Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter
It is too early to Holiday Shop
The other day Pottery Barn sent me an email, it said: “It’s never too early” and the photograph was of holiday décor. Holiday as in Christmas/Hanukkah, not Halloween.
I beg to differ. It is definitely too early.
It’s incredible how the minute the back-to-school stuff leaves the shelves it is replaced by Halloween, and before that is even done, Christmas starts sneaking in.
It is too early to start your holiday shopping. Here’s why: the more time we have the more likely we are to over-do and over-complicate things. We think having more time will make us more organized and less rushed… and admittedly, if you leave all of your holiday shopping until the last minute, you are more likely to buy a bunch of random stuff that isn’t necessarily what you want… but too much time can equally as dangerous. We tend to add to our to-do lists: I can make cookies, I can do cards, I can wrap the house like a present.
Just because you could doesn’t necessarily mean you should.
Stop. Slow down. What do you really need to do? What do you want to do? What do the other members of your family really cherish… and what is really just you showing off. (I’m talking to myself here.)
My niece’s birthday is December 11th. My birthday is November 30th. Around my birthday I think, “Oh, I need to get Ella something… and oh, Christmas!” But that is fine, because that is the perfect amount of time to be thoughtful but really not enough time to over complicate. Cards are history. My children stopped being cute in 2017. They are beautiful and brilliant, but I know that, and I don’t need to kill a tree to prove it.
My holiday shopping has also gotten way easier since the grownup stopped giving stuff and started giving to various charities in each other’s names. Less clutter, more good. Love that.
This year may be the first time many people are getting together with family since 2019. The urge to splurge is strong… but if there is one thing Covid has taught us it is how wonderful it is just to be together. And how nice it is to slow down sometimes. So, stay centered, don’t buy into the mayhem, focus on what really matters, and this year might be one of the best holiday’s ever.