With so much to do around the holiday time we believe getting a head start with Christmas planning will go a long way. This year, why not challenge yourself to do as much of the prep as possible so you can kick back, relax and enjoy all of the fun holiday activities when Christmas day rolls around; true Trini style!
To avoid the craziness of the season, planning ahead becomes quite essential to creating a stress-free Christmas. Here are a few tips that will help you get organised for the holidays.
1. Walk through your home with a visitor’s eye, making notes of any imperfections that guests may notice, such as houseplants with dead leaves.
2. Turn do-it-yourself tasks into a do-it-ourselves effort — gather family members, go over the plan, and assign chores. Remember: many hands make light work.
3. A head start with baking always lifts a load off. Cookies, Sweetbreads and black cake are great options. You can also brew a batch of sorrel and ginger beer while you’re at it. They will all be preserved in the freezer when well wrapped and/or bottled.
4. Set a ballpark figure for how much you can spend on gifts—it will help you stay grounded when the shopping gets frenzied.
5. Finalise your menu as soon as you can! If you are responsible for the holiday meal, make sure you know what you’ll be cooking and what family members may be bringing. Start a master grocery list.
6. Start cleaning! You’ll enjoy those decorations even more if the floors are clean and the kitchen is organised. One important task: Clear out your refrigerator. Toss old leftovers to make room for big dishes and ingredients that’ll be piling up closer to the holiday. Decorate to your hearts content!
7. Complete your shopping. And don’t forget the much-needed batteries and battery chargers for those handheld kiddie toys.
8. Wrap them up! Get those presents all wrapped up to go under the tree or to be delivered.
Most importantly, we encourage you to stay safe and plan to have lots of fun and excitement with your family and loved ones.
