Cuddling up on the sofa with hot chocolate, the tree sparkling in the background and a festive fun-filled adventure onscreen – Christmas movie nights are one of the best things about this time of year.
But with beautifully wrapped mountains of prezzies, flawlessly decorated rooms and piles of expertly cooked food, Hollywood’s picture-perfect Christmases are also a painful reminder of just how much you’ve got left to organise before the big day.
Because whilst it’s the hap-happiest season of all, it’s also one of the toughest when you’re the chief organiser.
Careful as you are, once you start running around in a blind panic trying to get everything together, it’s scarily easy to forget a few initial components.
With this in mind, we’re sharing the ultimate checklist to jog your memory in the final weeks before Christmas. Take a look.
Final present check
Making a list and checking it twice is sound gift-giving etiquette – hopefully the bulk of your presents are already well on their way to you, but one last run through will guarantee no one’s left without on Christmas.
Don’t forget about secret Santa or gifts for teachers, and bear in mind the last recommended posting dates if you’ve got packages to send to distant relatives.
Sort your festive wardrobe
Finding a killer new dress to mark the occasion definitely deserves a spot on your growing to-do list – just save yourself the stress of dealing with the brutal last-minute crowds at your local shopping centre by searching online.
This season’s metallic and sequins trend is perfectly festive and will look just as good on New Year’s Eve as it will for Christmas dinner.
Ready the house
The fairy lights are detangled and the tree is up – decorating the house has been successfully scored off your list. Now you’ve got the fun part out of the way, you can focus on the boring task of getting ready for any overnight guests you’ll be welcoming in a few days.
Freshen up sleeping bags, check you’ve got plenty of sheets for extra beds and give the spare room a quick onceover with the duster before festive visitors arrive.
Nail food prep
The last thing you want is to end up spending Christmas day trapped in the kitchen, trying to concoct three different kinds of vegetables, stuffing, turkey and a homemade soup all at the same time – it’s a recipe for disaster.
From gravy to stuffing and dessert, lots of key elements can be made in advance and frozen so that you can spend the day itself calmly enjoying some eggnog before serving up a delicious feast.
It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of the festive season and forget that, ultimately, it’s all about having fun. Follow our definitive checklist for a picture-perfect Christmas and you’ll be able to enjoy a stress-free day with your family.
This is a collaborative post.
Good checklist, thankfully the last thing left is to finish wrapping some last presents and food prep next week and of course table laying lol x
Great checklist here! I’m all about getting everything I possibly can done ahead of time, so I can just relax and enjoy on the big day. Especially the food, I detest spending all day in the kitchen!
Food prep is definitely such a good thing to get out of the way, to save slaving away over the stove when you could be enjoying a glass of wine (or two…!)
I need to work out what I am wearing on Christmas day as at the moment I have zero idea x
I do the final present check about 20 times before the big day, I get so paranoid that I’ve forgotten someone (and I actually had one year). Great checklist x
Great tips here, I normally try and prep as much food bits as possible in advance as well x
What a great checklist! I am going shopping tomorrow to sort out my festive wardrobe!
Very useful check list to make sure everything goes smoothly at Christmas.
Lovely checklist. I’m awful at planning Christmas and still need to pick up a few presents. So, this will really come in handy closer to the day!
What a great checklist, we’d be happy to double check the radio times and make sure we don’t miss any good films! 😉