Every year, I think I’m going to have Christmas figured out. I’ll remember everything, get things done on time and avoid the last-minute scramble. And every year, despite my best efforts, something gets overlooked.

This year, I’m being more deliberate about how I plan. Not because I expect everything to go perfectly, but because I know how quickly the little things add up. A school concert gets scheduled, a package arrives while the kids are home, or I realize there’s something I meant to do weeks ago but never put on the calendar. All of this can make December feel like one long list you’re trying to keep in your head.

This is the fourth post in our holiday planning series. We started with A Fall Look Ahead: Preparing Your Household for the Holidays, where we looked at what was coming and what your household could realistically take on. Then The Hidden Cost of Holiday Overcommitment focused on deciding what deserves your time. Last week, How to Create a Holiday Budget Before the Spending Starts put the money around those decisions.Now it’s time to turn those decisions into a plan: what needs to happen, when does it need to happen, and what do you need to remember along the way?

This is a chronological checklist in three parts: before December, during December, and after December.

It covers five areas:

your calendar
gifts
home
food
traditions

It’s intentionally thorough because it’s meant to be used, not just skimmed. Skip anything that doesn’t fit your family, and add anything I’ve missed. Items marked if this applies are relevant only to some households.

You can work through the full checklist below or jump to the copy-and-paste version at the end to keep it in your Notes or Reminders app.

If You’re Already Behind

If it’s November or later and you haven’t done much planning yet, don’t start at the top and try to catch up on everything at once. Start with the decisions that affect everything else.

Put every known date on one calendar. School events, work parties, travel, family gatherings and anything else with a time attached belong in one place.
Check your holiday budget. Know how much you have available and how much you’ve already spent. That gives you a realistic amount to work with for everything that’s left.
Review what you’ve already bought and decide what’s still needed. Check your purchase record, if you have one. Decide on the remaining gifts, including the major gifts you haven’t purchased yet.
Check the latest delivery dates. Look at the stores you plan to use and determine which purchases still have time to arrive. Decide what you’ll need to buy locally instead.
These four steps give you a starting point. Once you know your dates, budget, remaining purchases and deadlines, you can work through the rest of the checklist in the time you have.

Before December

Before December, focus on making decisions and taking care of the tasks that are easier to handle before your calendar fills up.

Get the information in one place

☐ Read last year’s note to yourself (All areas)

If you left yourself a note after last Christmas, read it now. It’s a quick way to remember what you wanted to change, what worked well and what you don’t want to repeat.
If you didn’t write one, no problem. You’ll have an opportunity to do that this year.

☐ Start a gift idea list that runs all year (Gifts)

Keep a running list of gift ideas so you can capture them whenever they come up. A child mentions something they’d like, a relative admires something in a store, or you come across an item that would be perfect for someone.

I use the same list for birthdays and Christmas. It’s particularly useful for people who don’t give you a gift list because their offhand comments may be all you have to go on.

If you haven’t started a list yet, start now. Even a few months of ideas are better than trying to remember everything in December.

In my house: I use a Reminders list with a title the kids wouldn’t recognize.

Other ways: A notes app, a shared list with your spouse or a paper list kept somewhere private.

☐ Make a list of everyone who needs a gift, card or other holiday acknowledgment (Gifts and Communication)

Think beyond your immediate family. Grandparents, teachers, coaches, instructors, neighbors, coworkers and anyone else your family normally remembers at Christmas may belong on the list.

For each person, decide what applies: a gift, a card or nothing. The point isn’t to give everyone something. It’s to decide ahead of time rather than suddenly remembering a teacher gift on the way to school.

☐ Collect gift lists and Santa letters, if applicable (Gifts)

Whether your children write letters to Santa or give you a wish list, collect those ideas early enough to use them. If your family exchanges gift lists with grandparents or extended family, share them, too.

My family prefers to have gift lists before Black Friday, so we try to get them together early. Even my adult children give me lists, which makes shopping much easier.

If your family handles gift giving differently, skip the parts that don’t apply.

☐ Decide whether you’re sending Christmas cards (Communication)

If you’re sending cards, gather addresses and photos and decide whether you’re designing or ordering them. Allow enough time for printing, addressing and mailing.

Put the mailing deadline on your calendar. If you need to order cards, work backward from that date so you aren’t waiting on an order when it’s time to mail them.

☐ Open a purchase record (Gifts)
Keep track of what you’ve actually bought. Gift ideas belong on your idea list; completed purchases belong in your purchase record.

In my house: I start a fresh spreadsheet each year, which is also where I keep the holiday budget.

Other ways: A notes page or shared document works just as well. If you tend to lose track of where gifts are hidden, add a column for their location.

Put the calendar together

☐ Put every known date on the calendar (Calendar)

School concerts and parties, work events, travel, family gatherings, who is coming to your house and where you’re going all belong in one place.

Add each date when you learn it rather than telling yourself you’ll put it in later. School information goes on my family calendar the same way it does during the rest of the year.

☐ Add a check-back reminder for any date you’re waiting on (Calendar)

Some dates can’t be set until someone else makes a decision. You might be waiting for a school schedule, a sports schedule, a work party date or a family member to confirm travel.
Name what you’re waiting on, estimate when you’ll hear about it and set a reminder to check back. If you still don’t have an answer, set another reminder for a week later. When the date is finally announced, put it on the calendar.

☐ If your holidays are split between households, settle that schedule first (Calendar, if this applies)

Custody schedules, alternating years with in-laws and split celebrations determine when everything else can happen. Settle those arrangements before planning around them.

☐ Book or buy anything that requires a reservation or ticket (Calendar and Traditions)

Holiday concerts, shows, special events, Santa visits, restaurant reservations and other activities may require advance booking.

If something matters to your family and requires a ticket or appointment, don’t leave it on a general list of things you hope to do. Make the reservation and put the date on your calendar.

Get gifts moving

☐ Decide what you’re waiting on a sale to buy (Gifts)

Before Black Friday and Cyber Monday, write down the items you’d buy if the price were right and the price you’re willing to pay. Everything else stays on your regular gift list.

Sales often extend beyond a single weekend, so you don’t have to treat those two days as your only opportunity. I used to skip Black Friday entirely because of the crowds. Longer sales are what changed that for me.

☐ Decide where gifts will be hidden and how you’ll handle deliveries (Gifts)

Think about this before the first box arrives. You may need a hiding spot, a delivery day when you’re home or a plan for packages that reveal what’s inside.

If you have children who notice every package, it’s worth deciding how you’ll handle deliveries before you need to. I’ll cover a few ways to keep the surprise intact in the Keeping the Surprise section below.

☐ Know when your shopping needs to be finished (Gifts)

Check the latest delivery dates for the stores you use. Decide which gifts need to be ordered and which can be bought locally. Put important shipping deadlines on the calendar.

Having a shopping deadline gives you time to find alternatives if something doesn’t arrive as expected.

Plan home, food and traditions

☐ Decide which traditions stay, change or go (Traditions)

Christmas traditions can be wonderful, but they don’t all have to happen every year. Look at what your family actually enjoys. What matters to someone? What went well last year? What has become more work than anyone wants? Decide what you’re keeping, changing or skipping before December fills up. The Hidden Cost of Holiday Overcommitment goes deeper into deciding what deserves your time.

☐ Decide when the tree goes up and when the major home jobs happen (Home)

Choose the general timing for decorating, preparing your home for guests and tackling any other big jobs that need to happen before Christmas. You don’t need to schedule every hour.

In my house: We decorate the tree Thanksgiving weekend. The exact day shifts depending on what else is happening, but that’s our target.

Other ways: The first weekend of December, after a particular event or a little at a time.

☐ Settle major hosting and travel plans (Calendar and Food)

If you’re hosting, decide who is coming and whether anyone is staying overnight. If you’re traveling, confirm the arrangements and make sure everyone knows the plan. You don’t need a detailed meal plan yet, but you do want to know who is hosting, where you’ll be and what commitments other people are counting on.

☐ Make a list of holiday baking and special foods (Food)

Include anything you make only at Christmas, anything you give away and anything you need for a gathering.

If you increase your grocery spending around Thanksgiving and Christmas, double-check that those expenses are accounted for in your holiday budget. It’s easier to make an adjustment now than to discover that you’ve underestimated your food costs in December.

During December

December is when you put your plan into action. Some things will change, and you’ll still have decisions to make, but your before December plan should have you in a good place.

Keep gifts and the calendar on track

☐ Check your calendar against the next two weeks (Calendar)

Look at school events, work parties, travel, family gatherings, appointments and anything else that could affect your time.

Checking two weeks at a time gives you an opportunity to catch conflicts while there’s still time to make adjustments.

☐ Finish the shopping (Gifts)

Use your purchase record to see what’s done and what’s still missing. By this point, you’re finishing the list rather than waiting for the perfect idea for everyone. Check shipping dates, switch to local shopping when necessary and stick to a final shopping deadline that’s earlier than Christmas Eve.

☐ Check deliveries and returns (Gifts)

As gifts arrive, mark them as received. If something is damaged, incorrect or likely to be returned, deal with it while there’s still time. If you’ve hidden gifts in several places, your purchase record can help you remember what you’ve bought, even when the pile under the tree doesn’t tell the whole story.

☐ Do a mid-December gift check-in (Gifts)

Compare your gift idea list with your purchase record. What’s still missing? What’s been ordered but hasn’t arrived? Does anything need a backup plan?

Doing this around the middle of December gives you time to address any gaps before Christmas week.

☐ Finish your Christmas cards and other holiday communication (Communication)

Mail the cards, send the messages, confirm plans and make sure anyone who needs a gift list has received it.

Prepare your home and food

☐ Decide your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus (Food)

Now that the holiday is closer, finalize what you’re serving, who is bringing what and what you still need to buy.

f you’re eating elsewhere, confirm what you’re expected to bring. If you’re hosting, make sure everyone knows what they’re contributing.

☐ Protect a wrapping window (Gifts)

Most parents don’t need a reminder to wrap gifts. But if wrapping keeps landing at 11 p.m. on December 23, or you need to keep gifts out of sight, treat it like an appointment.

In my house: I tell the kids I can’t be interrupted for half an hour. I wrap a few gifts that need to stay a surprise, then move on to things like Christmas pajamas. When I bring the wrapped pajamas out to put under the tree, the kids see a new pile of gifts and don’t question it.

☐ Finish the home jobs that actually matter (Home)

Decorate, clean for company, set the table or do whatever your Christmas requires. Spread these jobs throughout the month as your schedule allows. You don’t need to add new projects just because you noticed something you’d like to change. Focus on what you decided mattered before December began.

☐ Make time for the traditions you chose (Traditions)

This is the reason you planned them in the first place. Go to the concert. See Santa. Bake the cookies. Watch the movie. Drive around to look at lights.

Your checklist should help make room for Christmas, not become another thing that takes over December.

☐ Do your main Christmas grocery shopping (Food)

Plan your main grocery trip for a few days before Christmas, once you know what you need and have a reasonably settled menu. Buy the ingredients and supplies for your meals, baking and gatherings. If you’re hosting, confirm what others are bringing before you shop so you don’t end up with three desserts and no dinner.

You can buy shelf-stable ingredients earlier, but leave the main shop until close enough to Christmas that you’re not storing fresh food for weeks.

Finish the final details

☐ Do a final check just before Christmas (Calendar, Gifts and Food)

Is anything still missing or still in transit? Who is where on which day? What’s being cooked, and by whom? Are there groceries or other supplies you still need? This is a final check of the plan, not another planning session.

☐ Simplify something if the week is too full (Traditions)

If your plans are bigger than the time you have, choose something to drop deliberately rather than waiting for it to fall apart on its own. Not every activity or tradition has to happen every year. Sometimes changing the plan is what allows you to enjoy the rest of it.

☐ Jot down notes for next year as you go (All areas)

If something works particularly well or absolutely doesn’t, write it down while you still remember. You don’t need a full review every night. One running note titled “Next year” is enough. You can add to it as things come up.

After December

Christmas planning doesn’t end on December 25. A few small tasks afterward can make next year’s planning easier.

☐ Write your note to next year’s self (All areas)

Do this within a week or two, before the season fades. Include what you’d do again, what you’d change, what you’d skip, what went over budget and why, which gifts were well received, and anything you want to remember about the calendar, food, home or traditions.

If you were waiting on dates, record when they were finally announced. Next year, that gives you an actual date for your check-back reminder instead of another guess. I keep this note with my Christmas spreadsheet so I know where to find it.

☐ Close out this year’s gift records (Gifts)

Clear purchased and outdated ideas from your list, but keep gift ideas that may still work next year.

Compare your purchase record to your budget. I start a fresh spreadsheet each year and keep the previous year’s for reference.

☐ Handle returns (Gifts, if this applies)

Check the return window on anything that might need to go back. Make a note of the last day to return it and take care of it before the deadline.

☐ Put away Christmas decorations and make a note of anything you’ll need next year (Home)

As you take down decorations, notice what needs replacing, repairing or adding to next year’s list. If something is missing, broken or unexpectedly useful, write it down now rather than trusting yourself to remember in November.

☐ Set one reminder for early September (Calendar)

Make it say: “Read last year’s note. Start the gift list.” That one reminder gives next year’s Christmas planning a starting point before December is already on the horizon.

Keeping the Surprise

Planning for Christmas is easier when you don’t have to worry about your children accidentally finding the plan. A few decisions up front can help keep the surprise intact.
Name your lists so they don’t give it away. Anything a curious child could open should have a title that means nothing to them. I use a Reminders list with a name my kids wouldn’t recognize.
Keep planning off paper if your kids look around. I do very little on paper this time of year because I don’t want the kids to come across it. Digital lists are easier for me to keep private.
Decide on hiding spots before gifts arrive. Mine change each year depending on the size of the gifts. Sometimes it’s a locked vehicle, sometimes the back of a closet and sometimes the basement. If you’ve ever lost track of a gift, add a “where” column to your purchase record.
Plan around original shipping boxes. Some items arrive in boxes that make it obvious what’s inside. I use Amazon during the holidays and sometimes choose a delivery day when I know I’m home. Other options include delivery to work, a neighbor’s house or a pickup location.
Give wrapping a protected window. Set aside time when you know you can wrap without interruptions. My approach is to wrap gifts that need to stay a surprise alongside other presents, such as Christmas pajamas, so the kids don’t question why new packages suddenly appear under the tree.

Copy-and-Paste Version

Paste this into your Notes or Reminders app and delete anything that doesn’t apply to your family. Keeping it on your phone also keeps it out of sight.

CHRISTMAS PLANNING CHECKLIST

BEFORE DECEMBER

- Read last year’s note to self, if applicable
- Start a gift idea list
- Make a list of everyone who needs a gift, card or other holiday acknowledgment
- Collect gift lists and Santa letters, if applicable
- Decide whether I’m sending Christmas cards; if so, order them
- Open a purchase record
- Put every known date on the calendar
- Add a check-back reminder for dates I’m waiting on
- Settle the holiday schedule between households, if applicable
- Book or buy anything that requires a reservation or ticket
- Decide what I’m waiting on a sale to buy
- Decide where gifts will be hidden and how I’ll handle deliveries
- Know when my shopping needs to be finished
- Decide which traditions stay, change or go
- Decide when the tree goes up and when major home jobs happen
- Settle major hosting and travel plans
- Make a list of holiday baking and special foods

DURING DECEMBER

- Check the calendar against the next two weeks
- Finish the shopping
- Check deliveries and returns
- Do a mid-December gift check-in
- Finish Christmas cards and holiday communication
- Decide Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus
- Protect a wrapping window
- Finish the home jobs that actually matter
- Make time for the traditions I chose
- Do the main Christmas grocery shopping
- Do a final check of gifts, food and the calendar
- Simplify something if the week is too full
- Jot down notes for next year

AFTER DECEMBER

- Write my note to next year’s self
- lose out this year’s gift records
- Handle returns, if needed
- Put away Christmas decorations and note anything I’ll need next year
- Set a reminder for early September

A Final Thought

You don’t need to do everything on this list, and you don’t need a perfectly organized Christmas.

The point is to make the decisions that need to be made ahead of time, keep important dates and information somewhere you can find them, and give yourself time to handle the things that can only be done in December.

If something on this checklist doesn’t fit your family, leave it off. If your family does something every year that isn’t here, add it. The best Christmas plan is the one that helps you remember what matters without asking you to manage Christmas every minute.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!

The Christmas Planning Checklist: What to Do Before, During, and After December

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If You’re Already Behind