I know this for 2 reasons:

1. My business is sales so part of my job is to make people freak out and starting adding gifts to their orders.
2. My daughter is 5 years old and forever asking “How many days until…?” Her current favorite is Halloween, though she then realizes that next comes Thanksgiving and then her sister’s birthday, then Christmas, then her birthday. So we end up doing a countdown to everything. Thus, I know how many days until Christmas at any given time from October to December.

Last year I set a goal to finish my holiday shopping by December 1st. This is because I was very pregnant at the time and had nightmares of trucking into busy retail stores with a newborn in my arms and an almost 5 year old running along side me as I ran around town in search of some elusive gift. I came close, though I did some running the week before Christmas (alone, I might add- Dad to the rescue!)

This year I have the same goal, but only because last December was so nice. We got to relax, enjoy the parties, and spend time as a new family. I printed out my holiday planner from FlyLady the other day to help me plan and stay stress free. It is partly filled out already- I love to make plans. The exciting thing was realizing I am nearly done shopping for my daughter, half done with the baby, and have several gifts stocked up for other people.

The holidays are so much fun when you aren’t stressed and pulling your hair out the whole month!