Christmas Checklist- The Stockings are hung by the chimney with care...

I can't believe that Christmas is in 4 days. Today is the day to make sure you are all ready. Here are the things to do today to help make this week less frantic. OK, it's still going to be crazy but at least you won't be caught off guard by the insanity.

1. Write out your menus for every single meal you will be serving this week and make sure you have all of the ingredients that you will need for each menu item. 
2. Go grocery shopping and get the things you'll need. Do that no later that Tuesday because the stores will be way to busy to handle shopping later. 
   
3. Double check your gift lists and make sure you have the gifts that you need. If you have been shopping for the past few months, dig out the gifts from the hiding places and make sure you can find them all. If you are like my friend Gina and have kept a color coded Excel spreadsheet with each gift purchase, where it has been put and whether or not it is gift wrapped yet, you can skip this one. Yes, she really does keep one- It's password protected to keep prying eyes from seeing the list. She's Santa, I swear!
4. In our house, we only do one or two gifts but do really big stockings, lots of gadgets and gift cards and good stuff like that. Whether or not you do big or little stockings, get a grocery bag for each family member, put their name on it and divide out the stocking items into each person's bag, this way on Christmas Eve, you'll have already done all the work, just carry the bags down and stuff the stockings.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Wrap those presents, if you haven't done so already.  If your paper is too small see this post from last year.  To keep kids from prying into the packages, see this post.
6. Take some time this week to just sit back and be thankful for the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas isn't about all of the presents and the "stuff", it is about the gift that God gave to each of us, His son Jesus and LOVE!!! It's about the love of God and the love of our family and friends. I am SO guilty of getting frantic and stressed over all that needs to be done and I neglect to show the kind of Love to those around me the way that God so graciously and mercifully shows me every day. I am praying that I will step back and keep that in mind all this week.