Christmas Eve is one week away, so this is our last Christmas Countdown for 2019.

• Any gifts that must arrive prior to Christmas should have been shipped. If you did not ship last week and the recipient lives more than 1,000 miles away, express shipping is your (expensive) friend.
• Any straggler cards should be on their way (such as the cards that were returned to you with a corrected address. — Make sure you note the new address!)
• If you have any final shopping to do and you aren’t afraid of crowds, retailers are likely to offer very good specials this weekend. It will be a mob scene, but it could be worth it.
• Try to finish at least half of your gift wrapping on weekday evenings this week. If you do a few gifts each night, it won’t be overwhelming.
• If you are crafting things to use as gifts, if they are not done by Friday morning, you need a backup gift. Having to complete crafts to gift standard in a compressed time span is a recipe for disaster.
• Finalize your menus for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, make your grocery lists, and do your shopping. If there are things you can prepare in advance, do so.
• Make sure you have what you need for your Christmas table. If you hosted Thanksgiving, your china and silver will be in fine shape. Otherwise, you may need to polish. Make sure the napkins and tablecloth are clean and (relatively) wrinkle free. Store the tablecloth rolled on an empty wrapping paper tube. That way, it will look its best on your table.
• Do a quick once-over clean of the house. If you’re like me, these last few weeks of preparation have created quite a bit of clutter — gift wrap, cards, decorations, half-eaten cookies, boxes. Just tidy.
• I usually set the table for Christmas Eve dinner fairly early in the day. I set the Christmas table right after doing the Christmas Eve dishes.
• Finalize Christmas outfits and set them aside in the closet. Put all the accessories (tights, ties, barrettes, underwear, socks, jewelry, etc.) into a zip close bag and clothespin it to the hanger. You do not want to be ready to leave for church or Grandma’s house only to discover that someone is missing a shoe.
• This may sound mundane, but do laundry this weekend.

If you have been following this countdown, when you wake next Tuesday morning, the only tasks ahead of you will be preparing meals for Christmas Eve and Christmas and placing presents under the tree.  Instead of stress, Christmas Eve will begin your celebration.