Organised or not?

What I have noticed about me, is depending on how the year has gone depends on how organised I am leading into the holiday season. Our year has meant 107 days of lock down for Auckland - the second lock down of the year. There has been little travel done this year too which is sad as that helps full my cup of time with people I love. Wayne has been away a lot in the past few months, which means I have had time at night to plan and buy Christmas gifts online (not so keen to get into those shops at the moment).

I have sent my annual family Christmas card (that has a bit of a following now). I have bought for family and there is only a few smaller items left to purchase which needs to be done closer to gifting time. So it is a very comfortable feeling, along with a relaxed move into what is usually termed the crazy season.

During the year I have put $50 a fortnight into the Countdown Supermarket Christmas Club card, so our grocery purchases during December is covered. I have transferred $45 a month to a separate savings account for our alcohol purchases over December/January - again organised and these items won’t be a drain on our normal current monthly spend. Feels like I have given myself a holiday from paying for groceries and alcohol during December/January. All these little things feel like they have enhanced the chill out - relaxed slide into our summer holiday.

What have you done to make this time of year easier for you?