Christmas Eve is four weeks from today.  Our task countdown continues:

• Any gifts leaving the North American continent should be on their way this week. 
• Try to schedule one evening of shopping this week (in store or online).  Focus on Hannukah gifts and any gifts that have to be shipped somewhwere in North America.  (You do not want to be dealing with the lines and the express fees on December 20th.)
• Set up a gift wrap station (with thanks to reader Pat for this idea).  Put your wrapping paper, tape, bows, tags, ribbon, gift boxes, etc. in one place.  If you have a card table, that should be there as well.  (Alternatively, if you don’t use your dining room often, you can set up the wrapping station on the dining room table.  Just protect the top first.)  As you buy gifts, you can wrap them, avoiding the dreaded Christmas Eve mountain o’wrapping.
• Keep working on your Christmas cards.  By the end of the week, you want them at least half done.
• Try to finish up your crafts.  Unless you are sure that you can complete them quickly, your crafting should be done this week so that you aren’t trying to do something that requires care and patience while the reindeer are breathing down your neck.
• When you cook dinner this week, make double portions and freeze half. Later in the season, when your schedule heats up, you’ll have a nice homemade dinner that you can pop in the microwave.
• Plan menus for any gatherings you will have this season.  You can start building shopping lists as you have time.
• Finally, you need to clean the house in preparation for decorating.  Yes, that means moving furniture and sweeping behind it, vacuuming sofa cushions, and dusting.  Give special attention to public areas (living room, family room, dining room, kitchen, guest bathroom, guest room).  Cleaning isn’t any fun, but put some Christmas music on as loudly as possible and just do it. I find that trying to attack one room an evening works well.  It doesn’t take forever and I can see the progress.  During the holiday season, people are far more likely to visit, from relatives coming to stay to neighbors dropping by with a tin of cookies.  You want your house to look its best.
• If you will be entertaining this season, send the invitations now.

Hopefully, these lists will help you stay on track to celebrate the season.