Christmas Countdown

I love the holidays. I do. When I was a child, my mother made Christmas a magical and special time at our house. I don't know how she did everything she did, but she really pulled out all the stops during that final month of every year. She never waited until December to pull out the Christmas music, which in fact I am streaming via Pandora as I write. There are certain pieces that transport me back in time when I hear them. I love that. I think that is one of the reasons I love the holidays so much. They are magical and fully of wonderful memories for me. So, why am I writing about Christmas in August? Well...

It's time. I can hardly believe it, but it is already time again for me to begin the Holiday Grand Plan. (Don't know what I am talking about? Click the link.) I have done this off-and-on for the past 10 years or so. I love it! I really do. I am a planner and an organizer at heart and this is a perfect fit for me. Here's the long and short of it...
~ The plan covers 18 weeks, beginning today.
~ It tells you what to do and when, to prepare for the holidays.
~ It does everything in easy and manageable steps.
~ It's free.
~ It makes the holidays, not just Christmas but Halloween and Thanksgiving too, wonderful and relaxing.
~ You can actually consider the season and what you are celebrating.
I guess to fully understand why I like it so much, you just have to check it and try it for yourself.
Let me just paint a picture for a moment to tempt you a little. (It may sound impossible &/or cheesy, but it is possible and I can't imagine a better way to spend the holidays.) It is the first week in December. It's a cold night out and you, holding a cup of cocoa, are watching a movie with your family. The tree is trimmed, the house decorated. You have little on your mind because you have finished your tasks for the season. You mailed the Christmas cards last week and finished wrapping the last of the gifts you were making and purchasing too. There are nearly 2 dozen dinners in the freezer and equally as many containers of holiday goodies tucked snugly away as well. The house is not only decorated, but clean and in good repair - many of those nagging fix-it projects finished over the past few months. You have already mailed your Christmas packages to loved ones, the advent calender is on track and you have time to read the Polar Express to your kids. It doesn't matter that there is a great sale at the mall and it is a blizzard out. Your packages are already wrapped, labeled and hidden in the closet. Your bank account thanks you too as you have spread your spending out over the last few months, not all during the month of December.

Let me just say, the years I have been faithful to this plan, I have spent more time reading Christmas stories, watching Christmas movies, making Christmas crafts, and drinking cocoa or hot cider as my kids played games on the floor. I haven't worried about over-scheduling or money or what to get my mother-in-law or anything really. Its not for everyone. Some people thrive on chaos and they work better under pressure, but as for me and mine...
Let the countdown begin.