Monthly Christmas Prep: November

When I mention products, I haven’t been sponsored or paid for these links. They are products that I love and would use myself.

1. Check those international postage dates. As a rule of thumb, the further your packages are traveling from the UK. The earlier they will need to be posted. For example, Africa and the Middle East needs to be posted by the 2nd December and Australia by the 9th. Take them to the Post Office sooner rather than later because the last date can be crazy. Also, some Post Offices limit the number of packages you can post in one go when it’s busy. (I think our local is 5 packages)(Download a printable here for your planner).
2. Make/Buy your Christmas Cake. The great thing about Christmas cake is that it lasts!
3. Start gift shopping – stay within your budget from September. Whether you slot a couple in each lunch break or just go for one big shopping trip. Start now so that you’re not panic buying towards the end.
4. Wrap your gifts as they are purchased. That way you’re not rushing around at the last minute and trying to get to the shop for extra paper at the last minute. Label them too so you know who they are for! Make sure you take a note of which presents you’ve bought as you go along. Remember a planner like this one from Mrs Brimbles can be really handy. Also if you take a look at Pinterest you can also find a lot of different ones.
5. Book your food delivery. If you get you food delivered via a service like Ocado for instance. Make sure you have your delivery slot booked now. In a lot of cases you can, add and amend your shopping as much as you need to until you place the final order and close your basket. You will need to check with the individual site to see the restrictions as to how close to your slot you have. Also, don’t leave it too close to Christmas in case you have any substitutions that don’t work for you.

Each month leading up to Christmas there will be another list of tasks to get on with. Some will be little and some will be bigger but they are totally manageable in bite-sized chunks so that you’re not stressed out by the end! You can find all the posts here.