Countdown! Only 136 days!

Yes, there are only 136 days until Christmas. If you are like me, you have 136 projects you would like to complete before the holidays. 136 days may sound like a lot of days; I mean it is summer and we are just two-thirds of the way through the year.

But…

Consider these thoughts, we have three major holidays leading up to Christmas; Labor Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.  You know you are going to want new place-mats with matching napkins for Labor Day. Halloween…what can I say? Everything Halloween is fun and I want to sew it all; a quilt, basket liners, table runner, another quilt, pillows to match the quilt, a wall hanging. You get the idea, I enjoy sewing for Halloween! Thanksgiving the family is coming to your house, so you decided to re-do EVERYTHING; new curtains, seat cushions, another quilt, hot pads, apron, tablecloth with of course matching napkins!

Do you see where I am going with this? We might want to start thinking Christmas and the gifts we believe we are going to create and stitch.  We want Joy, Joy, Joy, not stress.

Break down…

136 days, a project a day, great!!

19 weeks, a project a week, still really good

4.5 months, a few projects, for those near and dear…everyone else, cash/gift cards

Now reality…

Grab a pen and notepad - Jot down all of the people on your gift list.

Brainstorm what gifts you would like to create for each person or any items you would like to create just for fun.

Print calendar pages from now until December; fill-in the weeks with projects you would like to complete.  Include when you plan to start the project and when you would like the project completed. Estimate the amount of time for each project; include gathering the project’s supplies, either from your stash or shopping time.

Doing this now will give you a snapshot of what you need to do to see your gifts wrapped and under the tree before Christmas Eve!

It will also allow you to prioritize what projects are a must and maybe some that can wait until after the holidays.

Now you have an outline of how your goals can be achieved for this coming holiday season!