Don’t get caught without a plan! Use my 2020 Holiday Season Planner for a fun, festive and stress free Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

2020 HOLIDAY SEASON PLANNER – Your Comprehensive Holiday Planning Tool

When it comes time to begin planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas, some gals start to get a little tense.  While others glide through the holidays with yummy hors d’oeuvres tucked in their freezers to serve at a moment’s notice. That’s where my 2020 Holiday Season Planner comes into play.

What’s the real difference between the two?  Having a plan of action and the tools you need to get you to the finish line on Boxing Day morning! 

Today I’m sharing my 5 Ways to Plan For the Holiday Season and the 2020 Holiday Season Planner!  You’ll have everything you need to start planning a fabulous holiday season this year! 

 

‘YA GOTTA HAVE A PLAN!

When you use a holiday planning tool correctly, it can make a huge difference in how your holiday season plays out.  

I spent my college years with a serious love of everything Martha Stewart.  The only difference was, I was a penniless student attempting to learn how to live stylishly and with her passion.

By 1982, when her seminal work “Entertaining” came out, I was a young bride with a love for entertaining at home.  And when it came to the holiday season, I became an absolute whirling dervish of activity. I wanted to do it all!   

Despite trying to make lists (which I am quite fond of doing!) and organize my time wisely, I’d end up burned out. But that’s all changed!

When I hung up my apron and retired from professional catering a few years back, I finally got smart.

I decided to employ the same planning and organizational systems I used so successfully as an off-premise caterer, but at home.  I applied them to my holiday season planning process, including everything Thanksgiving too!

After a number of holiday seasons of fine tuning my holiday seasonal planner, I’ve come up with a fabulous comprehensive version.  Let’s check out exactly what it contains, starting with Thanksgiving!

 

 

2020 HOLIDAY SEASON PLANNER – Thanksgiving Planner Pages

It’s my standard practice when organizing a catered affair, to have a menu planner, prep schedule, prep list and grocery list.  So I knew they’d be a part of my final comprehensive 2020 Holiday Season Planner.

But, I’ve also added a few more planning tools to keep you organized and at the top of your holiday hostess game!

• November Holiday Baking Prep Schedule Calendar
• November Baking Grocery List
• November Thanksgiving Dinner Daily Prep Schedule Calendar
• Thanksgiving Dinner Menu Planner
• Thanksgiving Grocery List
• Day-Before Thanksgiving Prep Checklist
• Thanksgiving Day Prep Checklist
• Thanksgiving Master To-Do List

 

You’ll have everything you need to plan and celebrate a fabulous Thanksgiving with the 2020 Holiday Season Planner.  Use the November Holiday Baking Prep Schedule to start making and freezing your Christmas cookies and Thanksgiving pies. 

From there it’s breeze if you use all the pages to plan and organize your Thanksgiving celebration.

 

2020 HOLIDAY SEASON PLANNER – Christmas Planner Pages

When it comes to keeping organized and having a complete plan for Christmas’ many tasks, this planner does it all!  The 2020 Holiday Season Planner includes a Christmas Planner section that has 18 different planning pages. 

 They’ll help you organize your holiday tasks, shopping and scheduling to ensure nothing important to your celebration falls through the cracks!  

 

 

• December Christmas Desserts Daily Prep Schedule Calendar
• Christmas Desserts Grocery List
• December Christmas Meals Daily Prep Schedule Calendar
• Christmas Eve Dinner Menu Planner
• Christmas Breakfast Menu Planner
• Christmas Dinner Menu Planner
• Christmas Meals Grocery List
• Christmas Eve Dinner Prep Checklist
• Christmas Day Prep Checklist
• Holiday Gathering Menu Planner
• Holiday Gathering Grocery List
• Holiday Gathering Prep Checklist
• Holiday Party Invite Checklist
• Christmas Gift Giving Planner
• Christmas Card Checklist
• Christmas Online Shopping Tracker
• Christmas Master To-Do List

 

So, now you can see just how valuable a holiday planning tool this really is!  I’m even making sure you don’t lose track of your online Christmas shopping!  It’s so easy to get confused when you’re buying lots of presents from online catalogs and stores. 

Just download and print the FREE PDF, and you’re in business.   I’ll tell you a little later how to get your own 2020 Holiday Season Planner!

 

5 WAYS TO PLAN FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

1.  DON’T WASTE MONEY – Organize & Inventory Your Holiday Stash

Before spending any additional money on Christmas decor, gifts, wrapping paper, or other essentials, take stock of your current holiday inventory.

Now’s the time to get rid of any broken items or anything that’s getting a bit shabby.  Do a quick inventory and see what you’re missing or needs to be replaced.  You’ll have plenty of time to shop the sales and find some new pieces for the upcoming season.   

I personally love to try new color schemes and combinations to give my holiday decor a new twist. There’s no limit to where you can go with the amazing selections available both online and in retail locations.

 

2.  PURCHASE OR PLAN TO MAKE YOUR HOSTESS GIFTS AHEAD OF TIME

Don’t wait until the last minute to figure out what you’ll be taking along to holidays parties as hostess gifts this season.   

Now that Christmas in July has become a permanent fixture, it’s a great time to pick up of few fabulous hostess gifts. Why not grab some unusual bud vases or stock up on fabulous spring-lock canning jars for homemade gifts from your kitchen?

This year I’ll be bringing along my Autumn Almond Apple Cake with Apple Dust Sugar.  I’m attaching the recipe card and including a bottle of Apple Dust Sugar with adorable hang tag to make a fabulous holiday hostess gift combination! 

You can give fabulous hostess gifts all season long when you’ve got a plan!

Want the Autumn Almond Apple Cake recipe, matching recipe card and Apple Dust Sugar Printable Hang Tags to give this year too?

CLICK HERE:  Autumn Almond Apple Cake with Apple Dust Sugar

 

3.  USE THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS MENU PLANNERS

Don’t wait until you find the perfect recipe on the internet or in your fave gourmet magazine to plan your holiday menus.

It may feel like it’s a bit too early to come up with the entire menu for your Thanksgiving feast, let alone Christmas breakfast! But I’m here to tell you, it‘s the perfect time to get your menus set and planning and scheduling done!  

Start with the entree, then move on to your holiday side dishes, desserts, appetizers, and festive beverages.  As you can see in the planner, each menu page has all the categories you’ll need to consider listed.

If you’re trying any new recipes, consider giving them a test run.  This allows you to adjust ingredient quantities or decide not to include it at all, depending on your results. 

 

4.  DON’T GET CAUGHT ON THANKSGIVING DAY WITHOUT A TURKEY BASTER!

You’ll want to make sure you check your kitchen’s inventory of tools, serving dishes and platters while you’re at it.

When it’s time to whip out your turkey baster to do its job, you need to have one that works in your kitchen drawer! This is the time to take stock of your existing tableware, serving dishes, and cutlery, and replace or add items to complete your collection.

I’ve put together a complete list of the Thanksgiving Dinner kitchen preparation essentials you’ll need.  Check out the post to help you figure out exactly what you need to buy before Thanksgiving arrives.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE POST:  Thanksgiving Dinner Preparation Kitchen Essentials

 

5.  MAKE OR ORDER YOUR ADVENT CALENDAR FOR CHRISTMAS

And lastly, one of my favorite Christmas traditions is to use an advent calendar to count down each day!   If you’re planning to buy an Advent Calendar, they are often cheaper if you purchase one early rather than waiting until the last minute.  The selection is also better before they start selling like hot cakes after Thanksgiving. 

Or if you prefer to make your Advent Calendar, doing so in advance means one less thing you’ll have to do when the holidays start getting close. 

 

Want your own 2020 HOLIDAY SEASON PLANNER, but you’re not on our list yet?

Why not join in on the fun!

Fill out the form below and I’ll send you a copy as a thank you for joining the IFAFL Email Subscriber List.

As a Ingredients For A Fabulous Life Subscriber, you’ll also get instant access to the IFAFL Resource Library and receive our weekly emails.  What are you waiting for?  You don’t want to miss out on anything fabulous, do you? 

There’s always something fabulous happening here at Ingredients For A Fabulous Life, don’t you want to stay in the loop?  

And while you’re at it, come join the gang in our Facebook group and get in on the gabfest at, The Fab Life!  That’s where we show off our triumphs and share our pursuit of “the good life” with each other all week long.