Christmas Planning Guide: The Practical Stuff
A couple of years back we had a major Christmas fail. MAJOR! The star gift… the gift that Big M had been requesting for months… the trash truck with the arm that carried the trash can up over the truck and actually dumped… didn’t work.
We didn’t realize it was broken of course, not until we were setting everything up Christmas Eve. Late Christmas Eve at that. We had no other option than to get creative. A quick note from the big guy was all we could do. “Yikes! Had too much fun with your new trash truck and I seem to have broken it. I will swap it out for a working one as soon as I can. I’m very sorry. Santa.”
Luckily Big M is one understanding kid and he wasn’t too upset. We made the sneaky switch a couple of days later. Every year since then Big M makes sure to leave a note asking that Santa not play with his toys…
Hmmm… the worst part is that entire mess could have been avoided if only I had stuck some batteries in and tested it out ahead of time.
Today I’ve teamed up with Duracell and Toys“R”Us to help make sure you are completely ready for Christmas morning. A broken last minute surprise will not happen to us again!
Christmas Planning Guide: The Practical Stuff
The month before:
Think about what the perfect Christmas looks like to you and make sure you plan for that.
- Make a list of everyone who you plan to buy for and jot down gift ideas as they come to you.
- Make a budget. Include everyone (especially your kids) and don’t spend more then the amount you’ve decided on. Visit Toys“R”Us and find out the prices for all of your must have items to help keep your budget realistic.
- Plan for downtime. We have a strict “nothing until after 12pm on Christmas day” rule. That means every Christmas we get at least a few hours of relax and enjoy time before rushing to get ready. Christmas Eve and Christmas afternoon are for everyone else. Christmas morning is ours.
- Take all the help you can get. Enter giveaways (like the one below 😉 ). And keep an eye out for coupons like these:
On November 22, look for a $3 OFF coupon when you buy any 2 packages of Duracell batteries
(AA/AAA 16pk, D/C 4pk, 9V 2pk or larger, Quantum AA/AAA 6pk, D/C 3pk or larger). You’ll find
this coupon in most Sunday newspapers.
On December 13, look for a $1 OFF coupon when you buy one package of Duracell Coppertop and
Quantum. This coupon will be available in most Sunday newspapers.
The week before:
Do a dry run. Set everything out and really examine what else needs to be done or added.
- What can be put together before Christmas eve?
- Which presents can be taken out of the packaging ahead of time?
- How many batteries do you need? What size batteries and can they be put in now?
- What needs to be tested. (Make sure EVERYTHING works!)
- Fill the stockings. Do you need any last minute stocking stuffer ideas to finish them up?
- Check camera and phone memory. Do you need to make room?
The night before:
Christmas Eve is always busy. Doing these few extras will be worth it though.
- Charge the camera, video camera and cell phones.
- Put together a Christmas morning basket. Fill it with everything you could possibly need. Screwdriver, scissors, trash bag, extra batteries, the cameras, etc.
- Prep the coffee so all you have to do is turn it on.
- Go to bed as early as possible. No doubt you’ll be up early and getting enough sleep will make this very eventful day much more fun.
The morning of:
- Turn on Christmas music.
- Take pictures.
- Play.
- Relax. This is the fun part. The kids are busy with new toys. You have some time to just be. Enjoy it.
Check out the large assortment of Star Wars toys on Amazon like the Luke Skywalker Light Saber! Power up your new Light Saber and see the brightly glowing blade’s light effects! Swing and slice your toy through the air and you’ll hear motion sensor-controlled sound effects like clashing, battle impact and crackling sounds. But in order to “power up” – you need Duracell batteries!
PS – The kids love that these Light Saber are a part of the Blade Builders collection. They can connect to each other and form many different types of fun Light Sabers.
GIVEAWAY! (This Giveaway has ended)
What could be a better way to prepare for Christmas than a fun giveaway including a $100 Toys“R”Us gift card and 2 packs of Duracell batteries?
- Enter by leaving a comment sharing your best tip for being prepared for Christmas morning.
- One entry per person.
- US residents only.
- Giveaway ends Wednesday 11/25.
- Winner will chosen using random.org and will be contacted within 48 hours.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Duracell & Toys “R” Us. The opinions and text are all mine.
Love the ideas! I had never thought about putting batteries in before wrapping so the toys are play ready when open. My best tip would be that we let the kids dig in their stockings while we get coffee, let the dog out turn on the fire and get settled, it keeps them busy for a few so we can all be focused for gift opening time!
Thank you for all the great tips! I love the dump truck story. Remember batteries for your camera and coffee. If you have 2 ways to enter a room make sure the camera is set up to see both entries or direct the kids one way. We always wait to come down together Christmas morning.
Thanks for all you do! Happy Thanksgiving.
It is hard to think of only one item,.
I always have an easy buffet breakfast of grab and go items like cranberry nut bread near a toaster, muffins, bacon, hard boiled eggs, orange juice, champagne, Bloody Mary mix, and anything else that looks good and is a self service for breakfast item. That way as we take breaks from Christmas fun, everyone can eat when they want.
My best tip is to accept help when it is offered! My across-the-street neighbor’s kids are past the age of believing in Santa, but they love playing “elves” for us. Last year, they assembled a play kitchen, two scooters, and some other stuff for us, then brought it all across to our house after our kids fell asleep on Christmas Eve!
We use different gift wrap for gifts from us and from Santa. Also, we joy down the gifts that Santa gave the kids so we remember not to mention,”I bought this toy for you!”
Buy only 3 gifts for your kids that they really want! Ours get so much they are often overwhelmed on Christmas not knowing what to play with.
I agree! Wow… So much joy in simplifying- for us- and them!
I get breakfast and lunch items all ready the night before so I can enjoy more time with my family and not be in the kitchen all day.
Prepare a French toast casserole any time before Christmas and freeze it. On Christmas Eve, put it into the fridge so it’ll be ready to bake on Christmas morning! You’ll have a great breakfast and the house will smell so good 🙂
keep track of your lists!
If you purchase gifts early, make sure you check to expiration date on the receipt to ensure that if there’s a problem with a gift that’s opened Christmas Day, you can return/exchange.
We purchased our gifts early, in November. When we opened gifts we had gifts that didn’t work to family wanting to exchange for something new. However, the expiration to return was within 30 days. Some receipts are no exchanges as short as 10 days…