Get Ready for Christmas Tips

Holiday Preparation Starts Now! Tips for Everything Christmas!

Christmas preparations can be overwhelming. Get a head start on your Christmas gift planning, decorating, and celebrating by starting early. All those easy gift ideas are a breeze to pull together now, while you have time on your schedule. We have put together the ultimate Get Ready for Christmas Guide. Here we offer a few simple tips that can help you get the upper hand this holiday season!

Jump ahead to what you need the most help with!

Thinking about decorating for Christmas, are you inspired to find some new fresh ideas to mix things up a bit this year?  You still love the traditions and memories involved with your holiday décor, but you would like to come up with something a little more unique. Maybe do something a bit different and unexpected.

Three Ways to Mix Things up this Christmas

First think about what you like most about Christmas and pick your home decorating style around that one item. It may be a childhood memory of gingerbread men, cartoon characters, angles, snowmen, or Santa. Pick a theme that speaks to your heart.

To give your holiday decorations a professionally decorated look, stick to just two or three colors. Buy various accents such as ribbons, flowers, ornaments and other items that match the color and theme. Plaid is a versatile holiday pattern that can be used as an accent in gift wrap, table linens, throws, decorative pillows, ribbons, baskets, and more.

Why not try putting your holiday décor or tree in a new room. In the past years, as a decorative item came out of the box you knew exactly in which room it belonged. Not so this year. Showcase them in different locations and combinations this year. You can make everything look new by creating fresh combinations and using things differently.

Fresh Christmas Decorating Ideas

We’d love to hear your decorating ideas and how you’ve brought cheer to your home this holiday season. Comment below with your decorating ideas for Christmas.

Creative Gift Wrapping Tips & Ideas

Giving gifts during the holiday season brings joy to both the giver and the receiver. Make it even more joyous by adding your own special holiday gift wrapping flair. Try out a color scheme, package up presents in an innovative, creative way or add special little touches that make your gift feel special before they even open it.

Red & White Wrapping Paper

Choose a festive color palette that will be easy to maintain the theme, such as the bright and merry pairing of red and white. There are plenty of gift wrap options out there, and when you mix patterns among all your packages, it practically looks like an art form. Polka dots, snowflakes, candy cane stripes, and houndstooth textures make it look like a designer wrapped your packages. One bonus: all your packages displayed under the tree look fantastic!

Nice & Nostalgic Gift Wrapping

Get your inspiration from the presents of Christmas past, and wrap up your gifts with sentimental paper patterns and classic ribbons. Adorn gifts with candy canes and handmade baubles that can be used as ornaments. Remember that everyone loves homemade gifts, so think about adding a tin of cookies or a jar of homemade jam tied with a ribbon.

Home for the Holidays

Get creative with your wrapping and look to your basket of fabric scraps or visit your local fabric store for whatever they have in their sale bin. Choose plaids in holiday colors and top them off with an equally interesting textured ribbon, such as raffia, chunky yarn, or twine. Add a charming holiday ornament for a finishing decorative touch that keeps the seasonal theme.

Rustic Christmas Elegance

A roll of simple brown Kraft paper can serve as a canvas for gorgeous Christmas wrappings. Consider that brown background as a warmer version of white. Red adornments stand out beautifully – think sprigs of pepper berry, wide satin ribbons, mini wreaths, and colorful bows. Have someone artistic in your family? Try wrapping your presents in black Kraft paper and use white chalk paint markers to handcraft each package’s design. Add a bit of burlap to really emphasize the rustic touch.

White Christmas Wrapping Paper Ideas

Give all your gifts a touch of winter magic by sticking with a white theme. White on white looks especially lovely and sophisticated. Consider how you can add a special touch of sparkle or shine to each gift. Will you add an oversized feathery bow, a glittery ribbon, or a white ornament as a gift tag? Metallics always complement white packaging well. Break out the silver, gold, and platinum bows and ribbons.

Soften-up with Pastel Christmas Colors

Bold and classic color palettes are traditional but consider taking a softer approach with a modern, pastel-based color scheme. Pretty pale blues, fair pinks, and soft greens look beautiful when bedecked with shiny ribbons, glittering stars, and pops of red accents.

Whatever your wrapping theme, you can extend throughout the house. Wrap your front door to match. Add your accenting ribbon and bows to handrails, banisters, or mantle.

 

Easy Christmas Gifts

Easily check-off presents on your gift list. Give your store-bought jams and jellies that farmhouse look without the time-consuming work of canning. Soak off the labels of your store-bought preserves in warm water, cut a square of gingham, and tie it around the lid. Remember to label each jar under its cloth covering.

Christmas Shopping List

If you shop early and then hide your gifts until Christmas, be sure to make a list of what you bought and where you stashed it. Keep the list in your wallet or other easy-to-remember places for safekeeping, then refer to it as the countdown to Christmas begins. There’s nothing worse than finding gifts after the holiday has passed.

Simple Gift Bag Idea

Amidst all the reusable “green” bags available, I thought last Christmas, I would use them to put my gifts inside—with some tissue and a little raffia or ribbon. They were favorites; some were bright green and some red. It didn’t matter, people loved them as they could be used all year round and over and over and it was good for Mother Earth too!

Christmas Cookie Exchange Party Ideas

Hosting a Christmas cookie swap is a delicious way to meet up with friends and give everyone’s holiday cookie supply a boost. Every guest brings one type of cookie and leaves with several varieties, which means that holiday baking lists are greatly reduced! Besides that, you spend time with friends, exchange favorite Christmas cookie recipes, and sample cookies that you otherwise might have never tried.

Extend the Invitation

Send invitations several weeks before the swap. Holiday calendars tend to be packed full for many people, so be sure to ask your guests to save the date several weeks ahead of time. Make sure everyone knows that they need to RSVP, and ask each person what type of cookies they want to make. This way, you’ll be able to avoid having multiple people all bring the same kind of cookie. Once you have a finalized guest list, instruct each guest to bring a dozen cookies, plus another dozen or so for sampling. This will ensure that everyone goes home with an ample supply of delicious cookies.

Put Your Best Cookie Forward

Sturdy cookies work best for cookie swaps, since they package well and won’t fall apart while traveling. Cookies that are fragile, messy, or need to be chilled aren’t recommended. From classic drop cookies to Christmas spiced cookies, these Christmas cookies will make you the star of your cookie swap.

Set the Mood

Festive and fabulous — that’s how you want your holiday home to feel. Wreaths, garlands, and other Christmas décor will create a warm welcome for your guests. Wrap holiday tea towels around home-bound cookie plates as a party favor for guests.

Display the Cookies

While everyday plates and platters work fine for displaying cookies, if you have them available, you’ll likely find that using paper plates is easier. To make them look pretty, add a paper doily or a square of tissue paper before loading the plate with cookies. Place a display card near each platter to let people know what kind of cookie it is, who baked it, and whether or not there are nuts or other allergens in the cookies. If you’d like, place copies of each recipe nearby as well.

Supplement With Drinks & Snacks

Since most of your nibbling will involve sweet cookies, it’s wise to serve additional snacks that are savory. Veggies and dip, chips, or cheese and crackers are all possibilities. Don’t forget to serve drinks, too! Coffee and tea are easy and popular; hot chocolate or apple cider make great seasonal offerings too.

Send the Cookies Home

Once you’ve finished visiting and sampling, it’s time to send each guest home with a variety of cookies to enjoy. Gift boxes and wrapping paper make it easy and fun to bring cookies home or to re-gift them to others.