The time has come.
It is time to sign up for The Art of Doing Stuff's Christmas Pledge. A hand over heart, pinkie swear, spit in your palm and shake hands agreement that you will get everything you need to get done for Christmas before December 1st.
Except decorating the tree. 'Cause decorating the tree before December 1st is a practice performed only by lunatics and scary people. And I assume, some of you.
The Christmas Pledge was started on this blog a few years ago with more and more people taking part. It's a way to force you into doing the crappy stuff in November, leaving the fun stuff for December. Things like baking cookies and watching Christmas movies. Unless you hate baking cookies and watching Christmas movies in which case you'd better get those things done in November.
I will have a calendar up in the next few days that you can refer to in terms of what you need to get done and by when.
I know there are some of you who avoid the Christmas Pledge. And may in fact refer to it as the Christmas Plague. So I've taken a moment to let you know exactly why you should join the ranks of the Christmas Pledgers.
The following list is a real life account of what will probably happen to you in the month of December, 2013 (based on whether you do or do NOT take the pledge)
The final decision as to whether to sign the pledge or not can only be made by you. Do you want to win a Nobel Peace Prize and eat cookies? Or do you wanna get shanked?
If you're ready to nap and eat cookies throughout the month of December, sign up now.
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As added encouragement, those of you who have taken the pledge in past years, feel free to leave a comment saying how well it worked for you. (no showing off by writing your comment in Japanese or Sanskrit or whatever other language you spontaneously learned by taking the pledge)
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Brandi
I'm going to try to take the pledge this year. But I promise nothing.
Sally A.
Crap. Fine, I'm in. I want you to know that I am a little resentful as I feel manipulated by your list. This is a terrible commitment to make for a lazy person. Happy friggin holidays. :o) Is it terribly painful to be shanked?
P.S. You are very creative, so do you have any good ideas on how to creatively dispose of pumpkins besides throwing them away (or at neighborhood children...can't do that again).
Karen
Sally A. - If you've carved and hollowed out the pumpkin it's pretty much done for. The only thing it's good for is compost or livestock feeding. If it isn't carved or hollowed you can cut it into wedges, cook it, and turn it into pumpkin puree which you can then freeze. It won't be as good as a sugar pumpkin puree. ~ karen!
Sally A.
Thanks. I'll try it!
Sue
I'm in!! I need all the organization I can get. But I love decorating for Christmas! Thanks!!
dana gault
Many of us in the US traditionally put up the tree the weekend after our Thanksgiving. I usually wait until December 12th, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, because I live in Phoenix very near the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona and it's a big feast day for them and it's really awesome to honor our indigenous people. But mostly we are what you would consider a little backward , with the decorating being the the first thing lots of us do, then run around like headless fowl (sorry) getting the shopping done.
I shop online, so I have 0% frenzy, but I am excited to see the pledge so I can find out what else I can do to cover the bases so December is happier and stress-free. I admit a few years back when my kids were little and I read the pledge I spit my coffee at the screen! As in, bad habits too ingrained by then so take heed everyone and listen to Karen! Or Krampus will eat your chickens.
Mary Werner
LOVED your comparison list!
Julie
I don't understand why people get so stressed out about Christmas. Wait. Strike that. I DO understand. I don't understand why they think it has to be that way. We're totally easy breezy about Christmas at my house. We do the "something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read" approach to family gifts. And then we do Secret Santa for extended family and at work. I'm always wishing I had MORE to buy.
Amanda Rodriguez
I'm new to this blog so I've never done this before but I think it would be AMAZING to be able to relax in December!! My daughter is 13 months old and we just moved into our first house a month ago and I have no idea how to "plan" for Christmas. I can't wait!! Thanks : )
Debbie W.
I did this last year, and I pretty much had Christmas wrapped up by December 1st! I'm going to try again... my hubby travels with his job and will be in Afghanistan leaving Wednesday and not returning til mid January - so the more I can get done ahead of time the better!! Looking forward to the schedule, which will be printed out and taped to the fridge!! Thanks Karen!! I'm also pledging to get most of my gifts locally - handmade items, gift cards for a local salon or spa, etc.
Jill
Yippee! I'm in--I need all the help I can get! Thanks, Karen!
NikiDee
Ok. I'm in. Every year I tell myself that I'll be that person sipping mulled wine by the fireplace (note to self - build fireplace). Every year I am that person cursing the crappy store bought cards I'm mailing & wondering what the #&@*@! to buy the parents for Christmas. Tree in November? HA! I NEED this pledge. However, I already have my hand up with an excuse...I'm flying to Vegas for a week and a half in November to see relatives (that's what I tell them as I head out of their homes...running "errands"...on the strip). I may have to do some quick stepping to keep up with this lost week and a half.
Leslie Zuroski
I took the pledge Oct. 29, then got sick, feeling bad that I didn't accomplish anything Christmassy starting Nov. 1st. You say there's still time?!? Count me in, you made my day!
karen l
Let's do this thing b*****s!
Sandy
I guess I am a big lunatic! I start decorating the first weekend in November. I have most of my gifts bought already so I will take the pledge. No rushing for me!!
Alicia
You are amazing. I love Christmas and some times I think that it goes by too quick. I thought about decorating early, but thought of it as stupid. But not no more, I am decorating early!
marilyn
ive never been shanked..what is it? guess i'm gonna find out ..lol
Karen
Well Marilyn, you've just shown everyone here your belly. Your weakness. Your soft spot. If you've never been shanked, that means you've probably never been to prison (where one normally gets shanked). If you've never been to prison, you might not be tough enough for The Christmas Pledge. I guess we'll find out! ;) ~ karen!
nicole d
oh, i SUCK at gifts... half the gifts i end up buying are dumb, and i hate it... i always start shopping early, thinking it will give myself lots of time to find THE PERFECT gifts... and then i don't find them... so i keep shopping, and keep looking, and then its the week before Christmas and i buy something dumb.... just to have something to give... haha... i suck at gifts.
I will do the pledge... maybe it will give me luck in finding good gifts, instead of dumb ones. haha.
I did, find a gift for my father in law already... it's stashed and ready to go...
Angela
I'm in again this year, especially since I now have two kids instead of just one. I'd like to get back into making candy for gifts, so I neeeeed to have everything else done early to cut down on all of the stress. Plus, my older daughter's birthday is at the end of November, so I just add doing stuff for her birthday to what I'm already doing for the pledge, and my life is so much easier!
pooks
What the hell.
I'm IN.
Lisa
I'm in! Starting today - I'm getting a head start on the hand-made Christmas ornaments I decided to decorate packages with LAST year, but never got around to. Thanks for the inspiration.
Ev
Ummm, MAYBE by Dec 15th, if I'm lucky. But your plan is better!
joanne
On my commute home last night, I witnessed a house already completely decorated for Christmas. Outside and inside. Inflatables, lights, angles, Snoopy, Santa, Nativity scene -- you name it, it was out there. Christmas tree visible in the picture window - wreaths on the door....
Someone has forgotten the month of November entirely.
Karen
LOL! I agree. That's maybe a bit too organized for my liking. :) ~ karen