Now Or Later? Here's When To Start Planning For Christmas

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Festive image featuring decorated gingerbread cookies with snowflake patterns, a red mug of hot chocolate topped with marshmallows, pinecones, evergreen branches, and a sign reading "Planning for Christmas Ahead of Time" from theglossynest.com.

Trying to figure out when to start planning for Christmas? Each year, I always want to try to get ahead of schedule and avoid the mad rush at the holidays.

On the other hand, there’s something fun about getting caught up in the spirit of the season, as crazy as it may be!

Table Of Contents

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When To Start Planning For Christmas
How To Prepare For Christmas All Year

Christmas Planning In January
Christmas Planning In July And August
Christmas Planning In September
Christmas Planning In October
Preparing For Christmas In November
Preparing For Christmas In December

More Christmas Planning Ideas
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When To Start Planning For Christmas

Sometimes life just gets busy and before you know it, there’s only two weeks til Christmas and you haven’t done a thing. Hey, it happens!

So what’s the happy medium? Wondering how to prepare for Christmas early so you can avoid feeling overwhelmed in December?

In this post, I’ll walk you through when to start planning for Christmas this year without getting ahead of yourself or procrastinating.

Discover how to prepare for Christmas all year. Stay on track this year and enjoy the holiday season!

How To Prepare For Christmas All Year

You might be reading this at a time of the year when the Christmas season seems far away. If so, is it too early to plan for Christmas? In truth, there are no hard and fast rules about preparing for Christmas.

Of course there are those that have their Christmas lights out at the end of October. And there’s always tons of people doing last minute shopping on Christmas Eve.

A beautifully wrapped green gift with a small branch tied to it sits on a table surrounded by string, scissors, and wrapping paper. A sign above reads "How to Prepare for Christmas All Year Long" with a website URL below.

In reality though, there a few months out of the year (besides December) when you should think a bit about Christmas:

January – a good time to reflect on the past Christmas season & start planning for the upcoming year.
July & August – holiday decor is starting to hit stores & travel planning now is a must.
September – start mapping out your gift giving to maximize upcoming sales.
October – a great month to work on baking, homemade gifts & handmade decor.
November – this is month to really start planning for Christmas if you haven’t already.
December – let the Christmas countdown begin! Do it now or it’ll have to wait until next year.

Let’s take a look at this Christmas planning timeline in detail to figure out how to plan the perfect Christmas.

Christmas Planning In January

Each year, January marks a time of endings and new beginnings. We are closing out the past year and looking forward to the next.

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It’s the perfect time to reflect on the past Christmas season. What went well and what would you do differently this year?

For Christmas planning in January, make sure to do the following:

Finalize Christmas spending. How much did you spend for last year’s Christmas season? Were you over or under budget?
Create a new Christmas budget. Base your Christmas spending estimates for this year on last year’s amounts.
Create a Christmas savings plan. Divide your Christmas budget estimate by 12 to get a monthly savings amount. Start putting aside money each month for Christmas.
Take down & store Christmas decor. Shop for Christmas decor storage containers & get things organized.
Take notes on Christmas decor. As you take down and store decor, create a list of new Christmas decor you’d like to purchase.
Take notes on Christmas meals. Think about all the food & drink you had over Christmas. What worked well, what didn’t?
Take notes on Christmas gift ideas. Was there a good gift idea you saw recently?
Take notes additional notes. Write down notes about any other Christmas ideas you want to remember for the upcoming year.

Apart from putting away Christmas decor and organizing, it’s important to take some notes about last year’s Christmas season while things are fresh in your mind.

Do this now, before things start to get busy in January and you forget.

Christmas Planning In July And August

By mid summer, you’ve probably completely forgotten about Christmas and have been busy with other things.

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But the middle of the summer marks a good time to start thinking about the upcoming Christmas season. It’s the halfway point through the year, and Christmas will be here before you know it.

For Christmas planning in July and August, make sure to do the following:

Check in on your Christmas savings plan. Are you going to meet your savings goal? Make adjustments as need.
Check out the stores. Many stores get Christmas decoration inventory in the summer months. As the items come in from abroad, retailers start putting out inventory if they have the space. It’s a good time to start looking for Christmas items. If you see something you want, get it now before you forget!
Christmas shopping on vacation. Lots of vacation destinations have cute gift stores and such. These are great places to shop for Christmas gifts, especially stocking stuffers.
Christmas pictures on vacation. Planning on sending a Christmas card? Summer vacations can be a great time for taking a family photo to use on your Christmas card this year.
Plan Christmas travel. If you’re going to travel for Christmas, now is the time to start making plans and booking your travel arrangements. If plans aren’t final, look for refundable options and purchase trip insurance.

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Christmas Planning In September

September kicks off the fall season, which means that Christmas is right around the corner. Take time to enjoy the fall, but keep an eye out for Christmas so you’re not caught off guard in December.

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For Christmas planning in September, make sure to do the following:

Check in on your Christmas savings plan. There are only a few more months until Christmas. You may have spent some of your Christmas money already or will soon. Are you on track to meet your savings goals?
Start shopping. To avoid the craziness of the holiday season, start shopping early. The fall can be a good time to stock up on things you will need during the Christmas season. For example, look for sales on baking supplies and buy as needed. This helps spread out your Christmas spending as well.
Finalize your Christmas budget. Make sure you’re prepared financially for the upcoming Christmas season before you start buying gifts, decor, etc.
Request vacation time at work. Many jobs want employees to submit for Christmas vacation time if they haven’t already.
Plan out gift giving. Stores are stocking up on Christmas inventory and will soon start having sales. September is a great time to come up with a plan for Christmas gifts. This way, you can keep an eye out for items and take advantage of sales.

If you’re looking for a printable Christmas gift planner, check out my Ultimate Christmas Planner! It’s got several Christmas gift planning worksheets that serve as a Christmas gift list planner & tracker.

Grab the Ultimate Christmas Planner printable HERE!

The Ultimate Christmas Planner includes a Christmas gift planning template that you can use to track Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales, plan out stocking stuffers & more.

It also includes a Christmas gift budget planner to track your Christmas savings & spending goals. A must have if you’re trying to get more organized this year.

Christmas Planning In October

October sees us busy with fall, Halloween and getting ready for Thanksgiving. But Christmas will be here before you know it!

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When should I start planning for Christmas? If you haven’t done any Christmas planning at this point, October is the time to start.

The end of the year always seems to fly buy. If you want to make the most out of the Christmas season, it’s best to spend some time planning for Christmas during the month of October.

For Christmas planning in October, make sure to do the following:

Finalize travel plans. You might be able to get some last minute holiday travel deals in November & December. But to be on the safe side, finalize and book all your Christmas travel by October.
Create a Christmas bucket list. What are the things you want to do this year? Put them on a list and begin to make plans.
Book tickets to Christmas shows & events. Planning on attending the Nutcracker, a holiday concert, etc? Grab tickets early before they sell out.
Begin planning your Christmas party. If you’re going to host a Christmas party, October is a good time to plan it out and set a date.
Book a Christmas card photo session. If you didn’t take pictures for your Christmas card during the summer, book a session with a photographer in the upcoming weeks.
Continue shopping. Keep an eye out for gifts, food supplies, holiday decor, etc. Track expenses so you can stick to your budget.
Begin making homemade gifts. If your planning on giving handmade gifts this year, October is a good month to start gathering supplies and setting aside time to make the gifts.
Start working on handmade decor. If you’re crafty and want to make some of your own Christmas decorations, starting these in October allows you enough time to finish them before it’s time to decorate.

Preparing For Christmas In November

When should I start preparing for Christmas? November is the month that shoppers officially start spending for Christmas. A week or two before Thanksgiving generally starts off the Christmas season as people get ready for the upcoming holidays.

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If you didn’t get around to any of the items on the October Christmas planning list, November is the time.

Also, be sure to do the following when preparing for Christmas in November:

Plan your Christmas baking schedule. Baking Christmas cookies can be time consuming. November is a good time to plan out your baking list and start baking a few batches of cookies. Most Christmas cookies will keep well in the freezer for several months.
Plan & shop for Christmas decor. Yes, you can start putting up Christmas decorations in November. Think about the Christmas decorations you already have and what you intend to buy.
Decorate for Christmas. The weekend after Thanksgiving is a great time to decorate for Christmas. Many people like to get their decorations up early so they can enjoy them for several weeks before Christmas Day.
Make plans w/ family & friends. What are your plans for Christmas celebrations this year? If you haven’t already, start to reach out to family & friends to make plans for the Christmas holiday.
Continue shopping. By this point, you should have a good idea of what gifts you intend to buy. Many of the best sales in November will be on Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving Day). So if you can, hold off on buying until Black Friday.

Preparing For Christmas In December

It’s officially here! After Thanksgiving, the Christmas holiday season is well underway.

Prepare for Christmas in December by doing the following:

Decorate for Christmas. Putting up Christmas decorations can be a lot of work, so start early and give yourself time.
Finish Christmas gift shopping. If you’re ordering presents online, be sure to account for shipping time frames.
Wrap Christmas gifts. You can either wrap gifts as you buy them or do one big wrapping session closer to Christmas.
Send Christmas gifts to out of town recipients. Be sure to ship gifts in time for Christmas.
Mail Christmas cards. A general rule of thumb is to have cards in the mail by the second week of December.
Plan Christmas meals. Start to think about what food you will serve for Christmas dinner. Check out my guide to planning Christmas dinner.
Order Christmas baked goods & foods. Let someone else do the cooking this year. If you’re going to order special foods for Christmas, be sure to place orders early.
Finish Christmas baking. Hopefully you got a head start on your baking. If not, now’s the time to finish making those cookies.
Shop for food items, beverages. As Christmas draws closer, figure out some time to shop for any food items you will need for Christmas dinner, brunch, etc. Remember, most stores are closed Christmas Day.
Pick up food, baked goods orders. Plan out a day and time to pickup Christmas food orders.
Clean the house. If you’re having guests over, make sure to spend some time cleaning the house. Or schedule a cleaning service to come and do it for you.
Prep for out of town guests. Hosting guests overnight? Make sure you have what you need for them to stay overnight.