I love Christmas and all the magic it brings, spending time with family and friends, surprises and lots of food. With all of this joy comes a lot of preparation and time needed to get Christmas organised!

Here is my list of 5 essential items to get yourself and your family organised, so you can sit back and enjoy the lead up to Christmas:

1.      ‘Things to do list’.

For those of you who know me, I love my ‘Things to do lists’.

I do them regularly for big projects I am working on and I also do them on a weekly basis for weekly activities – which incorporate my bigger lists.

I know they take time to set up, but believe me the feeling of accomplishment you get when you tick things off your lists is worth the extra effort.

2.       And another list – ‘The present list’.

Every year I print off my standard list from my computer (I use Excel for this) with everyone’s name who I need to buy a present for, including family, friends, teachers, kid’s friends. Then I write down next to their name what I will buy.

I find this is a great way to keep track of who and what I am buying and then I will then use my present list as my shopping list when I head to the shops. No one ever gets forgotten!

A great tip here, is ask your family and friends what they are buying or what they would like for presents, that way you can get some ideas of what to buy!

3.       Accept it is a busy time.

I think this is a huge one; we need to accept that this time of the year does get busy with lots of social engagements, cooking and shopping.

Accept what it is and what you can or cannot get done.

Do not focus on all that you haven’t done, but instead on what you did achieve – even if it was helping your daughter for 1.5 hours to write her school Christmas cards!

4.       Make time to look after yourself.

Accept that it is a crazy busy time of the year; everyone seems to get caught into a frenzy of “I have to get it all done before Christmas”.

Amongst all of this, the crucial person holding it together for your family is you, which means that you need to look after yourself in order to get it all done!

Admittedly this can be a tricky one, especially with all of the social gatherings and copious amounts of food this time of the year brings.

Obviously I am not saying don’t go out and enjoy yourself, because that is a major part of the fun of Christmas.

What I am saying is when you at home, opt for that healthier option and drink more water to counter balance the food or drink that you enjoyed the night before.

5.       Spread the Christmas MAGIC.

At times, especially when we are busy we tend to only focus on ourselves and the things we need to do.

This Christmas season, take some time out to do something for someone around you who may need a little extra help or just because.

Imagine if we all did one thing special for someone in our lives, think about how fantastic it will be for the spirit of Christmas to grow and extend outwards.

And could you also imagine if everyone at the shops let one person in front of them either at a queue or driving, the shopping center would be filled with happier and less stressed out people!

As a special Christmas bonus to all my Mouths of Mums readers, I would like to offer you a free copy of my eBook called ‘Are you being driven crazy by a little army you created?’.

Inside it lists the 3 common mistakes that we as Mums make that leave us feeling stressed out, out of control and overwhelmed. It is vital at this time of year, that we look after ourselves and this eBook will help you do just that. Please click here for your emailed copy today.

With all that said, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and all your families a very happy and safe Christmas. Enjoy.

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