Christmas is such a magical time of the year, and so we think that it makes sense to embrace and enjoy those warm, joyous feelings for as long as possible. That’s why right now is the perfect time to start planning for, and creating, beautiful Christmas memories.
The countdown to Christmas is underway. In fact, the big day will be here in just over 3 months. And if the last 9 months are anything to go by, it will be here before we know it!
As many of you probably know, even though we speak of the “magic” of Christmas, it takes at least a little planning and organisation to create those special Christmas memories for your family and loved ones. That certainly doesn’t mean that your Christmas plans necessarily have to be expensive or overly curated, but they will need some help to come to life.
Starting to make beautiful Christmas memories now not only means that you have plenty of time to get yourself organised, but you give yourself, and your loved ones, plenty of time to enjoy all the fun and excitement that comes with this wonderful time of year too.
We’d love to share some of our favourite ways to start making beautiful Christmas memories.
Prepare for the Magic of Christmas
For many families, especially those with little children, a lot of the magic of Christmastime is centered around Santa and his team of elves.
While September is probably a little too early for these guys to make an appearance just yet, you can definitely get started organising everything that you might need so that you are ready to go when the time comes.
Dear Santa….
Do your kids like to have special stationery to write to Santa? Does Santa write back to your kids on his special letterhead? Make sure you do a stocktake and get your orders underway for those pieces. They seem small but certainly do play a big part in creating memorable Christmas moments for your family. So you want to make sure that you have that well and truly covered.
Stacks of Sacks
How does Santa deliver his goodies at your place? Does he deliver them in a beautiful personalised sack? Or wrapped in distinctive wrapping paper? Perhaps he attaches his trademark stamp or tag.
If you have had a new addition to the family, or the existing items could do with replacing or replenishing, that is something that you can definitely do now.
Getting Ready for the Fun
What other traditions do you have at your place that make beautiful Christmas memories? Does the elf (or elves!) on the shelf visit your home? Or do you do a Christmas Eve Box full of fun activities and precious keepsakes?
What will you need to help you make beautiful Christmas memories this year?
Say Cheese and Re-live Old Favourites
There’s plenty of Christmas memories that you can create that don’t necessarily require “secret agent/ninja” type planning. Instead, get all the family involved in making these beautiful Christmas memories.
Gather your brood and take out your calendars to plan your next Christmas photoshoot. Will you be heading to your local shopping centre to have a photo taken with Santa, or are you planning something a little different? Not only is the shoot itself a fun Christmas memory, but get everyone involved in what you are all going to wear. Do you have a theme or tradition? Is it colour coordinated and carefully planned for a special collection of memories, or is it silly and fun to ensure lots of laughs for many years to come?
At the same time as you are planning for the next Christmas photo, make some time to look back at the photos of Christmas past. Perhaps you like to display all of your photos each year and add to the collection. Be sure to drag them all out now for lots of warm and fuzzies as you walk by them for the next few months. Or plan a special time to sit down with everyone and re-live the photos and the Christmas’ of years gone by. Perhaps you can share your hopes for the Christmas season to come with each other too.
Get Your Gifting Sorted
Another beautiful Christmas memory that needs some prior planning is the giving of gifts.
Check out our article The Ultimate Checklist for Planning Amazing Christmas Gifts for more tips and tricks to help you get your gifting underway. Remember that the most important thing about gifting, is the act of gifting and the special moment and memory that creates, not necessarily the gift itself.
If you want to give something really unique and thoughtful, you might consider making your own gifts so you’ll need to give yourself some time for that.
Aside from organising gifts for family, friends, teachers, colleagues (and whoever else makes it on to the list!), use the spirit of Christmastime to share love and kindness to those less fortunate. Be sure to instill this sentiment in your children too. You could do this by having a yearly clean-out at home (it times nicely with a spring clean!) and donate any toys and books that are no longer used or needed so that other kids can enjoy them. Or you might encourage your children to do part with some of their precious pocket money, or do some extra jobs to earn some additional money, to place a gift under the Kmart Wishing Tree, or another charitable appeal that is close to your heart.
Get Ready for a Different Kind of Gift
Planning for advent calendars is another way that you can get started now making beautiful Christmas memories. You might like to make you own Christmas calendar and so suddenly you’ve got a fun craft activity to do together that is also making memories and getting ready for 1 December!
Think about the kind of advent calendar you would like to make or give this year. Is it a well-earned indulgence to treat yourself? Full of fun activities and gifts for the kids?
Image source: The Christmas Cart, revelandglitter.com, howdoesshe.com
Consider how you can extend the joy of giving beyond material means with your advent calendar and look to create a kindness calendar that encourages acts of kindness and thoughtfulness to others through the holiday season. We have collated a list of extra ideas in our article Beautiful Christmas Memories with Inspiring Advent Calendar Ideas.
It’s Never too Early to Start Decorating
Diving into Christmas decorating is a sure-fire way to get into the spirit of Christmas and make some truly beautiful memories together. Even if you don’t put up the tree and deck the halls just yet, start to think about what decorating theme you will be using this year and planning what things you might need to do or buy to bring it all to life.
Maybe you’ll expand your Christmas decorating to some new areas of the house, and be sure to get the kids involved too. They might like some special Christmas decorations to add in their room or a fun afternoon of planning and crafting together.
The simple act of thinking and talking about decorating for Christmas is already creating special memories.
It’s All About Creating Beautiful Christmas Memories
At the end of the day, no matter how you choose to prepare, celebrate and decorate for Christmas, you will inevitably create some very special memories with the ones that you love to be treasured for years to come.
The Christmas Cart’s online store has everything that you need to bring the wonder and magic of Christmas to your home. Start shopping now and enjoy making beautiful Christmas memories.