Prologue:

Thanks for stopping by!  When you read this blog you may notice that the images have a different watermark compared to the present blog name. That is because this blog did go through a blog name change. It used to be known as Organized Living Essentials and now goes by the name Time With Thea. I had considered converting every image to the new blog name and decided against it for a couple of reasons. The first one is that it would take many hours to make the change and the second is that a lot of these images are already dispersed in the virtual world via Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.

Be assured it is the same blog with the same quality but it is just with a different name. Thanks you so much for stopping by and snooping around.

Enjoy!

The Situation

Christmas Eve is in just two sleeps. My daughters are home from university and my lovely n-laws flew in the other night for a ten-day visit. My house is filled with family for Christmas. Love it!

The Problem

There are still some final tasks that need to be taken care of before the big day.

Yesterday afternoon I stopped by the mall. Clearly I was not going to find a parking space. Everyone else must be taking care of his or her final tasks just like me.

The Solution

Make a list of what still needs to be done. Check things off as they are completed. Delegate tasks. Plan to get up early to shop and run errands before the crowds build up. Plan to exercise, eat properly and get lots of sleep so I don’t get too stressed and too tired. Focus on the priorities and be prepared to let some things go.

Here is a list of tasks I have organized so far:

1.  Decorated outdoors with outdoor floral arrangements and Christmas lights

2.  Decorated the Christmas tree

3.  Displayed the Christmas cards received

4.  Decorated the staircase banister and the fireplace mantel
5.  Shopped for most of the Christmas presents
6.  Planned the menus for Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas morning breakfast and Christmas dinner
7.  Set up the gift wrapping station
8.  Picked up family members from the airport
9.  Organized the Christmas music playlist
10. Bought the turkey

Here is a list of tasks I still have to do:

1.  Prepare the grocery list

2.   Grocery shop
3.   Shop for remaining gifts
4.   Shop for stocking stuffers
5.   Wrap the gifts
6.   Delegate tasks to each family member for each of the meals
7.   Organize the Christmas meals tablescaping items

Here is what I have decided not to do this year:

Christmas baking! Why? Time is limited. I have also received a lot of different sweets as gifts including home baked shortbread, Christmas fruitcake and boxes of chocolates. I love to bake cookies and squares but I am afraid that if I bake too many we will end up with a whole bunch of cookies in the freezer after everyone leaves at and guess who will end up eating them? We don’t need the extra calories.

There is one more task I want to do and that is to wish all of my followers, visitors and blogging friends a wonderful Christmas. May it be filled with joyfulness, relaxation and fun with the people who are most important in your life. If celebrating Christmas is not part of your religion or culture, may this time also be filled with peace, serenity and happiness wherever you may be in the world.

I am going to take a break from blogging during this holiday season. My house is filled with family visiting from out of town and there are more family members yet to come. As I already listed, I still have some Christmas preparation tasks to take care and we have a number of activities planned to do together. The weather forecast for Christmas Eve is snow so I am looking forward to a pretty white Christmas. I have to make sure my battery is charged on my camera. Better add that to my ‘must-do’ list.

I do plan to spend some time snooping around some of my favourite blogs and checking out some new ones. I am so impressed with how many wonderful blogs there are! I am enjoying connecting with other bloggers and at the same time being inspired and learning so much from every blog that I read.

I also plan to spend some time on Pinterest by looking for new pins to pin and organizing my boards. Just click on the image below to find out how I organize my boards. I invite you to follow me on Pinterest!

See you on the other side of the Christmas season!

Have a Very Merry Christmas!

 Organized for Christmas (Almost) … Lessons Learned… Lessons Shared