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10 tips to help your Christmas day run smoothly

9th December 2016 by Organisedjo 28 Comments

So how are all your Christmas preparations going? Are you managing to tick things off your lists? I am slowly working my way through mine, you can see them here if you want to be nosey.

My thoughts now though have started to turn to christmas day itself. How can I make it easy and fun for everyone? We prep a few things to help make the day run a bit smoother and I thought I would share them with you. I hope these tips can help you make your Christmas Day run smoothly.

Christmas Day is fun with kids around, but it can also be very hectic. This post gives you 10 tips on how to help your Christmas Day run smoothly so everyone can enjoy it.

Number 1 – Have you got the batteries?

There is nothing worse than when the kids start to open all their presents and you find you need batteries, and there are none in the house. So if you haven’t already, add them to your shopping list. When you do get them, make sure they are put somewhere where you can find them. Ours are in a drawer in the kitchen.

Number 2 – Prepare the toys before you wrap

Now this little trick was passed onto us and it has been a godsend. Lots of toys these days come with a tonne of plastic and elastic things keeping the toy in place in the packaging. These are a nightmare to find and remove when you have very bouncy kids excited to play with their new toy. So before you wrap it up, remove as many of these as you can.

This is also the perfect time to add the batteries if they are needed.

Number 3 – Have all your tools ready

Gather a couple of different types of screwdrivers and some scissors and put them with the batteries before the big day. You will then be prepared for whatever is thrown at you, literally, by a child who is very excited to play with their new pressie.

Number 4 – Make sure someone is on note taking duty!

I don’t know about you but our children do fab impressions of the Tasmanian devil when unwrapping presents. This can make it hard to work out who sent what to which child. Put someone on note taking duty, as the last thing you want to do at the end of a long day is remember where all those presents came from.

Number 5 – Charge everything!

Phones, iPads, camcorders, iPods, kindles, you name it! If you want to take a picture with it, charge it! If you want to video with it, charge it! And if it’s a present you are giving, try and charge it and check its working before you wrap it.

Number 6 – Build the flat pack before the big day

Are you giving a dolls house this year? Or do you have that lovely play kitchen all boxed up to give to your little one? Then I suggest you build them before the big day. Then all you have to do is slap a bow on it and get it out when you go to bed on Christmas Eve.

If you don’t have the space to hide something build it on Christmas Eve. Make sure you have plenty of chocolates and wine to hand, that really helps make things more bearable. And yes, we will be getting our DIY on this Christmas Eve!

Number 7 – Be prepared for dealing with the rubbish

I don’t know about you, but every year as the paper and tissue paper is flying around the room we normally bung it all into a black bag. This means later on, or a few days down the line, the contents of that black bag needs to be gone through and sorted into recycling and binning.

This year I am going to try something different. I’m going to find three spare boxes and put them in the front room ready for Christmas morning. One will be for paper, one for cardboard & plastic and one for everything else that can’t be recycled. My plan, if it works, is that as we open our presents we can sort the rubbish as we go.

Number 8 – If cooking, write a timetable

This has worked so well for me in the past. I have worked out what time we would be eating and I then work back from that. I include everything we want – roasties, veg, turkey, trimmings, starters etc. This also shows when you have gaps for opening presents and when you need to start cooking.

Number 9 – Prepare what food you can the day before

I like to peel the potatoes on Christmas Eve and leave them in a pan of water over night. All you need to do the next day is turn the hob on. I have also cooked up some veg dishes a few days before and frozen them. They just need defrosting and warming though on the day. And don’t forget the ice. Whether this is buying a bag or filling an ice cube try, make sure you have enough.

Number 10 – Dress to impress!

We always buy the girls a new outfit for Christmas Day, this is then used as party dresses throughout the year. Get them out ready the night before so everyone knows what they are wearing and it will help speed up the getting ready process in the morning.

Do you have any tips on how to help Christmas Day go smoothly? Please share, I would love to hear about them.

Lets get organised!

Jo

X

A Cornish Mum

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Filed Under: Christmas, Featured Tagged With: Batteries, Christmas, Christmas day, Christmas lunch, Lists, Notebook, Organising, Planing, Preparing, Presents, Tips, Top tips, Wrapping paper

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Comments

  1. Lucy Grace says

    9th December 2016 at 8:02 am

    Excellent tips!! Especially about the batteries, I remember being little and my parents never having any batteries and there would be nowhere open to get any either. The frustration would outweigh the excitement pretty quickly!xx #picknmix

    Reply
    • Organisedjo says

      15th December 2016 at 11:06 pm

      I have similar memories about batteries not being around too. It’s funny what you don’t forget. Thanks for stopping by. X

      Reply
  2. Amie says

    9th December 2016 at 4:30 pm

    I love the Party Dress idea! I think I’ll use this one for my toddler 🙂 #picknmix

    Reply
  3. Caroline says

    11th December 2016 at 10:11 pm

    A great post Jo and will be having this to hand in the next couple of weeks.
    X

    Reply
  4. Mimi Rose & Me says

    11th December 2016 at 10:14 pm

    This is a list I am going to be using. I love to be prepared for everything and I’ve already told my husband that we will be making our daughter’s kitchen on Christmas Eve to save time. Great list!!!

    Reply
  5. Emma says

    12th December 2016 at 12:18 pm

    Exellent tips! We have learnt to always build flatpacks the day before and batteries make for a much nicer and calmer Christmas #MarvMondays

    Reply
  6. Mummy and Monkeys says

    12th December 2016 at 8:47 pm

    We are having our first Christmas Day at home this year which I’m looking forward to, loving all these tips! Thanks for linking to #PickNMix
    Eilidh x

    Reply
    • Organisedjo says

      15th December 2016 at 11:08 pm

      Enjoy your day at home, it’s nice not having to go anywhere. Thanks for stopping by. X

      Reply
  7. Fran Back With a Bump says

    13th December 2016 at 8:26 am

    This is such a helpful post. The mini screedrivers and batteries is definitely a must as well as scissors for getting into those pesky boxes with the stupid plastic tags. Thanks for joining us for #marvmondays

    Reply
    • Organisedjo says

      15th December 2016 at 11:10 pm

      Glad to hear you found it helpful. These tips have all come from experiences and I just want to help people not having to go through the pain of having very excited children not being able to get to their present! X

      Reply
  8. Gina Caro @ Gypsy Soul says

    13th December 2016 at 1:00 pm

    We’ve gone one step futher with the batteries this Christmas and purchased a rechargeable unit and the batteries. I’m so fed up with constantly buying batteries and the waste is awful.
    Feeling quite smug that I was organised enough to buy it in advance of the big day 🙂
    Great list as always

    Reply
    • Organisedjo says

      15th December 2016 at 11:12 pm

      Rechargeable batteries are a good shout, we have some but I never have enough! Thanks for stopping by. X

      Reply
  9. Emily says

    13th December 2016 at 7:33 pm

    These are great tips! I’ll certainly be using them

    Reply
  10. Janine says

    13th December 2016 at 8:33 pm

    Some great advice here especially about making sure you’ve got the right batteries and removing as much packaging as you can. Nothing worse than the kids not being able to play with a battery operated toy properly or becoming impatient as you try to remove the ridiculous amount of packaging. I don’t remember toys being that hard to get at when I was younger. You need tools just to get the packaging open. It’s crazy. Also I put the wrapping paper and packaging into bin liners aso we go as I can’t stand mess and I don’t want the smaller gifts being asnountsccidentaly her own it with the mountains of paper.

    #marvmondays

    Reply
    • Janine says

      13th December 2016 at 8:34 pm

      That should say *accidentally being thrown out with* the mountains of paper x

      Reply
    • Organisedjo says

      15th December 2016 at 11:14 pm

      I am sure the toy manufacturers out those annoying tags on so they can secretly laugh at parents trying to open them in front of excited children! Thanks for the comment. X

      Reply
  11. Kat says

    14th December 2016 at 7:47 am

    Ah lots of fab tips here! I need to grab some new batteries before the day, we are never prepared for batteries! #MarvMondays

    Reply
  12. Kimberley | Oh Just My Little Blog says

    15th December 2016 at 8:13 am

    Love these tips. Especially the list writing and recycling. So organised! I have to disagree about number 10 though, it’s Christmas PJs/jumpers all day for me! x #SharingtheBlogLove

    Reply
    • Organisedjo says

      15th December 2016 at 11:15 pm

      Oh if I could spend the day in my PJ’s I so would. We are off to the in laws this year, glad rags on all round. Thanks for stopping by. X

      Reply
  13. Katy - Hot Pink Wellingtons says

    15th December 2016 at 3:02 pm

    Cutting off all those annoying plastic tags before wrapping is genius! I’d never have thought of that! We’ve bought a huge fire station with fire engine for Max which will require assembling – we’re lacking on storage space so it’s going to have to be a Christmas Eve job for us. Some great tips here – thanks for joining us again at #SharingtheBlogLove

    Reply
    • Organisedjo says

      15th December 2016 at 11:19 pm

      Those toy manufacturers have a lot to answer for with the amount of tags they use, good luck with your christmass eve building. X

      Reply
  14. Nicole | The Professional Mom Project says

    15th December 2016 at 3:20 pm

    Such helpful tips – especially the batteries and tools. I think these tips are also great for birthdays and other celebrations that include presents. Thanks for the advice! #SharingtheBlogLove

    Reply
    • Organisedjo says

      15th December 2016 at 11:21 pm

      So true about these tips being helpful for other celebrations. Thanks for stopping by. X

      Reply
  15. A Cornish Mum says

    15th December 2016 at 11:38 pm

    I am vaguely organised for Christmas now, but I am still having that last minute eek have I forgotten something or someone feeling!

    Thanks for linking up to #PicknMix

    Stevie xx

    Reply
  16. Laura - Dear bear and beany says

    16th December 2016 at 8:08 pm

    I’ve spent the last 2 christmas eve’s building toys, but we don’t have any to build this year 🙂 Removing those annoying tags is a great tip, they are literally on everything. Thank you for joining us at #SharingtheBlogLove x

    Reply
  17. Alana - Burnished Chaos says

    17th December 2016 at 7:02 pm

    Ordering batteries is on my list of jobs for tonight! I followed your second tip with my daughters birthday presents this year and it made a HUGE difference. I was planning on doing it for Christmas too but the past week has been a nightmare and I ended up with only a one hour window to get the presents wrapped up and moved to the in-laws before my son broke up from school (not enough hiding places in our house) so had to just wrap them fast. I’ll be kicking myself Christmas morning for not making more time to do it though!
    #SharingtheBlogLove

    Reply
  18. Sarah | Digital Motherhood says

    18th December 2016 at 10:10 pm

    Fab tips, must get out and buy some batteries this week!! #marvmondays

    Reply
  19. Lisa says

    21st December 2016 at 10:06 pm

    Great tips. We bought a phone for our son once that said (very big writing) to charge for at least 6 hours before use which we didn’t do which led to quite a miserable Christmas Day!

    Reply

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Who is Organised Jo?

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read my blog Organised Jo. My name is Jo, a 40 *cough* something year old married working mum living in sunny (ish) South Devon. I live with my lovely and very understanding hubby and our two daughters, who are aged 9 and 6. During the day I work for the local Council as a Communications Officer. I don’t work full time or part time but inbetween doing 30 hours a week. I run Organised Jo alongside my day job and what started as a hobby has now really become a huge passion of mine. Read More…

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