Hello friends!
Yes, I am thinking about Christmas! It's that time of year for summer fun, and it's also a great time to start preparing for the Holidays! I like to get a jump start on Christmas. It makes the Holidays run smoother and allows more time to ENJOY Christmas!
When I say ENJOY--I'm talking about having more quality time in the month of December with your family and more time to relish the season and ponder the spiritual gifts of Christmas.
Through the early spring and summer months, you can find great deals on clearance items that work well for Christmas. I've found that Valentines and Fourth of July clearance sales work great for a lot of Christmas projects. Who doesn't love RED and WHITE POLKA DOTS? I also want to involve my kids in the preparation-summer is a great time to get your kids involved!
I hope to show a lot more Christmas ideas as I prepare for the Holidays! Start a plan that works well for you, map out your gifts. I have found to save myself a lot of time by preparing Christmas cards, neighbor, teacher and friends gifts early in the year and hopefully have them completed by October! I like to send my Christmas cards Thanksgiving weekend. When the Holidays arrive, it feels GREAT to have those little details already checked off. It's also great to have a less committed time schedule of getting Christmas projects done.
I have shown a lot of handmade Christmas gifts made with love from Grandma on this blog.
She begins preparation for Christmas in January! She is a Grandmother to 30 plus grandchildren. Her success is contributed to early preparation.
Here are a few ideas of Christmas gifts that I have prepared early in the year:
Christmas Aprons-(handmade) with front pockets-fill the pockets with, candy canes, favorite recipes and homemade treats! I like to make my aprons reversible, Christmas on one side, Spring and Summer on the other side!
12 days of Christmas- Sew 12 simple stockings or purchase socks that can be filled with treats and gifts for the 12 days of Christmas. A few years ago, we did a countdown to Christmas for grandparents with small hand made stockings. My kids had a lot of fun doing it with me! I also did the 12 days of Christmas for my son serving a mission. I purchased gifts early in the year and attached tags. I added treats in the end when I was ready to ship.
Snowman Candy Bars: You can make these CANDY BARS early in the year! Make the Candy bar wrappers. I have recently found snugly warm red socks and gloves on clearance at Walmart. You can purchase candy bars and put your completed projects inside a box and store in the freezer(In case you forget, put a note on your calender in the month of November that you have Christmas candy bars in the freezer!)
Christmas craft box: A Teacher Appreciation gift that can easily be used for CHRISTMAS neighbor and teacher gifts- use Christmas scrapbook paper and embellish with Christmas tags, etc. I found the craft box's at JoAnn's Fabric store for one dollar! In December, fill the box with Christmas candy such as, red and green M&M's, Christmas candy bars, Christmas ornaments and all the good stuff!
I hope you feel inspired! Deck The Halls with boughs of holly~ fa la la la la la la la!
Stay tuned! I have a new Christmas project to share!
We all love receiving home baked treats for the holidays. Of course, baking is a big part of celebrating the season. I love to bake in the month of December. The smell of cinnamon in the kitchen always welcomes the season! So, I must say, there are some things that are happily done best in the month of December!
