Practical Christmas Magic - the joy of lists!

October 14, 2024

Let's get Christmas ready!

I feel there might be three kinds of people in this world. One that reads the sentence above in September and thinks "hell yeah, I've already bought three stocking pressies, one main gift, and a Christmas pudding. Let's go!". A second who thinks "Absolutely not, I'll do it after Fireworks night, thanks anyway". And a third who remembers the big, beautiful plans they've had approaching every Christmas they can recall, achieved maybe half of them, got frustrated and swore at the other half, and pledged next year to get a bit more organised a lot earlier on.

Our Practical Christmas Magic planning resources will help all three personality types, but if you fall decisively into category three then definitely read on. We're about to make magic together.

Practical Magic

There is magic in a list, it's true. But not just any old list. A thoughtfully designed and dedicated task list can help you "Mary Poppins" the organisation of Christmas. There may not be actual spoonfuls of sugar (unless you raid the kids sweetie jar) but they really do help get the job done. Trust me, I know.

Hello, I'm Betsy!

If this is the first time we've met then HI! I launched my business, Betsy Benn, way back in 2010. As a retail business that goes BIG for Christmas - we make about 12,000 personalised Christmas decorations each year - I soon learned the sanity saving benefits of getting on top of my own Christmas prep. Whether it was starting early on the DIY advent calendar, writing my Christmas cards in August, or stocking the freezer with batch cooks, I've tried everything! I've narrowed it down to a fine art and now I'm sharing those resources with you FOR FREE!

What's Included?

There are seven brilliant documents included in this free download. 

• A five week Christmas holidays planner. This is life saver NUMBER ONE. A normal calendar was just not created to cope with a three, four, or five week school shutdown over the festive period! I needed something to share with my partner and my kiddo that covered holiday clubs, school events, pantos, playdates, festive events, working from home days, and childcare cover. So I created it. If you use nothing else in this kit, the five week planner alone will induce feelings of zen like control!
• An inspiration list of gift ideas for a Christmas Eve box for all age groups. If you're on a mission to start the magic on Christmas Eve, this is a wonderful resource. Curated ideas for any age group to help inspire and motivate you.
• A Christmas Eve Box Planner so you can list what you have bought and what you intend to get. I can't tell you the number of times I'd purchased something for the Christmas Eve Box that ended up in a stocking or discovered in my t-shirt drawer in mid January.
•  An Advent Calendar gift tracker so you can work out what you're going to give on each day. There are 24 days to cover and if you don't keep track it can either fall a bit flat, or cost you an arm and a leg as you forget how much you have spent already. For inspiration on what to include in the perfect DIY advent calendar, have a read of our blog post here.
• A Christmas Gift Tracker. Whether you're buying just for your nearest and dearest, or have been tasked with all the Secret Santas and family shopping for everyone and their dog, this is the perfect place to note down gifts you have ordered online (and when they should arrive), gift ideas that come to your mind in the middle of the night, and where you've popped them for safe storage!
• A Stocking Gift Tracker. Same as the Christmas Gift Tracker, but for stockings.Obviously. And if you have more than one stocking to stuff this ensures individuality and equity in the stocking goodies!
• A list of the Things You're Not Going to Do! Because Christmas is just one day, and you can't and shouldn't try to EVERYTHING. Pop all your ideas here and then cross out the ones that are unrealistic and let them go with kindness. Not sure what I mean? Well, once I was going to string battery powered, realistic candles across the entire ceiling of my kitchen to create a Harry Potter style dining hall. For one meal. For one day. It was a beautiful idea, but would've cost a fortune, created so much work for me, and probably only I and the spiders in the house would truly appreciate it. I let that idea float into the "Not Happening" category with my best wishes. 

And did I mention they are all beautiful? Of course, you knew we wouldn't design plain or boring lists didn't you?

Pop your details below to have the links pinged straight to your inbox. And happy planning!

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