Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas + 3 Things You Can Do In Less Than 30 Minutes

Looking for easy holiday decorating ideas? A checklist for holiday decorations? Holiday gift giving tips?! You've come to the right place.

The warm weather is fading fast, and it will be time for home holiday decorating before you know it! You'll be cleaning and shopping and cooking and hosting and celebrating before you can say Halloween.

Start planning now, and this winter season will be as cool as a snowflake! The following easy holiday decorating ideas and holiday preparation tips will get you started. Enjoy!

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Quickly Plan Out The Holiday Season

The beginning of October is a good time to sit down with your calendar and set aside days and/or times for holiday organizing tasks.

Create an event planning timeline and set deadlines for all things holiday like:

• holiday gift shopping
• wrapping presents
• shipping gifts to friends and family
• cleaning the house top to bottom
• sending out holiday cards
• putting up decorations
• hosting holiday parties
  

Better yet, want a timeline that's already done for you? Check out the 100 Days To Christmas e-book. It is UNBELIEVABLY USEFUL and covers everything leading up to the end of the year.

Be sure to stick to the plan once it's mapped out on your calendar. This will ensure you get things done without having to rush around at the last minute and allow you to actually enjoy the approaching holidays.

Consider this: The holidays are approaching...

(A) You are a stressed out mess who is picking up the in-laws from the airport, cleaning the house, preparing the food, setting the table, putting up the decorations, running to the grocery store to purchase forgotten ingredients, rushing to buy a replacement tablecloth (the one you have was torn to shreds by the cat)... OR

(B) You are a calm being who has already done almost all of the above.

If you prefer option (B), then read on!

Take An Inventory Of Holiday Stuff

CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF

One of the most common ways people accumulate clutter is purchasing items they already have, because they can't see or find them.

1. Gather all of your holiday items. You want to be able to see everything (i.e. your Thanksgiving decorations have dwindled, your Christmas ornaments have tripled, you are completely out of candles, etc). Throw away all broken items, and donate things in good condition that you know you won't use.

2. Organize what you have. Use large, clear plastic bins with lids to separate your items by holiday. Having a container for each holiday will make this process a lot easier next year!

3. Make a list. Jot down the items you need AND have room to store. Also, keep in mind the things you have used in the past that haven't worked out so well (i.e. the fresh, beautiful Christmas garland that the dog thought was grass).

Now you've done your holiday organizing and are ready to purchase new items if necessary!

3 Easy Holiday Decorating Ideas You Can Do In Less Than 30 Minutes

Easy holiday decorating ideas are all about being able to spiff up a space in a small amount of time with little or no money. It's fantastic, and here are 3 awesome ways to do just that.

1. For Halloween: Dress up your front door and steps with a variety of pumpkins and gourds from the grocery store. This also makes for a fun art project for your kids; let them write messages or draw faces on them.
   
2. For Thanksgiving: Create a table centerpiece by collecting stuff from the outdoors in a decorative bowl. This could be a fun treasure hunt for the kids - acorns, pine cones, pretty leaves and so on. Here are some easy holiday decorating ideas for the table.
3. For Christmas: Do you have a ton of Christmas ornaments? Can't fit them all on the tree? No problem! Put all of the extras in a big glass vase (this works especially well for the balls), and use it as a table centerpiece.
4. Bonus Easy Holiday Decorating Idea: Do you have some extra trimmings from your Christmas tree? Here are some photos of what I did with mine.
   

Early Holiday Gift Giving Tips

Last minute holiday shopping is never fun - crowded malls, sold out items, increased shipping costs, not to mention throbbing headaches.

1. Write down a list of people you intend to buy gifts for. Whether it's recorded on the side of one of your calendar pages or on a folded piece of paper in your checkbook jacket or in your smartphone, it needs to be handy at all times. No matter where you are, you can pull it out and record a gift idea next to the corresponding person. (This will eliminate frantic can't-figure-out-what-to-get-this-person moments.)

2. An inventory should be taken on all of your wrapping paper and accessories. A large part of holiday organizing is getting the gift wrap and other gift items in order. Be sure to purchase the items you are running out of or don't have altogether. Also, don't forget who you are giving gifts to - those who celebrate Christmas? Hannukah? Both? Neither? Don't know? (Universal wrapping paper is good to have anyway.)

3. Don't forget about the out-of-towners. Waiting until the last minute to ship something across the country overnight never helps when you're trying to keep holiday spending at a minimum. The most inexpensive shipping method probably takes about 2-3 weeks to get to its destination. Set a deadline for all gifts to be sent by, mark it on your calendar, and stick to it!

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