AD | Now Summer is well and truly behind us, there’s no surprise that many of us have started to think about Christmas. And I know that the rest of you are already grimacing at the mention of the C word when we’re only in September! But Christmas takes a lot of preparation; parties, clothes, food, gifts, decorations and definitely alcohol.
Photo by Mourad Saadi on Unsplash
I don’t drink alcohol myself but it plays a huge part in Christmas celebrations. And not always in a bad way. It’s the end of the year. It’s time for a break from work for a lot of people. And a time to get together with family who you might not have seen for a while. Food and alcohol go hand in hand for special dinners and celebrations.
But of course it’s always good to know your limit and drink responsibly!
But whether you drink or not, Christmas can be a stressful time of year for a lot of people, if we’re not prepared for it. And each year, it seems to sneak up on us quicker than the year before. Before we know it, we’ll be putting the Christmas tree up and the stockings out!
But before we worry about that, it’s worth making some gentle preparations in time for the festive season. So as soon as Halloween and Bonfire Night is out of the way, you have a plan in place for the final 2 months of the year:
Think about your menu
If you’re the one catering this year, either for Christmas Day, Christmas Eve or a pre-Christmas party of some kind, it’s your time to shine with your food and drink menu. And let’s face it, sausage rolls and pork pies just won’t cut it anymore will they?
Wine is often a popular choice for alcohol during dinners and parties. The Beauty & The Taste is an online boutique for fine wines. They provide a ton of information about each wine, including how it tastes and a score from important wine critics.
When hosting a dinner party, finding the right wine to go with your dishes can be overwhelming. There’s all the obvious options of course but when it comes to a special get together at Christmas, sometimes you might want to go that little bit further.
The Beauty & The Taste are able to guide you into choosing a suitable wine for your dishes, based on which meat, vegetables, sauce or spices are included. Or if you have a particular favourite type of wine, they can also help you find the perfect accompaniment to suit your tastes.
Photo by Oscar Nord on Unsplash
Set a budget
This is an important one when preparing for the festive season because everything combined, crikey, it can really break the bank if you’re not careful. So it’s definitely worth setting some sort of budget for each element of Christmas, e.g gifts, decorations, food, etc. so you don’t end up out of pocket by New Year.
Write those lists
Oh I love a list. I honestly couldn’t function without a list! So you can bet I make a ton of lists in the lead up to Christmas of all the things I want / need to buy and do. This and the above point can definitely go hand in hand too and help you not go overboard.
Plan early
It’s never too early to start planning Christmas. And for some people, it’s crucial to start planning early to avoid physical and financial stress. I know of people who have already started buying Christmas presents and decorations and I think it’s great to be so prepared.
How do you start preparing for Christmas? Do you start early or are you a last minute kinda person? Are you a wine lover?
* This is a sponsored post
I LOVE wine shopping at Christmas 😉
I’m (unsurprisingly) terrible with sticking to a budget when it comes to Christmas! I’m one of those people who shows love through material gifts so I always end up going slightly overboard. This year I need to get that under control! The Beauty & The Taste sound like a great option as a gift for my dad though!
Beth x Adventure & Anxiety
I’m already planning for Christmas!
Yasss! As soon as my mum’s birthday is out of the way, I will be too! x
I cannot believe that it’s time to plan stuff like this! Where has the year gone?! I need to start a list very soon actually, I always do one each year.:)
Sarah 🌺 || Boxnip || Latest Post
I know it’s absolutely ridiculous!
I hate the stress of christmas so we usually go to our parents so we don’t have to plan food!! xx
Good idea haha! x
I’ve already started my shopping and I’ve set a budget!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Good idea! I need to start shopping too x
I don’t think it’s ever too early to start planning for the holidays! In my case it helps with things going (almost) smoothly.
It really isn’t! x
I’ve already started to plan for Christmas and I’m so excited. I love that Summer is pretty much done now and the best few months are about to start xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Same! I’m so glad to see the back of Summer! x
In the U.S. we still have to get through Thanksgiving and American Football season before Christmas really starts ramping up.
I think this’ll be the first year I’ll be celebrating the holidays alone. I’m kind of excited about that actually…I can do it however I want!
Ah yes we don’t have thanksgiving, I bet having thanksgiving and christmas so close is a LOT.
I muted the word Christmas on Twitter this week and I think that pretty much sums up my feelings about the whole thing. I never do any prep at all before December and hate that stuff is in the shops already. My Grinch-mode hatred aside, I really like the sound of this service though. Most of my family are big wine drinkers so I’m sure they’d all appreciate the thought that goes into something like this x
Sophie
I am already in full Christmas planning swing haha. I have around five different lists drawn up of what I need to buy and prepare.
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Haha yayyy! x
It is never too early to start planning – I already have most of my Christmas presents for everyone… x
Wow that’s amazing x
Although I’m not into Christmas at all and celebrate Yule I totally agree with these points – they’re useful for Yule too plus I always end up getting sucked into Christmas anyway 😑 To get excited about cooking I draw up a pretty menu that I send to guests so it motivates me to do a really good job. I complain about it but I actually love cooking for people as I get to make some really interesting things! Paired wine is something I should consider more though, so I’ll add that to the menu this time around!
Wow, I celebrate Yule as well – glad I’m not the only one!
Ahhh yay, love finding other people who celebrate Yule! Do you celebrate any other Sabbats?