I know you don’t want to hear this, but Christmas is nine months from today! If you want to be relaxed and ready when Christmas Eve rolls around, just follow the official Elf Christmas Countdown:

• As you travel for spring break or business, think about picking up small unique gifts from local shops.
• Consider picking up gifts at season-ending sales on winter merchandise. You can often get good deals on winter clothes and sporting goods.
• If you like to make gifts, now is a great time to start thinking about what you’ll make. Rainy spring and summer days are a great time to craft.
• Begin chatting with your loved ones about where you plan to spend the holidays.  The sooner you decide, the sooner you can start watching for airline sales.  Also, if you’ll be hosting, you can pick up things you need for entertaining over a longer period of time.
• Keep saving for your holiday expenses.  Saving a little each week is far easier than trying to save large amounts beginning in the fall. (Also, keep in mind that buying things off season can let you get more bang for your buck! For example, you may be able to pick up new or like new Christmas decorations at spring yard sales or thrift stores for a fraction of the price.)
• As you spring clean, keep two things in mind. First, make sure that all of your decorations are in one accessible place and use neighborhood spring cleanup events to discard or recycle things that are no longer useful. Second, try to declutter you house. A house that has more empty space make it easier to host and decorate.