Believe it or not, Christmas Eve is only 4 months away! If you follow this countdown, by the time Christmas Eve arrives, you'll be rested, prepared, and ready to celebrate.  Here are your tasks for the coming month:

• Keep saving toward your holiday budget. Ideally, you'll have completed your saving by Halloween.
• Make your holiday travel arrangements.  Typically, airfares start falling the week after Labor Day.  But keep in mind that prime tickets for Thanksgiving are already gone.
• Keep working on crafts.
• As you plan fall meals, try to use up pantry staples and freezer contents to free up room for holiday foods.
• When storing summer things in the attic or basement, take a few minutes to identify where you've stored your holiday decorations.  If anything requires repair, do it now to save time later.
• Make your Christmas lists, specifically, your Christmas card list, a craft list, your gift list, and a list of any entertaining you plan to do from Halloween until New Year's.
• Decide what you hope to accomplish this holiday season.  You can make a list of goals, make a word cloud, create a vision collage — whatever works for you.  It will help you keep your focus on what's most important to you.