Your gifts are all bought (and if they’re not at this point you’re going to have to wait until Boxing Day,) the tree is up, and all you have to do is wait for Santa to visit before opening presents on Christmas morning. But is that really all you have to do? Use these tips to help you get ready for the big day, and to make it a truly stress-free one!
Load up the camera
Christmas morning is a big time to take pictures! And you don’t want to leave someone in front of the tree smiling their face off just because the camera isn’t loaded up yet. Put new batteries in, charge up all your handheld devices, and you’ll be ready for any photo op that comes your way!
Get out the batteries
Sure your camera has batteries in it, but what about everything else? There are few Christmas gifts today that come not needing batteries; and it can be awfully disappointing to open up that toy you’ve always wanted only to find out that you can’t play with it. Don’t make anyone this Christmas, when you have that fresh pack of batteries all ready to go!
Get out the pen and paper
If you have a number of gifts under your tree that weren’t from anyone in your household (or Santa) then you’ll want to write down which present came from whom. It will be disaster if you try to remember everything yourself when it comes time to write thank you cards for them.
Get out the toolbox
Have you seen the way toys are wrapped these days? They’re bolted into their packages so well, stapled and taped (and even screwed) in a million different places. Try to do that with your hands alone and you’ll only get frustrated and sore. Instead, have pliers, screwdrivers, and wire cutters on hand and you’ll be laughin’.
Get out something to keep gifts in
It’s amazing how quickly presents and trash can pile up – and get mixed up with one another. Keep something such as a laundry basket or sturdy bag nearby for presents so they can go straight into them once they’re opened, and no precious treasures are lost.
Get out the garbage bag
Just like you need a place to put all those presents, you also need a place to put all that garbage.
Get out the coffee
Or at least know that you have some on hand. If your’e going to be really crazy Christmas morning, program your machine to run before you even get up.
Assemble “big ticket” items
Sure it’s exciting to get a new Barbie dollhouse, or a train track that’s nearly as big as the entire room. But sometimes to really get the full effect of these items, the child needs to be able to see it all together. Open up the box and assemble it the night before. Once you see their faces on Christmas morning, you’ll be happy you did!
