I made it through Week One of the Holiday Countdown! And I must say . . . I'm feeling pretty good about Christmas!
You can join the Holiday Countdown along with me at Satori Design for Living where Shauna gives a week by week list of "things to do" before Christmas gets here so that you can have a stress-free and enjoyable Christmas holiday.
I didn't complete every item on her list for Week One, but I certainly made some serious headway on my "To Do" list for Christmas.
1. Plant amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs.
Guess who went to Lowes today . . .
I'm hoping the boys are going to enjoy planting the bulbs and watching them grow. Shane has already picked out which amaryllis bulb he's going to plant.
One for each boy and one for me!
2. Put up your outdoor lights.
Truthfully, the icicle lights are still hanging on the front of our house from last year. I know. Pitiful. But I checked on them and they are still good. So that's done. :)
The icicle lights that were hanging on the back patio were not doing as well. I know. Pitiful times 2! :)
Admittedly, those icicle lights were the cheaper lights that I got at the dollar store . . . whereas the ones on the front porch were the more expensive LED icicle lights. The boys and I took those pitiful icicle lights down and threw them away.
So while I was at Lowes . . .
Now I have to get them hung up!
3. Take photos for your holiday cards.
We did that on the weekend of the Dancing Rabbit Festival. Just waiting on the Photographer to do her magic on the pictures . . . here's hoping she was able to get some of the Ferrell boys when they weren't fussing and fighting! Ha!
4. Gather outdoor decorating materials.
Um. Not doing that. Not yet. Shauna has to worry about snow. I wish I had to worry about snow . . . but that's not likely here in Mississippi so I think I'll chance gathering my outdoor decorating materials a little closer to when I'm actually decorating.
5. Winterize yard and house.
I started on this process as well. I still have a few other items to complete to really have my house and yard ready for winter. But it's looking pretty good around the house. Garden hoses put away. Outdoor chairs and small tables put away. Clutter, bicycles, toys and mattresses (yes, I said mattresses) on the patio and front porch have been put away or thrown away or put on the side of the road.
I still need to winterize my outside faucets.
Now to start Week Two of the Holiday Countdown. You can get your Week Two Holiday Countdown Planner by going to Satori Design for Living. Shauna has the planner ready for you to download and print HERE. Just click on the picture of the planner at her website and print from there.
Here's a copy of her planner:
Shauna goes into more detail about the Week Two planner list in her post Series Recap {Week Two}.
I have printed out the planner sheets and put them in sheet protectors in my house management binder. (I know that's weird but I love my lists, and I really LOVE my lists in sheet protectors! It makes me happy in a very weird OCD kind of way.)
I've already begun some of the items listed in Week Two .
3. Decide on a decorating scheme: I'm going to keep my decorating simple with natural elements. I'm probably going to have some red and maybe turquoise mixed in for an occasional pop of color.
I started planning my outdoor decorations too. Look what I did today at Lowes . . .
Besides getting the LED icicle lights for the back patio, I also bought some LED lights for the outside garland, and I bought two plain wreaths to hang on the front porch windows.
It sure felt good when I was pushing my buggy (that's a Southern word) around Lowes today gathering up my Christmas lights and wreaths. I felt so empowered! And now I feel so prepared. And not stressed at all. Maybe planning ahead is a good idea.
In fact, planning ahead is always a good idea . . . even a great idea when it comes to having an enjoyable and stress-free holiday with your family and especially with . . .
the Ferrell boys and me!
I'm linking up to these awesome parties. Come join the fun!
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