Holiday Organization & Planning Tips: Organizing Experts Weigh In

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: Reducing stress during the holiday season all comes down to some advanced holiday planning.

My goal is always to get as much done as I possibly can in November so that by the time December is here I can just relax and savor the season with my family.

Advance tasks include getting the gifts purchased, Christmas cards ready to go, and the cleaning and organizing out of the way to name a few. I also don’t feel any guilt about letting go of the things I don’t enjoy doing like baking. Instead, most of my Christmas baking is of the no-bake variety and nobody seems to even notice.

So get out your calendar now and consider what you can reasonably get done in the next couple of weeks. For less Christmas chaos, consider what you can eliminate from your list in order to leave some much-needed breathing space in your schedule. If you need some help with this, please check out my  Organized for Christmas series where I help you simplify the season by breaking down tasks into manageable bites.

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season:  Download our LWSL Holiday Planner and actually use it!  

Take the time to set your intentions (the planner will guide you through this) so that you are ready and able to focus on the things that matter most, and also so that you are clear about what to cut out.  It is an amazing resource!

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: Say no.  Don’t do everything.

Choose a handful of important activities and events that are meaningful and cut out the rest.  I find that if we’re running all over trying to participate in every single event and activity we forget the meaning of the season and lose sight of its importance.  

Savor the season and don’t try to do everything.

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: Use a holiday planner (binder)!

It will keep you organized, from what gifts you’ve purchased to your holiday meals.  It’s a lifesaver. 🙂 If you’re wondering what’s included in a holiday planner, take a look at my Holiday Planner at A Bowl Full of Lemons.

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: My best organizing tip would be to say “no” more often!

We tend to take on too much, particularly around the holidays, and it leaves us feeling overloaded and stressed. When I prioritize and choose my commitments more carefully, I can enjoy the holiday season without having to constantly be worrying about my to-do list.

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: When it comes to reducing that sense of overwhelm that goes hand-in-hand with the holiday season, the name of the game is Get Started Early!

There are some key tasks on your Holiday To-Do List that you can focus on knocking out in late October-early November, in order to carve out more time for the fun in December.

Here is my list of holiday prep tasks!

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season:  To keep stress at bay during the holidays, my best tip is to plan!

Spend some time at the start of the season to hash out travel plans, social obligations, school commitments, gift lists, and decorating tasks. Get input from the entire family and make sure every last task is accounted for. You can plan on a family calendar or simply make a long, running To-Do List. Either way, loosely plan what all needs to get done, as well as when and who is going to do it!

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: Before the holidays begin, talk to each person in your family individually, and ask them about their favorite holiday traditions. You might be surprised to hear what’s important to them.

Then, when you’re planning your holiday activities, you can focus on what your family values, and cut the extras that no one really loved in the first place. It will make your holidays less rushed, and maximize the happy memory making!

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: Make a plan!

Take an hour and think about how you want to spend the holidays with your family. What do you want to eat, bake, purchase, create, and do?

I take a sheet of paper and map out the kid’s winter break with a fun family activity each day for them to look forward to. Some of the activities on my list are:

Make cookies * See a movie * Drive around and look at lights * Go out to dinner * Have Grandma over for dinner * Have our Nephew spend the night * Deep clean the kid’s bedrooms.

Then I take a few hours the first week in December and go shopping for all of our family’s favorites. I buy hot chocolate, candy canes, peppermint ice cream, sugar cookies, and all the cookie icing options.  

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: Carefully and cautiously consider your traditions.

Young parents, when you decide to adopt a new tradition, consider the big picture of the commitment and consider if the dynamic is greater than the demand. On the flip side, if you are tired (or stressed) because of a certain tradition you’ve adopted, commit to changing it. Holidays should be a time to slow down and savor time together. For the traditions you want to keep, plan now to make them even more successful and of course, less stressful.

When you organize your commitments well, you allow more margin for simple memories to be made. Happy holidays!

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season:  When storing your holiday decorations, store like with like.

Your categories may be snowmen, Santas, nativity sets and glass ornaments or you might group items by colors or by the rooms where they are being used. Whatever makes the most sense to you. And be sure to clearly label your storage containers.

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season:  Use a holiday planner.

Whether it’s one you make yourself, purchase from a store, or carry digitally, a planner provides a place for you to record your holiday priorities, keep track of all your upcoming activities, jot down grocery and gift-giving lists and save receipts.  Having everything together in one place helps your holidays run more smoothly and keep you from the frenzy of trying to remember so many things.  

The key is just to remember to keep it with you!

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: The biggest way I reduce stress during the holidays is by delegating.

If we have family in town or guests coming for dinner, I give them tasks to do I know they are already good at. For example, my in-laws make a wonderful Turkey at Thanksgiving, my mother in law makes an amazing brisket for New Year’s Day, my step-mother makes a dreamy lemon dessert and tasty apple pie, and the men are great at getting the extra tables and chairs set up.

So during my holiday planning, I first make a list of what everyone is naturally good at and enjoys doing, and then I simply give them that task and it frees me up to get other things done.”

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: I like to radically simplify the holiday season, so I can truly relax, slow down. and enjoy time with my family.

I do the things that matter most to me and my family and forget about the rest. We don’t exchange gifts. I don’t decorate at all which frees up a ton of time and storage space. Instead, we do fun activities together like going out to look at lights, movie nights, baking, etc.

My #1 Tip for a Stress-Free Holiday Season: My number one organizing tip during the holiday season is to start early. The earlier you start, the less you will have to deal with all at once.

Some things you can do early to help alleviate some holiday stress might include: make your holiday shopping list, create your dinner menu, and wrap gifts you’ve already purchased.