I Gotta Organise. . .Christmas!


Well we're here - one week to go! I can practically hear Santa's sleigh bells ring...oh no hang on a second....that's the fire alarm - my mince pies are burning! (good job I checked the fire alarm batteries last week!)

One Week to go:

1. Food Shopping


You'll probably need to do this twice this week. You can break the back of the grocery shopping by doing most of it early this week. And then get the more perishable items when you collect the turkey and ham closer to Christmas day.



2. Check Religious Ceremony times


If you are partaking in a religious ceremony this Christmas, check the times of the services in advance so that you can organise your day and your dinner preparations more effectively.



3. Family Plans


Take five minutes out this week to check Christmas plans with all the family. If you are visiting each others homes, or sharing the cooking, make sure everyone knows what the others are doing so that you are all on the same page. 



4. Christmas Cards

Tomorrow, Wednesday 19th December is the last day for posting Christmas cards for Ireland so get your skates on!



5. Give the house a final clean


A day or two before Christmas Eve is probably the best time to give the house a once over. Vacuum and dust the rooms, display fresh flowers, change bed clothes, lay out fresh towels for visitors, place nightlights in the candle holders, and sweep the garden path to make the home feel as Christmassy as you do!



6. Dress the Table


Who says setting and dressing the dinner table should be done on Christmas day? By doing this a few days in advance, it's one less thing to do on Christmas day! And you have a few extra days of looking adoringly on your beautiful, creative dinner table!

And finally, I wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas!

See you for more blogging next year!

I Gotta Organise. . .Christmas!


With two weeks to go until Christmas, I hope your preparations are in full swing now and your to-do list is getting shorter. And I really do hope so, as I'm starting to run out of Christmas-themed puns!

Two Weeks To Go:

1. Post Christmas Cards

Get your Christmas cards posted this week. They'll arrive at a nice time in advance of Christmas - not too early and not too late!

Also, remember that this Friday, 14th December is the deadline for posting cards and parcels to Europe.

Alpe d'Huez, France (c) Sarah Reynolds

2. Finish Shopping

Make sure to get the last of your Christmas gifts for the year this week, if you have not done so already.

Remember to return to your Gift List that you wrote a few weeks ago and fill in against each receipient how much you spent and what you got them. When you refer to this list next year, you will know how much you spent which will help you budget, and you won't run the risk of repeating gifts!



3. Wrap the Gifts

Now I must confess, this is one To-Do on my list, that I don't really have to do. My boyfriend is great at this, so while I cut the sellotape and put my finger on the ribbon to make the bow, he wraps everything perfectly!

I do love getting this done early - as the earlier its done, the longer I have to look at the presents under the tree!

Alpe d'Huez, France (c) Sarah Reynolds

4. Begin the Dinner Preparations

If you have the time, you can start cooking some of the food for Christmas day and freezing it. Meals such as soups, desserts, stuffing and some sauces can all be prepared in advance and can be kept in the freezer for the two weeks that remain until Christmas day.



5. Go out and Party

You made the hair and nail appointments weeks ago, so go get yourself glammed up and party! Relax, forget to-do lists, and have fun with friends and family. At the end of the day, it's the people we love - not long work hours, spending money and clean houses -  that is most important at Christmas time.

Next week....one week to Christmas!! 

I Gotta Organise. . .Christmas!

Ho ho holy cow, it’s only three weeks to Christmas!!!

I visited the 'Christmas on the Square' one day pop up shop in the Irish Architectural Achive on Merrion Square over the weekend. There we found leading Irish designers and Irish artisan food producers with their beautiful products on sale. The gifts,  gorgeous surroundings of number 45 Merrion Square and singing from Choral group Tonnta really put me in the Christmas mood! 

So, I hope by now, you have at least one gift bought! Me, I’ve broken the back on my Christmas shopping, and almost all of my cards written. 

So what’s on the to-do list this week I hear you hark….? 

3 weeks to go

1.       GET THE DECORATIONS OUT OF STORAGE

This can be a cause of stress in a lot of homes. Bringing decorations out of storage, lugging heavy boxes, removing year-round ornaments to make way for Christmas ones and surrounded in bubblewrap can be exercise in itself and can create a right mess. So make sure you're well prepared before you start to remove anything from storage.

• Schedule plenty of time so you are not rushing.
• Clear a good, large space in the hallway, or sitting room so that you have somewhere to place the decoration boxes when you take them out of storage.
• Take your everyday ornaments down first and put them in one area - like an armchair for instance. Now you have space to put up your Christmas decorations. Then when you have a box or two empty, you can place your everyday ornaments in here to store until you need them again in January. And by having placed them in one area when you were removing them, you can box them up quickly instead of zig-zagging around the house.  

2.       DECORATE YOUR TREE & HOME

Ah my favourite "to-do" of the festive season! Decorate and have fun! 

Mont Blanc, France (c) Sarah Reynolds

3.       GIVE THE HOUSE A CLEAN UP

Putting the tree up, and getting decorations out of storage can cause a bit of dust - not to mention Christmas tree pines all over your carpet. Use this time of decorating the house to give the rooms a good polish and vacuuming. You will probably want to do this again closer to Christmas day but if you do it now as you decorate, there will be less to do later. 

4.       ADDRESS YOUR CHRISTMAS CARD ENVELOPES

Now that you have your cards written, spend some time addressing and stamping your envelopes this week. 

Don't forget that Friday 7th December is the deadline for posting cards and parcels to detinations outside the US and Europe.



Mont Blanc at 3560m (c) Sarah Reynolds

 

5.       CHECK SAFETY AROUND THE HOUSE 

Rushing around before Christmas, it's easy to forget to make sure your home is safe and secure for you and your family. A few checks now can help avoid any accidents in the home which could ruin the Christmas fun.

• Test your fire alarms 
• Ensure plug sockets are not overloaded
• Clear up all wires and cables
• Tie up loose cords within reach of children
• Ensure candles aren't near anything flammable
• Check you have all the bulbs on your tree lights. There is electricity flowing all the time when they are turned on, even if a bulb is missing. 
• Ensure the tree is stable and not prone to toppling over. 
• Ensure the location of the tree is in a safe place - not near electrical heating or an open fire place.  

Next week....your two week To-Do List...