My oven told me it was Thanksgiving last year!
I loved our fancy-ish Christmas dinner last year!

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Now, I don’t want you to get mad at me because I do realize Halloween hasn’t even happened yet. If you have littles that is a big one for you! Maybe favorite or screenshot this post for after you get through Halloween!

Here are some things you can start doing right now to be calm in the next two months.

Clean out freezer – I did this recently and we still had last year’s ham, some Christmas gift bacon?, and Tom’s bean soup from January. You will need your freezer space, and nobody got time for Salmonella!

Clean out coat closet and try on – People need your coats that you aren’t wearing! I plan to do this soon. Tom and I have way too many jackets and coats. We have started needing to wear them and this is great motivation for us to see what we have.

Make plans with family, reservations, order food – It’s time to start talking to people about the plans. I have been bugging my sisters already because this is going to be a hard year for us. I think we have figured out our plan.

What will you buy and what will you cook? I have started seeing Thanksgiving offerings from restaurants and markets.

Buy plane tickets if you need to and haven’t already if you have to fly.

Reflect on last year – what went well? What didn’t go well?

What matters? If there is something you did that doesn’t really matter and it stressed you out – let it go.

Make list of who you will buy for – I usually just put this on my phone and I can add ideas as I get them.

Some of you have gained fiances, sons in law, daughters in law, etc. this year. How will you stay flexible to allow for more complicated family dynamics? That’s a tough one!

Do you plan to bake? Make a list of what you plan to make; the stores are already discounting baking supplies. You could add a few things each week to your grocery order.

Buy this Fiona Ferris book! It really made my holiday last year! I do believe that I had a chic and simple Christmas!

I enjoyed my red/green purse strap and got dressed in somewhat festive attire to run my errands last year. I ordered what I could to help make it easier on myself, but when I did need to go in person shopping, I felt happy and lucky to get to do these things.

Advent calendars – if this is your tradition, there are so many cute ideas out there. Some are pricey so really think about if this matters to you. I know I am getting Mason a tea advent calendar!

Look at pictures from last year to jog your memory as you are making plans.

Start marking down community events in your calendar so you can plan to do some of them.

Start going to stores for inspo if you have time. World Market, Anthropologie, Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx might get you in the mood!

Do not buy anything until you look at your holiday bins. You might want to do that early to see what you have.

Donate any holiday stuff that you don’t love. Others can use it and you will feel happy making someone’s day! If you have a kid who has just gotten their own place, they might want some. They also might not and don’t take it personally.

I incorporated some fun things we saw in England, Scotland, and Spain because it was so special to me. For example, last year I did an appetizer spread like what we would have in Spain.

If you do the new pajamas, now is the time to start ordering those. I have looked at Old Navy’s offerings.

Last year, we did a new tradition of a new book and good chocolate on Christmas Eve and we all loved it. I think we might do that again.

On Eve, we(I) decided to eat at an Irish restaurant and I loved it!

Is it Christmas morning if you don’t have monkey bread? You decide.

We got to go to this quaint church on Eve! Jack sings there.

Tom and I give each other magazines in our stocking, and it was mild enough last year that I got to read them outside!

Chex Mix! Why is it a Christmas thing? I don’t know!

Eddie Otis also wanted to hand out puppy chow.

Buy your pets their gifts! Eddie took up smoking last year.

I love going places that have decor and twinkle lights. Life is short; wear the Prosecc Ho Ho Ho shirt.

Personal opinion: I think the reason why we as women get stressed out is because we don’t do the above things and we don’t take the time to reflect and be intentional. I ask my kids what their favorite things are and what matters to them. Keep it simple and don’t do things that are causing you stress. Delegate. You know what has always come up with the best gifts for our kids – Tom. Yup, shocking.

Your teens and adult kids want money. Period.

We always did the “something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read”. Loved it!

This year is going to be hard. If you are in a similar situation, try to do something different. Can you go away? Do a scavenger hunt? Do a Goodwill fashion show? Prices have gone up. Can you do a talent show and give a gift of your talent instead of tangible gifts? Can you just draw names? Can you do a group charity gift and feel good about helping others? If you bring this up with family, you might be surprised at the relief of the others.

Change is hard and change is scary, but sometimes you gain a lot from doing things differently.

I hope I have given you some food for thought and not given you a whole new bundle of things to stress about! I hope I have helped more than I have hurt!

Leave your ideas and suggestions in the comments and I am sure I will talk about this topic again!

Amy

37 thoughts on “Holiday Pre-Gaming”

  1. I giggled at helping more than you have hurt :). Yes, very good food for thought. I incorporate several of these and will refer back to this during the season as reminders. Thanks for these :).

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  2. Great post! Now is the time to start thinking and planning. The holidays don’t stress me out because we have simplified some things and the kids are older so there’s a lot less on the calendar. I do need to make a list of things I want to be sure to do this holidays season though!

    This year will be different for you all – glad you and your sisters are close and enjoy spending time together. I think you’ll come up with a nice way to honor your parents.

    xo,

    Kellyann

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  3. My boys and I would love to spend this Christmas away again but my husband said no… so Evan asked if we could just not decorate at all! LOL. I don’t know why we’re all so apathetic about all the holidays lately but it definitely helps me from feeling any stress over it whatsoever. I think our shopping list this year consists of the 3 boys, each other and maybe the parents; though they rarely want anything.

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    1. Pros and cons. Why do you think you aren’t excited about Christmas? Sounds nice and simple. You could give grandparents a restaurant gift card or an experience with you and they would love it!

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      1. I think because it’s so small and no one gets all that excited about it I feel like I’m doing so much more work for nothing. I decorate because we’re supposed to; not because anyone wants to see all the decorations up. Once my sisters and mom moved south we stopped buying/exchanging gifts and obviously don’t get together so we really only celebrate with the 5 of us and occasionally my mother in law and my husband’s brother’s family… but we literally all live next door to each other so it doesn’t really feel special. We each gift money and gift cards back and forth which just seems silly to me. I give you $50 to the Outback and you give me $50 to Amazon… so why don’t we just keep our $50? The boys all give me a very specific detailed list/item so there are no surprises or squeals of excitement. I should probably have mentioned that Christmas has never been a favorite holiday of mine. I don’t hate it and I’m not all bah humbug about it or anything… but even as a little kid my older sister was the one running into my room all excited that it’s Christmas and dragging me out of bed. I would have happily slept in.

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      2. Give up the gifts! That is silly! That’s why we stopped doing adults.
        I feel like your family would be great candidates for a cabin or an experience like that at Christmas.

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  4. I loved this post, and everything you mentioned today. These are all great ideas! I know my holiday will look vastly different this year because of work, so I’m already starting to shop and plan so that I can enjoy my two weeks off from work. This is putting me in the mood for the holidays! I’m putting my Christmas tree up next week. I’ll be ready after Halloween! I love your advice of wearing the Prosecc Ho Ho Ho shirt because life is short. Indeed it is! Happy Tuesday, friend. xoxo

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    1. Thank you so much! It will definitely look different. Good for you! I just saw a post on pink Christmas decor and I think your door might look so good with a bit of decor! I have a few cute Christmas shirts and I am excited!

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  6. I really enjoyed this post and appreciate your trips! Ok you may think this is funny but we have monkey bread Thanksgiving morning and not on Christmas 🙂

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  7. {{{hugs}}} The first year after a major loss is hard. My mom took us all to MX that year (2008) and we made memories we would otherwise not have made. . .no one really wants to do that again (except me – I’m all about “skipping” Christmas. . .not the holiday or the meaning, just all the consumerism), but it did get her away from the holiday that year and that was the gift she needed.

    You have given me so.many.ideas and I appreciate it!! We have a couple empty weekends coming up (shocking, I know!) and these are perfect projects so when TG hits and the snowball starts rolling down the hill, we will be prepared. Thank you!

    Kendra Adachi has come out with some new plan books (https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/merch) and I bought the travel, celebrations, and project ones last night!! I also bought some extra travel planners for my travel friends. I think these are going to be a great way to keep things organized – I’ve always used a notebook for these things but pages are running low in it so I needed something new anyway.

    I decided a few years ago, once significant others started creeping into our children’s lives, to choose what is important to me – when I *hope* we can all be together. I decided Thanksgiving and Foster Family Christmas (my Ohio family – always the weekend before the holiday). Funny enough, I don’t host either – maybe that’s why I chose them – ha! One is Tom’s side of the family, one is mine. Everything else is “come if you can, but I understand”. . .and I promise, I am “good” with everyone or no one showing up Christmas morning, Easter, New Years, birthdays, whatever. That is my “tip”, from someone who once tried to “please them all” and found myself going to three different Thanksgivings or running ourselves ragged Christmas morning. The date on the calendar and the day we celebrate don’t have to be the same. . .

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    1. You have given me a lot to think about. Great advice on the remaining flexible. I listened to Kendra talk about the playbooks Monday!
      I loved being away for Christmas 2 years ago because to be honest my mom made the holiday so stressful with the nagging about gift ideas and the plans and it had gotten out of hand. I see now that she just wanted a plan and felt responsible, but at the time it was too much.

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  8. Such great food for thought! Now is the time to start thinking about the holidays! Christmas morning wouldn’t be the same for our girls without monkey bread! I love the magazines in stockings idea and the “Human Chex Mix” from EO is brilliant! Now to start planning!

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  9. Those are all great suggestions! I host Thanksgiving every year so I pretty much already have a plan in place for that. One piece of advice – if you host Thanksgiving or Christmas, take pictures of how you set up everything from the table to the serving area to your decor. It makes it so much easier the following year

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  10. Hi, Amy.

    This was a great post! For years, we drew names in my family, but we haven’t even done that the past few years. We’re not shoppers, shoppers, so this worked well for us. We do, however, like to eat, drink, and be merry, so our holiday joy is sparked by our annual ladies cookie baking day, tree decorating, Christmas parades, and holiday meals where everyone brings something.

    Some years we do a reverse advent calendar; instead of getting some treat each day, you give money and then donate the collection to a charity. We have prompts for each day (e.g., Day 1: contribute a quarter for each woman in your family who went to college. Day 2: contribute $2 if you slept in a bed with blankets & pillows last night). The idea is to be thankful for your blessings and to help those not as fortunate. This reminds that I need to start writing the prompts (ideas are welcome!).

    Thanks for the inspiration.

    Kate

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  12. We are working on emptying the freezer! I still have things in there from last Christmas. lol They’re still in date so are good to use!
    I have my Christmas grocery delivery slot sorted I just need to add things to it, ready for it coming and I really need to start buying gifts and of course the new pyjamas.
    Fantastic advice!!

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  13. Great tips – I love this one: What will you buy and what will you cook?  We go out to breakfast on Christmas Eve, then to Barnes & Noble where everyone has a gift card to spend. Whatever you buy goes under the tree until Christmas Day. It’s great to have something to read when all the chaos of Christmas morning winds down.

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  14. This is such a good, comprehensive list. I have started a few of these tasks, but haven’t thought too much about the holidays yet. Last year, I asked the family which traditions were extra special to them so that we would be sure to fit them in for the week they were home. It worked out well, and I was even a little surprised by which things they picked.

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  15. Great ideas Amy! I had my first very different Christmas last year. This year will feel different too being in a new space. I probably will decorate later this year and not as much. I haven’t started shopping either for this year, so it may be a a slim Christmas for the Bridges crew with all the changes. But, I still plan on enjoying the season with some good food, movies, friends and fun!

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  16. So many great ideas! I keep an ongoing list on my phone with ideas. My mom just texted me for ideas for my family and I texted them to text her. If they didn’t, then so be surprised when they get money or gift cards only (which they appreciate) but if they want something specific from her, it’s not falling on my shoulders. I’ve done a good job the past few years tossing or donating seasonal decor I don’t use. I’ve always thought about putting less out this year…if hadley will let me 🤣🤣

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  18. I love these ideas, Amy. I had already chosen to scale back my gifting (read: not spend so much per person), and I am soooo much calmer this year. October was always my start date for buying gifts.I am so much calmer this year. I am making Christmas celebrations “less fussy”, if that makes sense. It’s really about visiting with family and friends after all.

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