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The holidays are getting closer! Even though they are a whole month away it’s surprising how much there is to do and how quickly the time disappears. Holidays can be a lovely time to spend with the people you care about, however, for an adult with ADHD, this time of year can be highly stressful as there are so many extra things to do and coordinate.
Here is a checklist to help take the pain out of the holidays, so that you can feel organized and on top of everything!
Christmas Checklist
Now
1) Holiday Binder
Get a 3 ring binder and dedicate to holiday planning. It will house all the information you need for an organized holiday season.
2) Location, Location, Location
Talk to family members to decide how and where you are going to spend the holidays this year.
3) Book flights
If your holiday plans require flying, book them now. Then print out the details in your binder.
4) Going away?
If you are going away, either by air or land use the ADHD Travelers checklist as well as this one.
5) Create Lists
Create lists and put them in your binder. Here are a few suggestions, but make lists around topics that will be useful for you, gift ideas, menus, Christmas cards, general to do’s.
When you have the lists you can just add information to the appropriate list when you think of it.
6) Post Office Check
If you are sending presents through the mail check to see when they need to be posted by.
International parcels need to be sent much earlier than you think.
7) Holiday Budget
Create a holiday budget for the holidays. This reduces stress and guilt about spending money. This is a creative budgeting tool for all year round http://budurl.com/yg7z
Mid November
8) Address labels
Order address labels with your address. This saves you having to write it out millions of times on envelopes and/or parcels. This company does nice simple one: http://budurl.com/nwty
9) Events calendar
Print out a calendar for November and December to keep track of your holiday activities
pop it in your binder so you don’t lose it and it is easy to add new dates to.
10) Make Reservations
Decide what activities really enjoy doing over the holiday, then make reservations for example, Nutcracker Ballet, and then you can add other commitments around them.
11) Write a Christmas Card List
Write a Christmas card list, so you know exactly how many cards and stamps you need.
12) Buy Christmas Cards, Wrapping Paper, Gift Tags, Tape
It’s good to buy Christmas cards, wrapping paper, gift tags, tape at the beginning of the season and then you are all prepared. Put it all in a box that is easily accessible from now till the end of the holidays. This saves constantly on hunting for any of these items.
Last week of November
Write your Cards
13) Take your Christmas card list, address book, address labels, pen, Christmas cards and stamps to a coffee shop and write them all. On your way home, mail them. Multi-step task are hard when you have ADD having everything you need at once means you will get them sent off without getting side tracked.
14) Wardrobe Inventory
Take look at your events calendar and decide what you will wear for each event. Make sure everything is clean or if you need to buy something you have scheduled a time to shop.
1st Week of December
15) Give Your Home A Really Good Clean
You might not have time later and it’s easier to do it now before the decorations are up.
16) Buy All Your Gifts
When this is done you will feel really accomplished.
17) Hairdressers
Visit your hairdressers for a trim. Then you know you will look good for the rest of the holidays.
2nd Week of December
18) Decorations
Buy your tree and decorate it, as well as, other parts of your home
19) Wrap presents
When you wrap a present and put a gift tag on it, write down what you got the person in your binder. What you actually got them might differ from what you planned to get them and you might forget never the time when they are thanking you for it.
20) Menus
Create menus for the meals you will be preparing over the holidays. No need to go crazy, if you don’t like cooking. Simple is okay.
Few days before Christmas
21) Go Food Shopping
Pick up everything on your list.
Christmas Day
22) Relax and Enjoy!
Another article about how to enjoy the holidays https://untappedbrilliance.com/?s=christmas
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