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Christmas Preparation Checklist
A timeline of what to settle first and what can wait, from setting the budget to labeling ornaments for next year.
A real, editable checklist below — tick, tap a line to rewrite, drag to reorder.
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Minted's countdown starts eight weeks before Christmas and runs through Christmas Day, a few tasks at a time, aiming to prevent last-minute stress on Christmas Eve. This list follows Minted's order for its tasks, beginning with the budget, then adds a few tips from two other writers near the end. Book travel early, since flights and rental cars fill up. The list covers planning, shopping, hosting and a few after-Christmas tasks, like labeling ornaments and noting ideas for next year. It leaves out menus and recipes, which deserve a list of their own.
Why these items are on the list
- Set a holiday budget. Count gifts, cards, decorations, travel and the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals.
- Make a gift list with ideas. Gifts are easy to leave until the last minute, which is how Christmas Eve panic shopping starts.
- Schedule the card photo. If you don't have a recent family picture, find a day when everyone's free.
- Book holiday travel. Flights and rental cars fill up, so book as early as you can.
- Plan decor and color scheme. Take stock of what you already own before you buy anything new.
- Create a shared holiday calendar. Put prep, parties and school events in one place the whole family can check.
- Order online gifts early. Presents bought online can take a long time to arrive.
- Settle who hosts Christmas Day. If it's you, start the guest list and think about where overnight guests will sleep.
- Write your card address list. Keep it somewhere you can reuse it every year, and buy stamps now.
- Set up a gift hiding system. Note where each gift is stashed so you don't buy duplicates.
- Buy final lights and ornaments. Match this year's color scheme, and add table pieces if you're hosting.
- Check wrapping paper and tape. Better to find out you're short before wrapping starts than halfway through.
- Order holiday cards. Order a few extras for anyone you left off the list.
- Shop Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Good timing for gifts, plus spares for people like teachers or your mail carrier.
- Mail gifts to family abroad. Packages to overseas friends and family can take a few weeks to arrive.
- Send invitations if hosting. Say what time to arrive, whether to dress a certain way and what to bring.
- Buy and decorate the tree. Make it a family outing, and hang old ornaments next to the new ones.
- Bake cookies ahead. Alicia Ortman found most cookies thaw fine, which saved her baking all day on Christmas Eve.
- Plan a gift-wrapping night. Pick a date before Christmas Eve, ideally with your partner.
- Keep one spare gift. Handy if extra people turn up at the last minute.
- Label new ornaments afterward. Add the date and a keepsake note, and jot down changes for next year.
Tick tasks off on your phone as the weeks go by, and share the list with a co-host so you can both see what's done.
When to use it
Start this list about eight weeks before Christmas, when Minted's countdown begins, and keep it handy for the after-Christmas notes at the end.