5 Helpful Things to do for Christmas in September This Year

I hope you’ve been following our monthly Christmas to-do list. (If you haven’t, scroll down to see our month-by-month list.) The idea is to do a few things every month so that the holiday season in December will be less stressful and more enjoyable. Here are the things I do to get ready for Christmas in September.

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Getting Ready for Christmas in September

I just recently heard someone refer to these last months of the year as “-ber months”. Now I’ve been telling people that when the “-ber months” hit, it’s time to start Christmas preparations! (Even if the actual holidays don’t start until November.)

ONE: DEEP CLEAN LIVING ROOM

We’ve been deep cleaning one room a month so we’ll be ready for all our holiday visitors. This month we’re focusing on the living room. Deep cleaning would include decluttering, which I do in September because that’s when I put up my fall decorations. Before the fall decor goes up you can move the furniture, sweep/vacuum/dust under and behind it, dust the ceiling and corners of the room, take the wall decor down and dust it and the wall behind it, dust the ceiling fans and lamps, clean out any drawers or baskets (including that pile of magazines!), wash or clean your window treatments, remove couch cushions and vacuum under them, and finally, dust or clean everything on the bookshelves.

TWO: GO SHOPPING

It’s hard to fit all the holiday shopping into one month’s budget so I like to buy a few things early. Better to shop in the malls, retail stores,  or online now than wait until after Thanksgiving! Plus it will spread out spending money through the next several months.

Here’s a list of things to buy in September:

• Christmas pillow covers – I’ve written a whole article about how I decorate my living room by switching out throw pillow covers and where to get them for under $10!
• batteries – You KNOW you’re gonna need batteries. Nothing worse than opening presents on Christmas morning and realizing that you can’t play with your new toy because it didn’t come with batteries! Buy a few of all the most popular sizes: AAA, AA, D, 9V. We keep a box marked “batteries” in our pantry.
• hard candies – I always buy a 5-pound bag of peppermints and another bag of Tootsie Rolls to add as surprises in my Etsy orders! One year I bought a box of mini candy canes but they didn’t ship very well. I ended up using them as treats at my holiday craft shows.
• canned goods for food drives – If you buy a few extra non-perishable food items each week you’ll have a great basket to donate for holiday food drives without even noticing a bite out of your budget.

THREE: MAKE GIFTS

Continue working on your handmade Christmas gifts. One trick I use to make a lot of gifts is to choose one project, set up an assembly line, and crank out a lot of gifts. We’ve made wreaths, necklaces, signs, and ornaments with this method.

Check out these DIY ideas for handmade gifts:

• Stenciled Nativity Ornaments
• How to Make a Pressed Penny Bracelet {VIDEO}
• How to Make a Wood Photo Holder, Perfect Gift for Grandparents
• How to Make Yardstick Christmas Tree Ornaments {VIDEO}
• Vintage Salt Shaker Christmas Ornaments
• 60 Ideas for Handmade Gifts for Adults
• How to Make an Easy DIY Denim Bracelet with Rhinestones

FOUR: SCHEDULE FAMILY CHRISTMAS PHOTO

Contact your photographer and get your family, kids, grandparents, and extended family on their schedule early! These spots fill up fast! (BTW, my son-in-law is a GREAT photographer so leave a comment if you’re looking for someone in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.)

FIVE: UPDATE CALENDARS & LISTS

Update all those lists you made back in July. Keep your calendar updated, too. As soon as you receive an invitation to any kind of holiday event, baking cookies, etc., put it on the calendar. We always start checking with family members to see who’s hosting celebrations and who’s traveling for the holidays, too.

After Reading Christmas in September…

If you want to enjoy the holiday season more and do a little to prepare for Christmas throughout the year check out these other articles… or click “next page” to go to the next article in the series.

• 5 Things I do in July to Prepare for Christmas
• 5 Things to do to Prepare for Christmas in August
• The 5 Things to do for Christmas in September (you are HERE)
• 5 Things I do in October to Prepare for Christmas
• 5 Things to do in November to Get Ready for Christmas – You should be ready for Santa after this!
• 4 Things to do in January to Get Ready for Christmas — Happy New Year! My Christmas prep doesn’t stop at the end of the year! Keep going into the first week of January.

Thanks for reading! I greatly appreciate all of you!

‘Til the next project,

 Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim

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