Sure, we’re still in November. Sure, it may feel a little bit early to start talking about Christmas. But the truth is, the sooner you get started planning your Christmas, the smoother the entire process will be and the more enjoyable a time you’re likely to have. Nobody really enjoys rushing around last minute in a desperate bid to pull everything together. Instead, if you get more things done in November, you can spend more of December enjoying yourself and doing the fun things you have planned. What’s more? This year isn’t exactly like every other. 

The coronavirus and Covid-19 pandemic has changed many of our personal living situations and has changed the way the world works in general. Chances are you’re going to have to be a bit more organised to make sure everything works together to create the Christmas you want. This, of course, is going to be a multistep process. So, here are just a few steps you might like to consider!

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Saving

The first step towards Christmas should be saving. Nobody wants to find themselves in debt as a result of this occasion. But every year, all too many people plummet themselves into debt buying gifts they can’t afford. Searching for bad credit loans is a great idea for essentials if you’re struggling to meet bills and other financial commitments. But this isn’t the ideal solution for anyone who’s simply looking for cash to get gifts. Instead, try to save in advance. Put a little out of paychecks and other forms of income (such as selling old belongings online) into some sort of savings pot. This can then help you out further down the line when it comes to actually buying gifts.

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Plan The Gifts You’d Like to Buy

Next, it’s time to create a list of all of the different gifts you’re planning on buying. Of course, Christmas isn’t all about gifts. But many of us do pick up a few things for our nearest and dearest. So, if you’re planning on getting any gifts this year, it’s best to plan exactly what you want to buy and make a list. This will help in a few ways. It will make sure that you don’t forget anything. It will make sure that you don’t get distracted and start buying things that aren’t on your list. It will also help you to set a budget for gifts and ensure that you don’t overspend.

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Shop the Black Friday Sales

Black Friday can still feel like a relatively new event in the annual sales calendar. Traditionally, Black Friday is an American shopping event. But now, countries around the world have started getting involved too. In fact, it has quickly become one of the biggest sales around the world, generating the most profit and seeing consumers and retailers left pretty happy. Black Friday takes place on the day following Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday of every November). It can be seen to mark the start of the Christmas shopping season. This has been going on since around 1952, but the name “Black Friday” has only really been used since the early 2000s. The event sees retailers cut the prices of their stock in order to generate profit before the festive period. More and more retailers are taking part every year, so chances are, whatever’s on your list of gifts to buy, you’re going to find the item at a significantly discounted price on this day. This makes gift giving a whole lot more affordable!

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Plan Your Food Shopping

Food plays a central role in Christmas festivities for many of us. Of course, food shopping is a little more difficult in the pandemic. Stores have limited capacity and you might not be able to just walk into a packed store full of hustle and bustle during the pandemic. Instead, there are likely to be queues weaving around store carparks. This isn’t going to be all too pleasant closer to December, as you won’t really want to spend all too much time standing outdoors in the cold, wind, rain or even sleet and snow. So, draw up a plan of what food you’d like for the festive season and place orders instead. Then, the food will all be ready and waiting for you without you having to worry about queuing or things running out. If possible, delivery would be ideal. If not, there are plenty of click and collect services that you might like to consider!

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Plan Your Decorations

As you can see, planning ahead is a pretty consistent theme this year. The same goes for what tends to be the main Christmas decoration in most households that celebrate Christmas - the Christmas tree. Now, if you have real Christmas trees, it’s best to look around at local Christmas tree farms and determine which will be open and see if you can book a time slot to view and collect a tree. This will help you to avoid disappointment and guarantee a quality tree that you’ll really love. If you’re planning on getting an artificial tree, you’re in luck. Garden centres tend to stay open during lockdowns, so you should be able to get your hands on one relatively easily. If stores are closed or have too long queues for you, you can then find the rest of your Christmas decorations online.

Be Flexible with Social Planning

Hopefully, there won’t be any lockdown situations over Christmas. But if there are, you may find that some of the social plans you’d made may have to be cancelled. It’s important to be as flexible as you possibly can be when it comes to making social plans that involve mixing of households over the Christmas period.

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Lets hope this guides you when it comes to planning Christmas this year. Sure, it’s going to be a little different to usual, but it is still possible to have a great festive season and you never know... you might make some of your most cherished memories yet!

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