Your Ultimate Guide to Stress Free Holiday Planning

Is there anything that makes you feel more adult than holiday planning? For many of us, our first time hosting for the holidays is in our 20s and 30s, whether it’s for friends, children, or even *gasp* our parents and other family members. Getting ready for the holiday season can be overwhelming, financially and emotionally, however. Purchasing presents, decorations, food, and even holiday cards can eat away at our budgets and time. When we’re already busy the other months of the year, how can we manage to have a stress-free holiday season?

In this post, I go over my best adulting schedule and budgeting tips for reducing holiday stress and really, truly enjoying the holidays. Plus, I include my holiday budgeting worksheet. If you’re looking for more resources, check out my Ultimate Holiday Bundle. In the holiday bundle, you’ll get the holiday budgeting worksheets, plus a holiday meal planner, recipe cards, holiday planning checklist, travel planner, holiday bucket list, journal prompts to help you reflect on the holidays, and so much more. It includes everything you need to truly make this the most wonderful time of the year.

Your Christmas Checklist – 2 to 6 Months Before the Big Day

One of the best ways of keeping yourself sane is planning out your time well in advance. Have you ever felt totally overwhelmed by all of the things you have to do? And once you finally write down the things swirling in your head, there’s only like 5 things on that list? This is why it’s a good idea to have a Christmas checklist or calendar to take the guesswork and overwhelm out of planning. 

To give yourself plenty of time, I recommend starting about 6 week to 2 months in advance of Christmas Day. In this post I’ll focus on Christmas because that’s what I know best how to plan for, but you can easily translate this to Hanukkah or any other holiday! 

1.       Create a Christmas Preparation Checklist for Stress-Free Holidays

Your first step is to create a Christmas to-do list. Luckily, I’ve done that for you! You can purchase my Ultimate Holiday Bundle to get the Christmas to-do list or, for a limited time only, new subscribers will receive the Christmas planning checklist, which you can download and print at home. 

Alternatively, you can use my guide here as a starting point to create your own to-do list or holiday calendar if you prefer. By doing a little early planning, you can take out a lot of stress and spend less time keeping track of all the things you need to do.

Make sure to make time for self-care in your calendar or to-do list. That might mean blocking off time for workouts, scheduling a massage, or taking a mental health day from work to give yourself space to breath. Don’t forget, mental health days can count as sick time off.

2.       Develop Your Holiday Budget

Additionally, one of the first things you should do is develop a Christmas budget. 2 months to 6 weeks in advance is a good time to do this to ensure you don’t get carried away as soon as Christmas items hit the shelves. By setting up a budget early, you can be more intentional about your spending.

Your holiday budget should include everything you need for your Christmas plans, from the Christmas tree to your Christmas gift list for loved ones. To the best of your ability, set a budget that will prevent you from going into debt or going into more debt. That will only add to your headaches. I know how tempting it is to break a budget in the name of love and presents. However, your loved ones will appreciate you looking out for your wellbeing too. I include tons of money-saving tips lower down in this post!

If you want broader guidance on how to create a budget, check out my posts on creating a budget, free budgeting worksheets, and flexible budgeting for busy families.

3.       Create Your Own Wish List, Your Christmas Gift List, and Start Searching for Holiday Presents

I have tons of thoughtful, low-cost, eco-friendly gift ideas in another post. You can find more budget-friendly present ideas at Frugal Nook! The best way of finding thoughtful presents for people is to start early and give yourself ample time to keep an eye out for presents and take advantage of sales. Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving), and Super Saturday (the Saturday before Christmas) are traditionally the days with the best pre-holiday sales. If you give candy in stockings, a day or two after Halloween is a good time to stock up as well on candy without Halloween-themed wrappers.

For kids asking for high-demand presents, getting a head start can also ensure you can get them the gifts they really want before the holiday rush starts.

As you are developing your wish lists and starting your Christmas shopping, consider asking for and giving experiences. Experiences can be great opportunities to spend quality time with loved ones and make meaningful memories. 

Finally, wrap presents as you buy them. Not only will this prevent prying eyes from figuring out their presents in advance, it will also save you hours of work on Christmas Eve if you leave present wrapping to the last minute. I love putting on Christmas music or even a Christmas movie while wrapping presents to make this task more fun.

Holiday Planning 1 Month Before

A month before the big day, start putting up your Christmas decorations. This is also a good time to make decorations with your kids or have a Christmas craft party to get in the holiday spirit.

If you’re hosting a holiday party, early December is the perfect time to create a guest list and send out invitations. Because people will have many competing obligations, it’s best to get an early start with party planning to ensure people can come.

A month before Christmas is also great time to get a family photo for your holiday cards if you are planning on sending out cards. Set aside a little time on Thanksgiving or when buying or decorating the Christmas tree to get a picture. You can then start working on developing those cards. I’ll be coming out soon with a post on how to create your own holiday cards for free!

Holiday Planning 3 Weeks Before

Mail presents to out-of-town friends and relatives 3 weeks before the big day. One of the best ways of making yourself miserable is going to the post office right before Christmas. Save yourself the hassle and mail presents as early as you can. Plus, doing so will ensure the presents arrive on time. While there, you can also mail out your holiday cards!

Make sure you are making time for any Winter or Christmas events you want to prioritize as well. Whether it’s attending a festival, ice skating, having a Christmas movie party, or reenacting any holiday traditions, the time flies by this time of year. Prioritizing these activities a few weeks before Christmas will allow you to actually do them before things get more chaotic right before Christmas.

If you’re preparing any baked goods for the holidays, this is also a great time to make and freeze the dough. Dough can last in the freezer for over a month. When you’re ready to bake, simply thaw in the refrigerator. Now you’re ready to go!

Holiday Planning 2 Weeks Before

Meal Planning

Start developing your meal plan and grocery lists. Think about what meals you can prepare a few days ahead of time and what you need to prepare day of. If you can, map out the food shopping and preparation you’ll need to do so you can minimize the number of trips you need to take to the grocery store. I love writing out my list based on the order in which I shop in the store (i.e. produce section then meat section then frozen foods, etc.). Delegate as much of the food shopping and preparation as you can as well! The hard work shouldn’t all fall on you.

A great way of spreading out your meal preparation is to have a dish you can make in the slow cooker, baked goods you can prepare ahead of time, a cold item (like salad) that can be prepared ahead of time, and items that can cook in the oven at the same temperature. For a mouth-watering list of slow cooker holiday dishes, check out this post from the Frugal Girls.

Some of my favorite holiday make- or prepare-ahead dishes and no prep dishes include:

• Apple, Pecan and Blue Cheese Salad from Pioneer Woman
• Kale, Pomegranate, and Carmelized Parsnip Salad from PBS
• GF Stuffing Mix from Trader Joe’s
• Deviled Eggs from Spend with Pennies
• Cantaloupe and Proscuitto Balls (simply wrap balled cantaloupe in proscuitto and keep it in place with a toothpick)
• White Chocolate Dipped Oreos (dunk Oreos in melted chocolate and then chill on waxed paper until the chocolate is hard)
• GF Gingerbread People from Gluten Free on a Shoestring

Travel Planning

Additionally, if you are traveling for the holidays, double check any travel arrangements. Make a list of flight numbers, times, and confirmations so you don’t have any unnecessary stress at the airport trying to sift through your emails. Likewise, note hotel addresses, check-in and check-out times. Send this information to any family members who might need it and arrange transportation to and from the airport. In my Ultimate Holiday Bundle, I include a travel planning worksheet to help plan all that out.

Holiday Planning 1 Week Before

We’re getting down to the wire. This is the time to finish up your holiday shopping, grocery shop for perishable items, and, if you’re celebrating Hanukkah, clean your Menorah. 

Likewise, if you are hosting for the holidays, you may want to start cleaning your home. I love the Wildflower Wifey’s recommendation for cleaning your house 1 room at a time throughout the week. You might consider implementing this strategy in the week before Christmas. These little things really add up in terms of reducing stress.

Your Christmas Checklist 2-4 Days Before

During this time, you can continue cleaning and start meal prepping food that can be made in advance. Don’t forget to make or buy cookies for Santa if this is part of your celebrations!

Completing Your Christmas Checklist: Christmas Eve / Christmas Day

Finally, your list of Christmas preparations is complete. Hopefully you just have to heat up a few dishes, do a last bit of meal preparation, and focus on the most important thing, time with your loved ones.

Holiday Money-Saving Tips

So we’ve gone over the ideal time to complete each item on your Christmas to-do lists. Hopefully having a holiday checklist helps save you a lot of stress and lets you actually enjoy the Christmas period. However, planning ahead can also save you money by helping you be strategic about your spending. I’ve included tons of other money-saving tips below, as well, arranged under different categories.

Money Saving Tips for Gift Giving

• Instead of purchasing gifts for every member of your family or all your friends, consider drawing names for a gift exchange instead. In my family, each adult buys a present for one other adult and each couple buys a present for one of the children in our family.
• Make your Christmas gifts! For example, I love creating calendars with collages of loved ones on each page. My sister created a beautiful, hand-drawn planner for me one year. Food, scrapbooks, knitted items, a family tree, and more all make the best Christmas presents.
• Buy lower-cost presents or experiences. I have tons of sustainable, low-cost gift ideas in another post.
• Shop the sales! This is an obvious one, but also highlights the benefit of early planning. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Super Saturday, and even sales earlier in the year are great opportunities to buy presents at steep discounts. 
• Use cash or miles back interent extensions like Rakuten or Alaska airlines browser extensions. These can earn you cash and miles back on purchases at many stores.
• Which brings me to my next point, don’t buy things just because they are a good deal or an impulse purchase. Focus on meaningful items and experiences.
• Use unconventional wrapping paper. Christmas wrapping paper can be expensive. A more eco-friendly option is to wrap gifts in newspaper, magazine pages, coloring pages, etc. I’ve become famous in my family for doing this, plus it’s a recyclable, eco-friendly option (most wrapping paper is not recyclable).
• Avoid using gift tags or make your own gift tags. I have printable gift tags available on Etsy for a low cost.

Christmas Cards and Decorations Money Saving Tips

• Likewise, make your own Christmas cards! You can use Canva or photo editing software for more design-y options. Alternatively, you can use Google or Microsoft Office products. I recommend using Microsoft Powerpoint instead of Word. Resize the slide to a card or 8.5×11 inch size. You can more easily position pictures and text boxes on Powerpoint than in the dreaded Word.
• Make Christmas decorations. If you have young kids, this is a great idea for getting in the holiday spirit. But it’s also tons of fun for adults! You can even have an adult holiday decoration crafting party. 

Saving Money on Holiday Meal Preparation

• Have a holiday potluck dinner for Christmas dinner or for your holiday parties. You can even make this more exciting by asking everyone to bring a copy of the recipe to place by their dish. Anyone who wants the recipe can either take a picture of it or copy it down on their own blank recipe cards. My Ultimate Holiday Bundle even includes blank recipe cards you could use! 
• Use grocery store coupons. Peruse your local newspaper or check out the flyers at the front of the grocery store. Likewise, try downloading your grocery store’s app. You can find tons of great coupons. Sometimes you can even find coupons for a free turkey with purchase or $10 off of $100 or other surprisingly good deals.

Saving Money on Holiday Events and Family Traditions

• Plan low-cost event options. Going for a snowy hike or walk, volunteering at a local charity, having a Christmas movie party, doing a neighborhood Christmas lights walk, and decorating Christmas cookies are all great, low cost options for getting into the spirit of the Christmas season. Plus, you may even start a new family tradition.

Trip Planning Money-Saving Tips

• Use Google flights to make your travel plans and decide when to book tickets for flights. They even tell you when ticket prices are higher than normal and the ideal times to book tickets.
• If you are staying at a hotel, email your hotel ahead of time and tell them how excited you are to come stay. Often they will throw in a freebie like free champagne or a room upgrade just for showing your excitement and gratitude.
• Avoid renting cars at the airport. It costs way more to do so than renting cars within the city you are visiting.
• AAA and Costco often have discounts on car rentals for members. Websites like AutoSlash also offer discounts on car rentals.

Saving Money on Party Planning

• Christmas parties can quickly get super expensive. As mentioned above, consider making your party a potluck. If this isn’t desirable, try making the big meal an easy, lower-cost option, like a meat-free chili or slow cooker pulled pork. Often people eat far less than we expect at parties as well. Or at least that’s always been my experience. 
• Forego party favors. People don’t need more stuff. They don’t want more stuff. And heck, most people don’t expect party favors anymore outside of kids birthdays. In fact, can we band together and do away with party favors altogether? I’m pretty sure the only people who would really suffer is the silly putty industry.
• Limit the alcohol. Consider having a signature cocktail or a few bottles of wine and then telling people to BYOB if they prefer other alcoholic options. I love serving Bocce Ball cocktails with 2 parts orange juice to 1 part amaretto. They only require buying one spirit and you’re good to go.

Final Thoughts on Stress-Free Holiday Planning

Is there a time with more adulting tension than the holidays? On the one hand, it can be the time that makes us feel most like a kid (especially if we visit home). On the other hand, it is also a time when money and time management is at the forefront of many of our minds. We may buy presents for our kids even as we feel like we should still be kids ourselves. It’s hard not to get overwhelmed during this time of year and lose sight of what’s really important.

I hope you can use this guide to stay organized and limit this holiday stress. In doing so, my wish for you is that you have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, or whatever holiday you’re celebrating. And I hope you ring in the New Years feeling restored (with your bank account only a little worse for the wear). And if you want to reduce stress in the New Year, check out this post on 7 ways to reduce daily stress from my friends and Truth and Beauty.

Remember to check out my Ultimate Holiday Bundle if you would like more resources for holiday planning that can save you stress and time. And if you enjoyed this article, please consider liking, subscribing, or sharing with others. It’s the best thing you can give me this holiday season