Pre-Christmas Worksheet to reduce Stress & Anxiety

Updated: November 7, 2023

I know, it happens to most of us, what should be “the most wonderful time of the year” turns into stress, anxiety and spending WAY too much money! So this year, I’ve decided to try something new. A Pre-Christmas Worksheet to help me feel on top of the holiday season.

I am NOT a Type-A, pre-plan kind of person, and in the past, would never want to think about Christmas before Thanksgiving, let alone in October! However, I found that I was always re-acting during the Christmas season. And this let to me spending MORE money and feeling stressed out a good portion of the time.

What I didn’t imagine, was how much stress just a LITTLE bit of pre-planning would save. I now feel that the holiday season is COMPLETELY under control and I’m ready to take it on!!

Or watch this video on YouTube here!

PRE-CHRISTMAS WORKSHEET

This pre-Christmas worksheet is quick and easy. The intention is to think about the things that need to be thought about now, and save the rest for later.

Opt out of Gift Exchanges: I have an entire separate blog post on this (including a sample email to use to opt out) so I won’t go into full detail here, but the point is for you to be the first to bring up the gift exchanges that you don’t want to participate in so that you aren’t caught re-acting and feeling pressured into them.
Give More Gift Cards: We can’t possibly buy a thoughtful gift for EVERY person on our list if we’re busy. So choose who to give a thoughtful gift card to (just because it is a gift card doesn’t mean it has to be lame!) and try and purchase these early to relieve financial pressure. More details about giving thoughtful gift cards & creative gift card ideas HERE!
Push Back Get Togethers: Are there any lunch or coffee dates that could be celebrated AFTER Christmas?
Plan Ways to Give Back: We always want to participate in Operation Christmas Child but always miss the deadline!
Consider “What Energizes ME?”: Sometimes we do things just because we always have.

Click HERE to Download the Free Checklist!!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

You’ll also find two additional pages with:

A seasonal calendar for the 2023 Holiday season (this is meant for big picture planning) CLICK HERE TO PRINT THE CALENDAR ONLY.
A ‘brain dump’ sheet for gift ideas. This is NOT meant to be an exhaustive list for your gift planning, rather a place to jot ideas as they come to you until you do more detailed lists closer to Christmas.

You can choose whether or not to print these extra pages, but I hope you find them helpful!!