The Peaceful Mom Stress Free Holidays Planner

Holiday Snapshot Take a few minutes to evaluate past holiday seasons: What did I really enjoy last Thanksgiving? Christmas? New Years? What did I dislike? What caused stress for me? What can I do differently this year to make my holidays more enjoyable? 2010-2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

Holiday Spending Planner Gifts $ Total gift budget* Gift Wrap Cards Postage and Shipping Other *(use the Master Gift Planner to determine this amount) Food/Entertainment $ Baking Supplies Party Food Thanksgiving Meal Christmas Meal Dining Out Other Décor $ Cleaning (carpet, maid service) Decorations (tablecloths, centerpieces, greenery) Tree Lights Other Miscellaneous $ Travel (plane tickets, gas money, hotels, etc.) Event Tickets Saving for After Christmas Sales Other 2010-2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

Christmas Gift Master List List every person you want to give a gift to this year: Family Friends Neighbors Co-workers/Other 2010-2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

Christmas Gift Purchase List Write the name of the recipient, the gift you plan to purchase, estimated cost. Check when purchased. Name Estimated Budget Gift Idea Cost X $ 2010-2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

Thanksgiving Meal Timeline 7 DAYS AHEAD Menu Plan- Decide your menu. Remember to include appetizers, salads, side dishes and desserts. Make a Grocery List- Make a list of ingredients you need on the Thanksgiving Planner. 6 DAYS AHEAD Grocery Shop- Start looking for deals on baking goods at the beginning of November. The best deals on turkey are usually the week of Thanksgiving. Make Ice- If you ll be serving a large crowd, start storing ice in plastic zipper bags now. 5 DAYS AHEAD Make Place Cards and Other Decorations- If you didn t stock up at last year s clearance sales, use some simple items around your house to make place cards and center pieces. For a simple table decoration use a long piece of fabric as a table runner and top it with tiny pumpkins and gourds. 4 DAYS AHEAD Make Cold Salads- Jello salads, cranberry sauce and other cold salads can be made up to four days ahead. If your salad contains fresh fruit or vegetables, wait until the day before to prepare them. Make Dips-If you are having dips as appetizers, make them today and refrigerate them. 3 DAYS AHEAD Prepare Beverages- Make Iced Tea and/or Lemonade. Chill soft drinks if you have room. Make sure that you have enough ice. Wash Potatoes and Fresh Vegetables- Washing vegetables ahead of time is a big time saver and makes your prep work later go more smoothly. 2010-2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

Thanksgiving Meal Timeline pt. 2 2 DAYS AHEAD Decorate and Set Table-Setting the table with plates, glasses, utensils and the center piece ahead of time can save time and help to get you motivated for all the work ahead. Prepare Stuffing and Refrigerate Prepare Desserts Prepare Cranberry Sauce 1 DAY AHEAD Prep Turkey Prepare Salads Prepare and Cook Casseroles THANKSGIVING DAY 5-6 HOURS AHEAD Put the Turkey in the Oven- Depending on the size, you may need to start 5 hours before dinner time. Allow at least 30 minutes of resting time for the bird before carving. Cook Potatoes Finish Salads-Put the finishing touches on your salads Make Bread-If you're making homemade rolls, start them once the turkey is in and put them in the oven later. Make sure to allow a little extra cooking time if you are cooking them when the turkey is still in the oven. 1 HOUR AHEAD Check Turkey and Potatoes Heat Casseroles 30 MINUTES AHEAD Remove Turkey from Oven-Allow the turkey to rest before carving it. Warm Bread-If you are using pre-made rolls, heat them last so they will be warm when you are ready to serve dinner. Prepare Drinks 2010-2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

Black Friday Shopping Plan STORE #1 STORE #2 STORE #3 Item Price Item Price Item Price STORE #4 STORE #5 STORE #6 Item Price Item Price Item Price 2010 2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

Christmas Activity Planner A. Talk with your family about the holiday activities and people that you enjoyed last Christmas: (See Stress Free Holidays at ThePeacefulMom.com for more ideas.) What? Ex: Ice Skating Baking Caroling Where? When? Who? Downtown Park Home Nursing Home 1st Sat. in December Dec. 22-23 Friday before the 25th Jones Family Grammy Church B. Prioritize your favorites: 1. 6. 2. 7. 3. 8. 4. 9. 5. 10. C. Fill in the December Calendar with your top priorities. 2010-2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

The Peaceful Mom Christmas Countdown Activity List Instructions: Cut each idea into a strip. Paste the strips onto construction paper strips. Link strips together to form a chain. Tear one strip each day and do the activity. (There are more than 25 so choose your favorites!) Make a paper chain to count down the days until Christmas. Make a Christmas door hanger with your name. Pop some popcorn and watch a favorite Christmas movie. Make a button tree ornament. Play fun Christmas music and have a dance party. Make a Christmas card for the mailman. Bake and decorate Christmas cookies. Make snow globe soap. Make reindeer donuts. Make an angel ornament and hang it on your tree. Make paper snowflakes and hang them all over the house. Use dry erase markers to decorate your windows. Read The Legend of the Candy Cane and make a lap book. 2010-2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

Make a jingle bell wreath. Make snowflake print paper. Pop some popcorn to string on your tree. Make peppermint marshmallow hot cocoa stirrers. Make snow candles and read a Christmas story book by candlelight. Make peppermint bark to give to a neighbor. Get dressed in your pj's and go for a drive to look at lights. Make and decorate a gingerbread house. Make a nativity set from recycled materials. Make a pine cone bird feeder and hang it in a tree outside your home. Sleep under the Christmas tree lights. Make a star ornament. Have an indoor picnic on the living room floor and watch a Christmas movie. Make artwork from recycled Christmas cards. Watch a Charlie Brown Christmas. Read the Christmas story from the Bible (Luke 2). 2010-2014 ThePeacefulMom.com

November 2014 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Thanksgiving 30 ThePeacefulMom.com

December 2014 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Christmas 28 29 30 31 New Year's Eve ThePeacefulMom.com

Thanks for downloading The Peaceful Mom Holiday Planning Pages! For more holiday fun check out my Holiday Page and my Stress Free Holidays e-book..