmas Day, in which case some fresh items may need purchased later.
  
• Pick Up the Bird: Having ordered a turkey, don't forget to go pick it up on the appointed day!
  
• Meal Pre-preparations: The cooking of the main meal is going to be hectic, so anything that can be prepared in advance should be. Therefore, it's wise to identify a starter and a dessert that can either be bought in or made in advance. In the latter case, Christmas Eve is the time to get these in hand.
  
• Cooking the Meal: Roast turkey takes a while, but fundamentally it's just any other roast dinner. So leave aside plenty of time, take your time, and get on with it. The major considerations here are really: (1) when do you want to cook, (2) does this give you opportunity to go to church, and (3) do you kick everyone else out of the house while you're cooking?

And that, I think, is where I'm at on the first part of Christmas - the run up to the day itself. As you'll probably note, I haven't included my various lists of things (the lists of who specifically to buy presents for, the list of Christmas card recipients, the list for the butcher and the big final shopping list). These will come later, and not on this blog. Also, I haven't included things like visiting Christmas markets, Santa's Grotto, and the lighting of the Christmas tree in the village. I've come to the conclusion that these are too variable to plan for in advance, so it's better to build your master list with significant gaps, identify the things you would like to do, and slot them into those gaps (if possible).

There will probably be a part two of this post later, dealing with the big tidy up afterwards. Or maybe not...