{"id":1966,"date":"2023-02-07T20:42:51","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T03:42:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/?p=1966"},"modified":"2023-03-24T10:31:07","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T16:31:07","slug":"7-things-you-can-do-in-the-coming-months-to-get-ready-for-christmas-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/7-things-you-can-do-in-the-coming-months-to-get-ready-for-christmas-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Things You Can Do Now to Get Ready for Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s not too soon to get ready for Christmas<\/strong>! Doing some of the tasks early means that there will be more time during the holiday season for sipping cocoa, making snow angels and watching Christmas Vacation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I realize it might sound kinda nuts to start planning for Christmas months in advance, but if we take some little baby steps in the coming months to get a jump on things, the holiday season might be even sweeter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some ideas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.<\/strong> Start a gift list, and write down any suggestions or ideas that arise during the year. For instance, if you’re browsing in a store and your sister admires something, make a note or even snap a quick photo of the item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2<\/strong>. Make or buy a few gifts in the coming months, and tuck them away. Does your library host an annual used book sale like ours does? This can be a great place to snag some gifts for the book-lovers in your life. (Need more ideas? Here are 40 more creative frugal Christmas gifts<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3<\/strong>. Collect stocking stuffers. If you order a few free samples every week from sites like MySavings<\/a> you’ll have plenty of little goodies by December 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4<\/strong>. Accumulate gift cards. Check out the search site Swagbucks, which offers free rewards for gift cards. You can also earn bucks by watching videos (handy if you’re stuck on hold), filling out surveys and referring others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5<\/strong>. Save recipes, holiday decorating tips and craft ideas on a dedicated board on Pinterest<\/a>.<\/a> (Our holiday board is Happy Holidays<\/a>.) Note any foods and traditions you enjoyed last Christmas<\/a> so you can repeat the things that worked well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6<\/strong>. Tuck away a little money. The $5 Bill Savings Plan<\/a> is an easy, painless way to save for the holidays. For more ideas, check out these 12 ways to earn extra money for Christmas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7<\/strong>. Watch for opportunities to take a fun family photo for the Christmas card. While you’re at it, jot down memories for the Christmas letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How about you? Do you start knitting sweaters and buying a few gifts long before the holidays, or do you prefer to wait until it’s closer to the season? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps you’re thinking about doing something different this year. (Read about the McDonald Family’s real simple Christmas here<\/a>.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whichever camp you’re in, we’d all love<\/em> to hear your thoughts and ideas. Drop a comment below about how you get ready for the holidays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"limit_modified_date":"1","last_modified_date":"2023-03-24T10:31:07","wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holidays","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"\n7 Things You Can Do Now to Get Ready for Christmas - Happy Simple Living<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here are 7 ways to get ready for Christmas early by taking family photos, buying gifts, and saving money so your holidays can be relaxing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.happysimpleliving.com\/7-things-you-can-do-in-the-coming-months-to-get-ready-for-christmas-2013\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 Things You Can Do Now to Get Ready for Christmas - 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