About 4 weeks before
- Draw names for Secret Santa
- Agree on a gift budget
- Make a list of everyone you buy for
- Plan who hosts Christmas dinner and who comes
- Order gifts that take a while to arrive
- Get an Advent calendar ready
2–3 weeks before
- Buy most of the gifts
- Write and send Christmas cards
- Put up the tree and the lights
- Buy wrapping paper, tape and gift tags
- Plan the Christmas dinner menu
- Bake gingerbread and cookies
The week before
- Wrap the gifts and label them
- Buy the food that keeps
- Clean the house and make room for guests
- Start thawing the turkey in the fridge
- Plan the seating and the games
- Buy any gifts still missing
The day before and on the day
- Cook what you can a day ahead
- Set the table the evening before
- Put the gifts under the tree
- Leave cookies and milk out for Santa
- Charge the phones for photos and calls
- Relax and enjoy the day together