Planning ahead for Christmas can feel overwhelming, but small steps now can make the holiday season smoother and happier. In this episode, we’re sharing five practical ways to get ahead on holiday planning in March. From crafting a personal recovery kit to selecting a holiday decoration theme, we’ve got loads of actionable tips to prevent stress from stacking up in December. 

Episode Highlights:

[00:00:44] - Tradition Spotlight on gentle April Fools jokes

[00:04:20] - Task 1: Stock a personal recovery kit

[00:07:40] - Task 2: Pick a decorating theme

[00:11:47] - Task 3: Organize your garage before it gets hot

[00:12:32] - Task 4: Edit your Christmas card list

[00:13:46] - Task 5: Search for ideas of traditions you might like 

[00:14:34] - What’s on our to-do lists this week

[00:16:55] - Our Nice Lists

What's Next?

Need motivation to get started? Try scheduling a Holly Day this month to focus on holiday prep!

Resources Mentioned:

• The Fall Risk by Abby Jiminez
• Paperian Brilliant Weekly Scheduler
• Follow on Instagram @theholidayheadstart
• Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

If you enjoyed this episode, you'll love these too:

• Episode 20 - 5 Things You Can Do in January To Get Ahead for Next Christmas
• Episode 23 - 5 Easy Tasks to Do in February to Get Ahead for Next Christmas

More About The Holiday Headstart:

Welcome to The Holiday Headstart podcast, where we get intentional about kicking overwhelm to the curb and bringing joy back to your holidays (and every day). We’re Heidi and Emily, two sisters and former elementary school teachers, who’ve taken the simple strategies and practical tips we mastered in the classroom and put them to work in our personal lives. 

And we’re here to help you do the same! Join us each week as we share how, with a little planning and a little prep, you can ensure that the days that make life special don’t become the days that make you stressed.  

Welcome to the Holiday Head Start Podcast,

where we get intentional about kicking

2

overwhelm to the curb and bringing the

joy back to your holidays and every day.

3

I'm Heidi, and I'm Emily.

4

We're two sisters and former elementaries.

5

And we're here to help you do the same.

6

Join us each week as we share how,

with a little planning and a little

7

prep, you can ensure that the days

that make life special don't become

8

the days that make you stressed.

9

You can check out the show

notes at theholidayheadstart.

10

com.

11

Ready to get a head

start on your holidays?

12

Let's go!

13

Heidi: Hey there, friends.

14

Welcome back to the

Holiday Head Start podcast.

15

Today we are sharing five simple

things you can do in March to

16

get ahead for the holidays.

17

Emily: But first we have

a tradition spotlight.

18

Traditions are an important tool in

building a healthy, happy, connected life.

19

This week we have a tradition from Heidi.

20

Heidi: Well, this isn't one of

my own traditions, but I came

21

across a thread the other day.

22

That was a roundup of

gentle April fool's jokes.

23

And I thought they were so fun.

24

And I thought maybe all of you

would enjoy hearing about them too.

25

So Sam said he did a surprise

Christmas for his family.

26

Everyone got a present and they had a

Christmas dinner with chicken instead of a

27

whole Turkey and listen to holiday music.

28

And he even dressed up

like a budget Santa Claus.

29

Like it was very much a thrown

together costume, but he had a picture.

30

It was so cute.

31

Rachel says, and I'm just going

to quote exactly what she says.

32

She says the soft pretzel tree only

blooms once a year on April 1st.

33

We wake up and pick the soft pretzels for

breakfast with butter and cinnamon sugar.

34

And she explains, I bake some soft frozen

pretzels, hang them from the branches

35

of our tree and then wake everybody up.

36

That is so cute.

37

And think how happy Stanley from the

office would be to have a pretzel tree.

38

So would Neil.

39

He loves us.

40

Oh, he does.

41

You have to do that.

42

I'm going to think about it.

43

Danny suggested hiding all of the

silverware and then serving something

44

messy for dinner like spaghetti and

then you just start eating with your

45

hands and act like it's totally normal.

46

Oh my gosh.

47

And along those lines, Shiloh says

his mom used to make a normal dinner

48

on April Fool's, but instead of

setting the table, she would put

49

random items in brown grocery sacks

and they had to eat off of, or with

50

whatever happened to be in the bag.

51

Oh gosh.

52

So instead of a plate, they

might have a container lid.

53

Your fork might be a pasta server

and your cup might be a gravy boat.

54

Oh my gosh.

55

So it was hilarious to see everyone

open up their bag and April

56

Fool's Day was something that

they looked forward to all year.

57

That is cute.

58

I've heard that before.

59

That's a really cute idea.

60

And several people mentioned

sticking googly eyes on everything,

61

which I'm always here for.

62

Emily: I've done that

twice, including last year.

63

And I was informed that it wasn't as funny

because I had already done it once before.

64

I'm like, Oh my gosh, you guys,

it's hard to think of things.

65

They've got high standards.

66

Yes.

67

Seriously.

68

So I'm going to have to do

something else this year.

69

But the first year I did it,

they thought it was hilarious.

70

Heidi: Well Maisie had a fun

idea that might work where you

71

wrap all their food in Christmas

72

Um, Rebecca suggested having the

tooth fairy come and leave fake

73

teeth under a pillow as a refund.

74

April Fool's Day can be lots of fun.

75

A fun way to add a little

surprise for the people you love.

76

It doesn't have to be mean or hurtful or

something that's going to make a mess.

77

You can just have fun with it.

78

Emily: Yes.

79

We'd love to hear about your

favorite April Fool's traditions.

80

Come join us on Instagram

at the Holiday Head Start.

81

Heidi: We are back today with our monthly

series about five simple tasks you can

82

do this month to get ahead for Christmas.

83

Emily: If you're someone who prefers

planning ahead, Over last minute

84

rushing, one of the challenges

of planning ahead for Christmas

85

is just knowing where to start.

86

Heidi: So we are here to help you

push back on that helpless feeling.

87

It might be too soon to wrap gifts or

bake cookies, but there are a lot of

88

fundamental tasks you can do at any

point in the year to make wrapping gifts

89

and baking cookies a little easier.

90

when we do get to that point.

91

Emily: But our first task for March

is something that you can actually

92

use all year round, and that is

to stock a personal recovery kit.

93

Tell us about this one, Heidi.

94

Heidi: I would love to.

95

I'm so excited about this.

96

So if you are someone who gets drained

by big things, even good big things, try

97

creating a recovery kit for yourself.

98

Emily: Yeah, the idea is to get a

box or a basket that you can fill

99

with little things to help you

pamper yourself after a taxing event.

100

Heidi: Obviously, this would be

lovely to have as you settle into

101

your post Christmas life, but you

could use this any time of year.

102

Think how great it would be to

have this on hand after hosting

103

house guests for a week, or after

completing a big work project when

104

you just need a little you time.

105

Emily: Definitely.

106

And as a little spoiler alert, if you

also join us on the Teacher Approved

107

podcast, we will be sharing this idea

in a few weeks for helping teachers

108

recover from the end of the school year.

109

Heidi: And it would also be helpful

for teachers to have on hand at

110

the start of the school year.

111

Those first few weeks back are no joke.

112

All teachers deserve a little pampering.

113

Emily: For sure.

114

I think for women, especially women

with children talking about pampering

115

and taking time to rest and recover

can feel like a pie in the sky

116

dream or like you're being selfish

for even thinking about yourself.

117

But even though it might not be easy

to make it happen, finding a way to

118

rest is essential to your health.

119

Heidi: And if you are someone who

struggles with that guilt over taking

120

time for yourself, remember that if

you want to be able to give your best

121

to the people you love, you do have

to be a little selfish sometimes.

122

Emily: Gretchen Rubin from the

Happier Podcast has a great

123

saying that applies here.

124

When we give more to ourselves,

we can ask more from ourselves.

125

If you want to be able to show up as the

best version of yourself, you have to

126

make your well being a priority sometimes.

127

Heidi: And this is especially important

after a draining event, like we hear

128

people all the time talk about how

you can't pour from an empty cup.

129

And making a recovery kit is a tangible

way to help refill that empty cup.

130

Emily: Yeah, think how great it will

feel on Christmas night to pull out

131

your recovery kit with some fuzzy

socks or a head massager or a magazine

132

you love but don't normally buy.

133

Heidi: Now, if socks and head

massages and magazines don't

134

interest you, you can stock your

recovery kit with things that do.

135

Maybe a craft kit or art supplies

would be more restorative for you.

136

Or maybe you want to stock up on some

DoorDash gift cards so that you don't

137

have to think about meals for a few days.

138

Emily: If you're not sure where to start,

try thinking about your five senses.

139

What are some soothing sounds or scents?

140

What textures do you find comforting?

141

What's something relaxing

you can read or watch?

142

And of course you can't go

wrong with some favorite treats.

143

Heidi: I am working on adding a page

to the Holiday Head Start that will

144

help you plan your own recovery kit.

145

But while I get that set up, you can get

started on finding a box or a bin to use,

146

find a shelf where you can store it, and

then just start adding to it over time.

147

You can even make this one of

your holiday tasks each month.

148

If you need a little reminder.

149

Emily: We all know that we

need some downtime to recover

150

before we can bounce back.

151

A recovery kit is a way to make sure

that needed downtime is actually

152

restorative and not just crashing out.

153

Heidi: And if you have a loved one

going through a tough season right now,

154

a little recovery kit for them might

be a welcome and much needed gift.

155

Emily: All right.

156

Stocking and relaxation kit is tip one.

157

What's tip two, Heidi?

158

Heidi: Well, this is to pick a holiday

decorating theme or color scheme.

159

We used January and February

for our holiday reflecting.

160

And now that we have moved into the

second quintile of the year, we're

161

working on our holiday dreaming.

162

If holiday decorations are important

to you, one way you can make them

163

less stressful and less expensive

is to pick a decorating theme.

164

And stick to it.

165

That's the hard part.

166

Emily: This has been a

huge lifesaver for me.

167

I used to buy all the cute

holiday decor I came across.

168

Not only was this expensive, but

it turns out that having more stuff

169

actually makes it harder to decorate.

170

If you have lots of small things in lots

of different styles, you end up with

171

festive clutter instead of cute decor.

172

Heidi: Oh yeah, I have fallen

into this trap many times.

173

Picking my holiday color schemes

has saved me lots of money and

174

lots of hassles over the years.

175

So, for example, for the 4th of July,

I discovered that my decor, wait

176

for it, is red, white, and blue.

177

No.

178

Emily: Groundbreaking.

179

Heidi: I know.

180

But, once you start shopping for 4th of

July decor, you see that a lot of that

181

decor uses kind of a beige y tan instead

of white to make it look like Christmas.

182

Betsy Ross herself made that

patriotic wreath and I am

183

always tempted by that decor.

184

I love it all, but I remind myself

that it doesn't fit what I already own.

185

So I just admire it on the store

shelf and I leave it there.

186

Emily: Well done.

187

And that's not to say you can never

change up your holiday decor, but unless

188

you're wanting and can't afford a big

overhaul, it's a safe bet to stick

189

with your established color scheme.

190

Heidi: This is especially

important with Christmas decor.

191

You know, all fourth of July decor

more or less goes together, even if

192

it's not an exact match, but with

Christmas, all bets are off these days.

193

There's, you know, all blue Christmas

decor, metallics and bright colors

194

with magenta and lime green.

195

And that is just scratching the

surface of what's available.

196

If you've ever looked online before

the holidays, you know, like stores

197

have whole colorway schemes of things.

198

And if you don't have a vision of

what you want, you're just going to

199

end up with a lot of clashing decor.

200

Emily: In the Holiday Head Start playbook,

there are two pages that can help you out.

201

First, there's a decorating preferences

page where you can reflect on what

202

holiday decor means to you and what

decoration pieces are important.

203

Heidi: Yeah, I'm not someone who

does much outdoor decorating, but my

204

neighbor across the street makes the

most darling porch scapes each season.

205

It's so charming and welcoming.

206

I love it.

207

Also, I can say it's not for me.

208

Emily: Yeah, it's easy to feel

like you have to care about all

209

seasonal decorations if you're

going to care about any of them.

210

But if you take the time to

figure out what really matters to

211

you, you can make sure your home

reflects what you want it to say.

212

Heidi: And not to mention you

can save yourself from wasting

213

time and resources on decorations

that don't really matter to you.

214

So take a few minutes to figure out

your preferences and then move on to the

215

second sheet playbook, which will help

you uncover your preferred color story.

216

Emily: Oh, I love this.

217

It's such a helpful tool.

218

The page is geared toward Christmas,

but since it's digital, you could easily

219

make a copy and adapt it for any holiday.

220

Heidi: Right?

221

So for example, I've got my red, white,

and blue, no tan, 4th of July color story.

222

And for Christmas, I am

straight red and white.

223

Knowing my colors helps me save money and

it also helps eliminate decision fatigue.

224

I'm not faced with hundreds of

choices every time the stores

225

put out their new holiday decor.

226

Cause I know exactly what I need.

227

Although, I ain't admitting

guilt here, I have been leaning

228

toward a totally different route

with my Christmas color story.

229

I really, really kind of want to go just

green and gold and natural, but, uh, Whoa.

230

That's going to have to wait until

my funds catch up with my vision.

231

I can't imagine with your

beautiful red and white tree.

232

I know, but yeah, you're right.

233

I might be too sad to give that up.

234

Oh, you just need two houses.

235

There we go.

236

Emily: I think that's the only

reasonable explanation, right?

237

Yes.

238

Heidi: Okay.

239

Emily, tell us about our

third get ahead tip for March.

240

Emily: This will depend on where you

live, but consider working in your garage

241

or basement before it gets too hot.

242

If you've been wanting to sort through

your bins of holiday decorations,

243

March is a good time to do that.

244

Heidi: Unless you happen to live

someplace that is already feeling the

245

summer temps in March, then you might

need to save this tip for November.

246

Emily: Or if you're someplace that

still of snow on the ground, you

247

might want to save this for May.

248

But for those of us in the middle.

249

March and April are a great time

to tackle some of those organizing

250

tasks that are too hot to do in June.

251

And I had my garage reorganized

last March, and it was

252

the perfect time to do it.

253

Although we did have kind of

a freak storm that day, so it

254

was actually pretty chilly.

255

But

256

Heidi: better too chilly

than too hot any day then.

257

And that brings us to our fourth tip, and

that is to edit your Christmas card list.

258

This is one I am definitely

jumping on this month.

259

There are some people that I send

Christmas cards to that I don't

260

hear back from, and that's fine.

261

I send cards because I want to send

cards, not because I expect anything back.

262

However, there are some people that I

don't hear from like former coworkers

263

that I think social media is just

a fine enough way to stay in touch.

264

They don't need a card for me.

265

Emily: Yeah, cards are expensive,

and if you have to have your cards

266

printed out and you can shave

ten people off your list, you can

267

probably save at least a few bucks,

268

and who couldn't use some

extra cash during the holidays?

269

I think I can whittle mine down

a little bit this year, too.

270

Yeah, I need all the pennies

I can get come Christmas.

271

Yeah, and there's some people I send to

that I'm like, Do they not send one to me?

272

Cause they don't send cards and overall,

like, again, I don't care, but when

273

you like have not really had any

contact with them for a long time, it

274

sometimes feels a little like, maybe

I don't want to send them a card.

275

Yep.

276

Yeah.

277

Heidi: Save that two or

three bucks plus a stamp.

278

Another perk of editing your list now is

that you know, which addresses you need.

279

You've got lots of months still to

track down those missing addresses.

280

And then come December, you're

going to be ready to stuff all

281

those envelopes without any hiccups.

282

Emily: Our final March tip comes back

to our quintile theme of dreaming.

283

Take some time this month to think

about ideas or traditions that

284

support your holiday purpose.

285

Heidi: You could block out some time to do

a formal search for ideas, or, you know,

286

you could scroll Pinterest while you're

catching up on your favorite TV show.

287

We are dreaming, so give yourself

permission to push the limits a bit.

288

Emily: If you need some help

getting these tasks done, why

289

not schedule a holiday this month

for tackling your holiday tasks?

290

Heidi: And besides Christmas

tasks, you can use that time to

291

plan upcoming birthdays and any

other approaching holidays, like

292

Easter's headed our way soon, so you

might as well get a jump on that.

293

Emily: We'd love to hear what you're

doing to get ahead this month.

294

Connect with us on Instagram

at the holiday headstart.

295

Heidi: Okay, Emily, let's share what

we're working on this week as a way

296

to keep ourselves accountable and give

you some ideas of what you can do in

297

advance for your own celebrations.

298

We're sharing what's on our to do lists.

299

Emily: While I'm still working on my

daughter's birthday and trying to get

300

ahead for Easter, I actually have quite

a bit snagged for their baskets already.

301

And I got the cutest

chocolate Highland cows.

302

I got them from Target.

303

They're from their Marks and Spencer line

and they are bigger than I was expecting.

304

So they're going to take a lot of

real estate in the baskets, but

305

that's okay because they're so cute.

306

And of course we will call them

Muckle Coos because that is what our

307

Scottish grandmother would call them.

308

But I do need to grab a few

more things for their baskets.

309

So I want to get on that

sooner rather than later.

310

And I'm setting up my

baskets in my closet.

311

My kids don't go in my walk in closet.

312

They know that I.

313

Keep things in there that

are for surprises and they're

314

good to not go in there.

315

So i'm going to get the baskets out

and start filling them now so that

316

I can actually see What more I need

or don't need because I certainly

317

often have way more than I need

318

Heidi: that is so smart because I

know there's been You know easter

319

weekends when you're suddenly sweating

that someone's basket is not nearly.

320

Emily: Oh, yeah.

321

Tired of that, horror,

322

Heidi: so smart to tackle that now?

323

Emily: Yes.

324

And I'm lucky.

325

I do have a place that I can have

them out without the kids seeing them.

326

Heidi: And plus you have kids

that like to be surprised, so

327

they're not going to spoil the hat.

328

Emily: Yes, exactly.

329

Like my kids are just like me that

I don't want to spoil a surprise.

330

And so I would never be tempted to look

and neither are my kids, thank heavens.

331

Heidi, what are you working on?

332

Heidi: Well, I am going to work on cutting

back my Christmas card list this week.

333

Last year, I ordered enough

cards that it kind of bumped

334

me up to the next price tier.

335

And I don't feel like I got enough cards

back to justify that extra 20 bucks or so.

336

So my goal is to get back

into that lower tier.

337

You know, I'll, I'll leave all the

aunties and the cousins on the list.

338

But really with social media, I

hear from people all the time.

339

So if older mates and neighbors

aren't Christmas card people, I

340

might as well save my money and

just keep in touch with them online.

341

Emily: True story.

342

And because I had to bump up

a tier, I ended up with like

343

more extra than I wanted.

344

So then I hated that too, that

I paid more, but then had like

345

leftovers that didn't get used.

346

So I gotta turn mine too.

347

Cut, cut, cut.

348

Heidi: To wrap up the show,

we're sharing our nice list.

349

Emily, what made it on

your nice list this week?

350

Emily: I'm putting the book The Fall

Risk by Abbey Jimenez on my nice list.

351

It's a short story she released

recently about two neighbors that end

352

up stranded in their apartments for

the weekend after construction workers

353

mistakenly remove their staircase.

354

I love a forced proximity.

355

And luckily for them, they share

a nice landing that they can hang

356

out on and get to know each other.

357

And Abby just does a really good job

of writing interesting characters with

358

genuinely difficult life issues that

they're dealing with in a way that

359

doesn't feel like she trivializes it.

360

I don't know.

361

She handles, more in depth topics.

362

I feel like really well,

even in the short story.

363

So I only wish this was a

full length book because.

364

I love Abby Jimenez's books and

I'm excited for her new release

365

that comes out I think next

month that is a full length book.

366

Heidi: Well, I was so confused because

I knew that book was coming out.

367

I thought, how could she have

two new releases back to back?

368

Short story.

369

Makes sense.

370

Emily: What's on your nice list, Heidi?

371

Heidi: I am putting the Paperian brilliant

weekly scheduler on my nice list.

372

That was a mouthful.

373

Yes, it is.

374

So I've used this planner for years.

375

It's undated.

376

And I think it's like.

377

14 or 15 months worth of pages.

378

So it's just one sheet a week.

379

It's like a, like a foot, long,

11 inches long, something like

380

that, and about four inches tall.

381

So the size of a sub sandwich got it.

382

Exactly.

383

But I like it cause I can just,

it fits on the corner of my desk.

384

I can see everything I

need for the week on one.

385

It, I haven't found anything else that

works quite as well for me, although I

386

do, I did see someone online on Instagram.

387

I saw someone that had that, it was kind

of like that same layout, but it had a

388

month calendar that went on top of it.

389

That is what I really want.

390

So I started following them so I could

391

So maybe coming soon

to a future nice list.

392

We'll have to see, but for

the meantime, I love this.

393

It's just handy.

394

It's flexible.

395

It doesn't take up my whole desk,

so it's exactly what I need and

396

think it's always been on Amazon.

397

I've always bought it from Etsy.

398

It's not an Etsy anymore, but it is on

Amazon and it's quite a bit cheaper.

399

So I'll put a link to

that in the show notes.

400

That is it for today's episode.

401

Try out these five tips to help

you get ahead on holiday prep this

402

month and don't forget to schedule

a holiday so you have a set time

403

for tackling those get ahead tasks.

404

Thanks for tuning in today.

405

Use this week to get a head start

on planning for what's ahead.

406

And remember, don't get

it perfect, get it going.

407

Come follow along on Instagram

at theholidayheadstart.

408

We would love to hear from you.

409

If you liked this episode, head to

Apple Podcasts and leave us a review.

410

We'll see you here next week.