Get more sleep this Christmas Eve - make Santa Sacks

Every year, I run into the same problem. I wrap as much as I can before Christmas, but I can't pull out the bigger Santa gifts until after the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve. My husband and I are usually up for hours trying to get everything assembled and ready for Christmas morning. In addition to the assembly process, I'm usually scrambling to find a big enough piece of wrapping paper to cover these generally large and awkwardly shaped gifts.

This year, I read about a solution in Family Fun magazine that I thought we'd try. We're calling them our Santa Sacks. Essentially, they function like a giant stocking. On Christmas Eve the kids put these big fabric bags under the tree and in the morning all their gifts from Santa are hidden inside (their family gifts are wrapped and tucked under the tree). I told my kids that we were making them to help make the elves' job a little easier. I didn't mention that it would help Mom and Dad get to bed a little earlier and have a lot less mess to clean up in the morning.

Each bag took me around an hour to make and cost around $13. I purchased 3 yards of Christmas fabric, 3 yards of muslin, and 2 yards of red rope for each bag. I made mine with a white muslin lining, but if you're in a hurry you could skip it and just stitch the sides of the patterned fabric together. I'm not much of a seamstress, so I kept it pretty simple and sewed it like a giant pillowcase. I added the braided rope to the top of the bag to make it cinch-able and a little more Santa like. I'm also adding a small laminated tag to the rope with their name, the year and this year's school picture so Santa can know which is which. Each year we'll add another tag to the sack.
I made them with Christmas morning in mind, but I didn't realize how often we'd use them before Christmas. My kids have loved playing with them. They've pulled them out for everything from sack races to steam rolling. Tonight we held a family movie night. Everyone got in their comfy pjs, hopped inside their sack, and curled up on the couch to watch a favorite Christmas movie. I haven't seen them work on Christmas yet, but so far…I think they've been worth it. Just thought I'd pass it on.

Survive Christmas - Make a Christmas Game Plan

This is a crazy time of year. It seems like there is an endless to-do list full of impossible tasks. This year I decided to hit my three biggest trouble spots head on and get organized before the craziness gets into full swing. I created these printable planners to help me keep track of all the little Christmas details.

First off, I made a weekly breakdown of my tasks. Similar to my "Mom Game Plan" mentioned in a previous post, this weekly list of to-do's really helps me focus. I break down the 4 weeks before Christmas (I just finished week 1) into 4 work weeks:

Week 1: Decorate and Plan
In this week I focus on making a plan. I plan out my gift list, my budget, and my calendar. I also get the house ready for Christmas…inside and out.

Week 2: Shopping Phase 1
During this week, I focus on buying, wrapping and shipping all extended family and non-family presents. This includes things like neighborhood gifts, gifts for Grandma's and Grandpa's, teacher gifts, etc. I also create and send my digital Christmas cards this week.

Week 3: Shopping Phase 2
During this week I focus on buying and wrapping all immediate family gifts. This includes Santa presents, stocking stuffers, etc. I also use this week to make any freezable food ahead of time and make or buy the Christmas PJs.

Week 4: Deliver and Celebrate
This is crunch week. In this week our family delivers all the gifts to neighbors and teachers. I also finish up any wrapping and get the Christmas Eve supplies together.

There are lots of little to-do's on my list that aren't mentioned here. On my website (http://www.meckmom.com/) I posted both and blank version for you to print and a sample version that's been filled out to give you ideas.

I've also got a Christmas gift planner on my website for you. It's amazing how many gifts there are to keep track of. Rather than impulse buy and scramble for ideas, I use this gift planner to help me keep everything straight. It also helps me keep track of which presents are wrapped and which have been shipped. You can find this handy file on my website as well.

As much as I hate to do it, I have to set up a budget for my Christmas spending. Tallying up all the gifts, decorations, party supplies, and food expenses can be really daunting; but I've found that if my husband and I work together to set a limit and then breakdown that limit into the various categories listed on my sheet, we save ourselves from the horrible post-Christmas financial drought. I posted both a blank version and a sample version on my site.

I can't promise these files will make your Christmas preparations stress-free. However, getting you game plan down on paper, planning out your gifts, and making a budget should help you reach New Year's with your sanity still intact. Just thought I'd pass it on.

You can find all these files in the Downloads:Organization section of my website (http://www.meckmom.com/).