We're in the home stretch. The cozy, warm, pine scented home stretch. You've worked so hard and there's only two tasks left. We need to help Santa with the stockings and big gifts.
Filling a stocking can seem quite overwhelming, but there really isn't that much room left when you fill up the toe with something big. Socks, a scarf, a T-Shirt, a bag of candy, etc. Something to fill that entire toe so all you have left is the straight leg. It's much easier to plan that way.
Stockings are a great place for smaller items, but those small items can be costly! Don't be afraid to wrap a small, but bigger ticket item and put it in their stocking.
Gift cards are always appreciated, but they are so tiny! Maximize the impact of the gift card by putting in or on something bigger. Think box or candy bar.
TASKS
1. Fill their stockings. Most of us hang our empty stockings all month long and Santa comes to fill them on Christmas Eve. This makes it a bit of a challenge to get their stockings filled early! You will need to muster all your spy craft to pull this off, but when the kiddos won't notice, take their stockings and do a dry run.
Do you have any empty spots? Do things not quite fit? It's much better to find that out this week than midnight on Christmas Eve. When you're satisfied with your stocking stuffers, put them all in one bag and hang the stocking back up. No one will be the wiser.
Come Christmas Eve, you already know what to do and it will take you but a few moments to put them together. It might even be fun!
2. Assemble and ready their "big gift". We've all seen it. A new bike, a doll house, a robot puppy..... For the love of all that's holy, don't wait until Christmas Eve to assemble and test this gift! You have friends, neighbors, and family garages that you can work in to complete this task THIS week.
If Santa's gift...
requires batteries, make sure you have the right ones and test the gift out to make sure it works.
requires a wifi connection, set it up so it will automatically connect on Christmas morning.
looks great in it's packaging, but it's going to take you an hour to undo all the rubber bands and tabs holding it to the cardboard, then get rid of most of them so your recipient can play with their new gift within a reasonable amount of time.
requires assembly remember that everything takes longer than you think it will.
Give yourself the gift of a peaceful, silent Christmas Eve night. Do it all now and hide it at the neighbors.
Well.....This is where I leave you. Next week is the week of Christmas. I hope you feel relaxed and ready to enjoy this time with the ones you love. I hope you feel prepared. I hope you have found an added measure of peace. I hope you are able to focus on the things that really matter to you this Christmas season. Thank you for going on this journey with me!
I wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I'm glad I don't have to do stockings anymore. They were the hardest part!