You didn't think I'd forget THIS did you? It is time to sign up for The 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. Or die trying.
This pledge is applicable to Hanukkah or Kwanza or whatever other holiday you celebrate that seems to last for a month.
I am about to bestow upon you the greatest gift known to humans. The gift of mental stability during the holiday season all doused in the scent of pine.
O.K., a quick rundown of what The Christmas Pledge is and what it entails. It's a pledge that you are going to commit to getting all of the Christmas crap done BEFORE Christmas. In fact you'll get it allllllll done before December 1st. Suck on that procrastinators.
As a result, you will have the entire month of December for doing fun things as opposed to running into stores last minute holding massive underpants over your head screaming "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALL YOU HAVE IS XXXXXXXX-LARGE LEFT???!!!".
YOU are going to buy your presents now so they aren't out of the size, colour or brand you want.
YOU are going to mix up cookie dough and stick it in the freezer so you can bake them fresh in December.
YOU are going to drag out, dust off and put up your Christmas decorations so your house looks like the Restoration Hardware catalogue farted on it. All before December 1st.
YOU. ARE. GOING. TO. BE. READY. For Christmas.
Why should you take the Christmas pledge?
The decision is yours to make. There are PLENTY of people who can attest to how well The Christmas Pledge works. I know. You think it's stupid. You think starting to get ready for Christmas almost 2 months before the big event actually happens is gross, ridiculous and a bit much. You know what's more ridiculous? Being surprised when Christmas "sneaks up on you". Over the course of the 364 days you had to prepare for it.
CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE CALENDAR.
Because I happen to be in the middle of blog overhaul hell, I won't be holding your hand quite as much this year so that calendar is the SOLE thing keeping you from a mental institution this year. Well that and Zoloft.
So print The Christmas Pledge, put it on your cupboard and mark things off as you go. If you don't have time to do something either decide that you just are NOT going to do it and forget about it, or schedule it in for another day. But don't get all frazzled if you missed doing some stuff because getting all stressed is just going to prevent you from doing the other things. Just do them, or get it out of your head that you HAVE to do them.
For instance if you said to yourself in July, Gosh I'm going to make a 5' tall croquembouche as a hostess gift for my neighbour's Christmas party" but the thought of doing it is making your eye twitch? Then just don't do it. Either that or invest in an eye patch so no one can see the twitching.
ALSO if you want to share your ideas or have a way to be accountable for staying on top of things then JOIN THE CHRISTMAS PLEDGE Facebook group.
Good luck. On your marks. Get set. Ho.
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Thank God you corrected the calendar, for a minute there I thought I had lost track of what year it was...again.
No, no. That was me, lol. ~ karen!
I'm fairly new to your blog and this calendar is EXACTLY what I need!
Also, how did you know that I pledged to myself to make a croquembouche in July? Because I really did. But no way am I giving it away as a hostess gift! If I follow your schedule I will be able to accomplish this goal in December, right?
XX Carolyn in Utah
Hey Carolyn! I can't believe you had the croquembouche plan, lol! Make sure you send me a picture when you make it. ~ karen!
It's that wonderful time of the year!! Thanks Karen!
Oh, I am so glad you DIDN'T forget and that it's a tradition. Printing now!
Thanks for the nudge and inspiration Karen :)
I started using this a couple years ago. It is the single best thing EVER! I love walking around the office bragging about how I have everything done AT THANKSGIVING! The looks of shock and envy that I am met with are extremely satisfying!!
And the tip about booking hair and nail appts now, absolute GOLD!!!!!
We were in the U.S. this week where we have family in WA, OR and PA and, guess what? I delivered the gifts to the WA family and sent off the gifts to the PA family today and discovered a neat service in U.S. post office: you can put the package on a scale, then the price comes up, then you pay and off it goes -- no line ups! When we got to the post office in Bellingham, there were about 100 (well more like 35) people in line and we had a ferry to catch in order to get home to Vancouver Island, so my sometimes clever husband/partner discovered a nearly hidden gizmo aforementioned. (Don't you just love that word?) So now I'll print out your list -- first time -- and smile, smile, smile. Brilliant, Karen!
Love this!!
I’ve never taken the pledge before and we were out of the country during the (U.S.) holidays the last two years... so I am excited to get Christmasy things done early this year so we can actually enjoy the season!
I’ve shopped for gifts for my kiddo and all the little cousins (got most of them). I wrote our yearly “year in review” holiday letter that will go in with our holiday cards. While we were in Europe last month, we took a decent enough “us-ie” photo of ourselves and I slapped that into Costco Photo today and ordered our Christmas cards. I can’t believe it! It’s only November 9 and somehow I’m ahead of the game! It’s a Christmas miracle! No, it’s remembering Karen’s Pledge and thinking... “yeah, I should do some of that stuff now before things get freakishly busy!”
Can’t wait to get the outdoor lights up soon (won’t turn them on until Thanksgiving night as per tradition), and then we can begin the slow, fun process of adding interior decor bit by bit (I refuse to skip over the calm pre-Thanksgiving decor of white and rustic pumpkins... it’s the calm between Halloween skeletons and Christmas craziness).
Thanks for the inspiration and motivation!
You're welcome Rachel. It's amazing how much easier it all is when you just do little things like buy your stamps ahead of time! ~ karen!
It's Nov 11th and I'm just now reading this post... Ugh!
Today is Pinot Grigio day! I'm in!
Thank you
Veronica
I just read this, on the 22nd. Yes, I knew it was in my email. No, I didn't read it until now. I am ever the procrastinator, just as Karen wrote. This year is different! I do know that I am a BIT behind, but have already worked on Christmas lists and purchasing. Well, at least for the kids... to my husband's dismay. I didn't get them too much, I swear!
I digress. I pledge I will keep to the calendar, and finish the month out victoriously. Seriously, thank you for the calendar. It is much more relevant and better than the one put out by a person who shares a first name with a vinyard, and the last name of an ex-host for the Daily Show. Thank you, Karen. I really do appreciate it.
ehrmagehrd!
I totally never pledged to do the pledge this year. I just looked this up and realized I hadn't promised and pinky-swore to do it yet. I pinky-swear I will get everything done! I will have a carefree, arrest-free, herpes-on-my-face-free holiday season!!!
Uh oh. You'd better hurry up! I dunno. You might want to get some antibiotic cream just in case. ~ karen!
Important missing square alert! Do you need new party frocks? Do your old frocks fit? Do they need dry cleaning? Shop for frocks in early November. No one has ever found a nice frock sweating in a store four hours before an event in December.
LOL. True. ~ karen!