Halloween is six weeks from today. Thanksgiving is 10 weeks from today. You need to start preparing.

For Halloween:

If all you do is hand out treats to the kids who knock on your door, you can ignore the holiday until the weekend before. Even though the stores have started stocking Halloween candy already, if you buy it now, it’s not going to make it until October 31st.  You know it won’t.

However, more planning is needed if you decorate your house extensively or host a party or make your kids’ costumes. Also, if you buy your kids’ costumes and they aren’t the types to change their minds 6 times between now and Halloween, you’ll get the biggest selection by shopping early.

If you host a party, plan your guest list, menu, and decor and send out a save the date notice.

If you make costumes, get the kids to a decision and get started. Pulling an all-nighter on October 30th to make a costume from scratch is more horror than even Stephen King can handle.

If you decorate, move your decorations into your staging space to check for any necessary repairs. Fix or replace things that are damaged. Purchase any supplies you need to make new decorations.

For Thanksgiving:

The big decision is where you will celebrate. If you need to make travel plans, do it immediately — if not sooner.

If your celebration is local and you aren’t hosting, buy some nice wine or another hostess gift and you are done. Have some cider.

If you attend a potluck, now is a good time to decide who makes what. If you are hosting, for now you need to decide your guest list and menu. There will be more to do soon.

Ready, Set, Go!