Don’t Forget! Creating Event and Holiday Calendars for Personal Use
Christmas & Holiday Party Tips
Another summer has come and gone and the holiday season is bearing down on us. That means all kinds of parties, travel to friends and family homes, vacation time that has to be worked around and don’t forget the holidays themselves. That’s why having holiday event calendars is a life saver.
All too often, with all the events that have to take place between Halloween and New Year’s something will be forgotten and feelings will be hurt, or an opportunity will be missed. Sitting down with a calendar and writing down everything that has to be done from the beginning of the season to the end may not prevent it, but it will really cut down on how often it happens. And starting by working off of the 4 big events is the place to start.
First, block off the holiday days themselves. Figure out where you need to be, how long it will take to be there and what, if anything, you have to take. Halloween is usually the easiest. That may be a party at a friends’ house or an office party, or taking the kids around to Trick or Treat the neighborhood. A couple days off the last week in October and you’re done for another year.
Thanksgiving may even be easier than Halloween, since it’s only the one day. However, a lot of us go to family homes out of town or even out of state and that means traveling. If you have to travel, you’ll have to make sure you’ve accounted for the time to and the time back from wherever Thanksgiving dinner is, and you’ll also have to make sure you cover additional time for traffic and Black Friday shoppers.
Honestly, Christmas is a pain. Between all the shopping, the parties at work, and with friends and family, church activities and travel, arriving at a reasonable schedule is almost impossible. Just as soon as you think you’ve got things planned out, something changes or someone can’t do something or it snows, throwing all your carefully designed plans into a cocked hat. But the only way to survive Christmas is to plan ahead and try to stick to your holiday event calendar as best as possible.
And New Year’s celebrates the end of another year, the completion of another holiday season. While mapping it out on your timeline is pretty easy, it still has to be there, especially if you have kids. That way you can schedule the baby sitter soon enough to have one, and can make sure whatever party plans you’ve got are still in place. That way, if you need to get a dress or suit, you’ve got time to get it done.
Having to have a schedule to nail all these events down can seem confining. But, in today’s hectic environment, not having a schedule can spell a disaster of epic proportions.