Welcome back to another edition of “Thinking Ahead Thursday”! I have to say that I love writing these blog articles. It’s helped me so much to “think ahead” and start planning for Christmas! If you’ve joined us the past couple of weeks for our “Christmas in July” series, we’ve talked about setting up a gift list and crafts calendar, as well as some checklists of chores we can start in October and November. Today, let’s talk about one of the biggest tasks facing many of us in the holiday season: cooking!
Planning ahead for your Christmas cooking and baking will hopefully help your holiday season run a little smoother. Do you have any Christmas parties or special dinners? What do you usually serve? You can start planning now! Plan your menus now, far in advance. Check your pantry and make store lists. (If you joined me for “Tackle it Tuesday”, you know that I’ve already cleaned out our pantry!) If there are canned items and dry goods (cranberry sauce and stuffing mix, for example), start stocking up now, far in advance! Use those coupons and deals to start strategizing your meal plans now! Many of the news shows are reporting that food prices will continue to rise, so by stocking up now, you might save yourself some money this holiday season!
If you’re throwing a Christmas party and use disposable plates, napkins, and cups (not environmentally friendly but convenient!), then you might want to think about how many of each you will need. Pick a decoration theme or color scheme and start stocking up now! Since it’s the end of July and after the Independence Day holiday, you might be able to find red plates, cups, or napkins on sale. If you prefer to use ceramic plates, glasses, and silverware, take stock of what you have and what you will need before your party. You can start looking for sales now as stores put end-of-season housewares on sale.
What about Christmas baking? We usually bake for our doctor’s office and some of our neighbors. First, make a master list of everyone you will bake for, what you will bake or cook for them, and how much of that recipe you will need. Then, get out your recipes. From your master list, you will be able to do a little math and figure out how much you will need of each ingredient.
What special food traditions does your family keep during the Christmas season? To me, I get a warm and fuzzy feeling just thinking about hot chocolate (I add whipped cream and red sprinkles for effect) and sugar cookies. Again, you can start stocking up on some of these items now. As you get the coupons and find the sales, stock up! This would be a great gift idea as well…if you’re able to score free or nearly free hot chocolate, think about making a little basket for someone with some hot chocolate mix, a pretty mug, and maybe a pretty Christmas dishtowel or some home-baked cookies.
If you start planning a little here and a little there, you’ll have a lot of your “footwork” out of the way before the Christmas holiday season gets here! How do you prepare for your Christmas baking and cooking in advance? What do you do to “plan ahead”? Please share your comments and links below! Please join me again next week as we conclude our “Christmas in July” series in August! Next week, we’ll talk about how we can use our skills as bargain shoppers to stuff our stockings now!
1 comments:
Great ideas, Amy!
I tend to buy lots of red and green party items, because they work throughout the year...Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patty's Day, etc.
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