Christmas in October

I really used to think it was a sin to even think about Christmas before Thanksgiving … or at very least mid-November. But that, of course, was before I was in charge of any part of it. While I'm still not a huge fan of hearing Jingle Bells weeks before Thanksgiving or decking the halls before buying a turkey, I plan Christmas early these days.

This year I got started extra early by setting up an automatic transfer back in June to stick some cash every month in a Christmas slush fund. We've always been able to easily cover Christmas with bonuses, but Matt's doesn't come until March, usually and I am not keen on relying on them anyhow, since they are dependent on company financials (or in other words, our shaky economy). Plus, little squirrel that I am, stashing away cash always appeals to me … just more we can't spend.

Now that it's October, the cash is mostly in place and I am starting my Christmas planner. This is the same just about every year … a multi-page spread-sheet with a list of who we buy gifts for, gift suggestions and estimated costs. Another page holds a calendar of events and reminders … party dates, when out-of-state packages need to be sent, etc. etc.

This year I've also started using Kaboodle, an online shopping list site, to track gift ideas for people. That way when I'm on any site, be it Think Geek or Uncommon Goods or Amazon, I can hit my Add to Kaboodle button and it saves it in my Kaboodle lists where I can tag it with a name. I'm a big fan so far. You can also share lists/finds with friends.

Rumor has it Santa has also been doing a little shopping … but no one else has yet bought anything. I plan (as usual) to buy the majority of gifts) over the internet and try to get 99% of the rest of it done in one all-day marathon in the middle of the week. Then I can use December for parties, wrapping and baking. Nerdy organizaional high + Christmas??!? I'm a happy girl.