Organising an Awesome Family Christmas Part 17

Minimum maintenance. Encourage family members to pitch in and share the work. Delegate, delegate, delegate!

Recycle wrapping paper.
Write family thank-you notes.
Plan low-cost, no-cost activities for kids. Whether it’s camping out under the Christmas tree or a drive to see Christmas lights, some mid-week events will keep sparkle in the season.
Decorate for New Year’s.
Make New Year’s resolutions.
Set up a calendar for the new year.
Take down remaining decorations. All good things have to end–and the visible Ghost of Christmas Past can be a real disincentive to an organised new year. Take down remaining holiday decor next week. You’ll see it again, next season!
Take down fresh trees and greens, and deliver them to recycling.
Store Christmas decorations.
Set up a ‘lost Christmas box’ for stragglers. No matter how you scour the house, a few holiday items will always hide out in laundry, kitchen or corners. Give them a place to go with a holiday box: a designated container for any last holiday items you find. In a few weeks, take the box to the storage area for next year.
Hold a Christmas debriefing. Get a head-start on next year’s planning–and avoid traps–with a quick debriefing session. High points or low, they’ll guide you next year.
Mark your calendar for next year!

fionajk42 says:

January 10, 2018 at 7:55 PM

I try to minimise the amount of Christmas wrapping paper I use to wrap gifts I am giving. Instead I put gifts in decorated boxes. Making the boxes is an ideal activity to do between Christmas and New Year, especially with kids.

I save any useful sized boxes we received for Christmas, such as the box my son’s new slippers came in. Then, I salvage any nice wrapping paper from gifts given by other people. It doesn’t matter if the paper is torn, because I decoupage the box with random torn pieces of paper. I use PVA glue to stick the wrapping paper to the box in a random way, then when the box is completely covered with paper I use a dilute solution of PVA glue and water (1:2) to brush over the whole surface to seal it. Sometimes I use paper that is all the same design, sometimes I mix it up. Then once the box is dry I can add it to my store of Christmas gift boxes to use next year.

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