​​The Holiday List System That Actually Works [Episode 37]

 

[00:00:00] Welcome to the Holiday Head Start Podcast, where we get intentional about kicking overwhelm to the curb and bringing the joy back to your holidays and every day. I’m Heidi. And I’m Emily. We’re two sisters and former elementary school teachers who’ve taken the simple strategies and practical tips we mastered in the classroom and put them to work in our personal lives.

 

And we are here to help you do the same. Join us each week as we share how with a little planning and a little prep, you can ensure that the days that make life special don’t become the days that make you stressed. You can check out the show [email protected]. Ready to get a headstart on your holidays.

 

Let’s go.

 

Hey there friends. Welcome back to the Holiday Head Start Podcast. Today we’re talking about how to organize your holiday to-do list so you can make sure you’re putting your effort where it matters most. But first we have a tradition Spotlight traditions are an important tool in building a healthy, [00:01:00] happy, connected life.

 

And this week we have, one of our favorite traditions, from Emily. And this is probably a common tradition that I imagine most of you have heard of, which is getting a new ornament every year for Christmas. And we did this growing up. I would say I do it a little bit differently than we did, , when we were kids.

 

Heidi, wouldn’t you agree? It was basically just like, pick out an ornament? Any ornament you want, don’t you think? Yeah, I think maybe in like later years it came, got older to have some more significance. Yeah. But. Before that it was just, I mean, in the eighties you only had so many options. Ornaments, there’s like, you went to the Hallmark store and you just picked the one you liked that year, which was fine and I loved those at the time.

 

But now I find that those ornaments, some of them have some meaning, but a lot of them don’t. ‘ I think I got Wizard of Oz ornaments for a bunch of years in a row. ’cause it was like, well, I like Wizard of Oz. Just kept getting more of those ’cause I didn’t know what else to get.

 

So the, the [00:02:00] way I do it now is that I actually pick the ornaments out for my kids. I, I definitely ask. Their input at times, but I try and find an ornament every year that really connects to something that’s significant for them that year. So either an accomplishment or the thing that they’re really into, if they’re on a team or, if they started learning a new instrument or things like that so that when they look back, the ornaments have a little bit more significance or something they’ll remember like, oh, that was what I was.

 

Really into Charlie Brown, to be honest. He’s still pretty into Charlie Brown. Yeah, he’s basically Linus the human embodiment of Linus. So, that’s, that’s how I do it a little bit different. It’s still basically the same, but I would say making the ornaments have a little bit more significance to me, it’s more special when we take them out to reminisce as we put them up.

 

So that’s just a small. Adaptation I’ve made since we were younger. I think this is so special because it turns, your holiday [00:03:00] decoration, just something meaningful without a lot of. Work having to be involved, you know? Right. You unbox the Charlie Brown or the, you know, thing from the trip that the family went on.

 

It adds this whole layer of meaning to decorating, but you’re not having to invest a ton of time and energy into it. I even do this still as an adult. I try and find an ornament that encapsulates my year. A few years ago I did the summer of Parks and Rec, so I got a talking Ron Swanson ornament.

 

Yes, I love it. I’ve started to, I don’t necessarily do a yearly ornament for myself or for the family, but. If I see something during the year that really excites me ’cause it’s something I’m into or it connects to something about us as a family, I’m much more likely now to pick those up to add to my tree.

 

I used to be more like, no, it’s an aesthetic tree, but just with the kids ornaments mixed in and now I’m just like, it’s a family tree. Like I do want it to have a little bit of vibes, but I’m much more interested now in like getting things that will make us happy when we look at them onto the tree. [00:04:00] Well, and you’ve got a lot of years ahead when you know the kids have moved out and you can do whatever you want with your tree, but you only get so many years when they’re little.

 

Yeah, that’s a good point.

 

If this is something that you want to start but you haven’t started already, you can, obviously, you can just start with 2025.

 

There’s no obligation to have done it every year of your child’s life. But also I found you can find so many ornaments online. So if you wanted something specifically dated from, you know, 2017, you can find 2017 ornaments on there still. Or you could just get an undated one and you know, like, do what our mom did and write on it with a Sharpie.

 

Yeah, I found a couple years ago when we were going through all the kids’ ornaments that I found that one of my kids had some gaps and I was like, okay, I think I remember there was a Tinkerbell ornament that broke, you know, things like that. Yes. So now I have a list so I can keep track. So, but at the time I figured out what was missing, replaced that, and I found there was like one year.

 

Where it seemed like there wasn’t one for my older daughter. It was the year we were living at mom and dad’s house, so I [00:05:00] wonder if it slipped my mind because I was opening up my own tree. Yeah. And so I just went back even though she’s 14 now. Well, at the time she was 14. This was last year. And just

 

picked out a cute ornament that was for like getting a new baby brother. And it was like these cute hedgehogs. I, I let Abby help me pick it out. And so now she has that as part of it. It’s like, it’s fine. We could just go back and do that. Retroactively. It’s no big deal to do it that way if you want to, but also don’t feel bad just starting where you are.

 

I am the queen of like, well, if I would’ve known that one kids were little, I could have started that, but I didn’t. So now I can’t do it. And I’m always wish in hindsight, oh, I should have just started then. ’cause now it’s four years later and I still didn’t start that thing. You know, like just start. Just start.

 

Yes, yes. Whatever it is, just do it now. It doesn’t have to be perfect. The rules are made up. Yes. My new motto, that’s what I was telling my son when he was objecting to the fact that I wanna get the tree up pretty soon. And he was like, it’s Thanksgiving. And I was like, there are no rules. It does not matter.

 

I can enjoy Thanksgiving with my Christmas tree up. [00:06:00] We’d love to hear about your favorite traditions. Come join us on Instagram at the holiday head Start. All right. At this point in the year, most of us are probably drowning in to-do lists. We’ve got random scraps of paper notes in our phones, the mental list that keeps you up at 2:00 AM How did you know I was up at 2:00 AM last night?

 

Why can’t my brain remember important information during business hours? Please. Yeah, seriously. It’s always gotta be 2:00 AM for some reason, but with so much coming at us between now and January, we have got to get these lists figured out. How do you even know where to start? There are gift lists and shopping lists and Christmas card lists, and literally every other kind of list.

 

Yeah, whenever I hear someone saying like, write down your holiday to-do list, it makes me laugh ’cause it’s like, okay, sure. More like juggle these six watermelons, like this is a big deal. It’s not just one holiday to-do list. There’s a lot to manage here. Yeah, a lot of moving pieces, but we’re not doing this no more death by to-do list [00:07:00] today.

 

We’re breaking it down so you know exactly where to start and how to move forward. And we’re actually gonna start with something kind of surprising. We’re gonna start by celebrating what you’ve already done before we talk about what you need to do. That’s because the fastest way to figure out your next move is to pause and look back at what you’ve already done.

 

That quick reflection will show you what really matters this year and what you can skip. And this may feel like a weird approach because this is the opposite of how most of us usually operate because we usually just let panic take over and we jump into the, ah, I gotta get all these things done right now mode.

 

Yeah, that suffocating sense of holiday panic does not feel good. We just want it to stop so we do something, anything to get our brains to say, Hey, everything is fine. Now we’re on top of it. Yeah, but the problem is we might not actually be on top of it trying to relieve panic by diving into the first thing you think of [00:08:00] might be helping, but it’s more likely to be a complete waste of time, energy, and money.

 

And then by the time we get to December 4th, we’ve been running so hard and every direction that we haven’t actually made any progress. We still have a giant list of tasks to get done before Christmas, but now we’re running low on resources. Yeah. This is so, so common. I think we’ve all had that sobering moment when we just want this whole nightmare of a holiday to be over so we can get to a life that isn’t actively trying to crush us.

 

Yeah, that’s basically the story of why we started the holiday headstart. We were stuck doing this dance of desperation that left us white knuckling our way to January. It was so miserable. It was literally impacting my health. So we built a system that let us have the kind of holidays that enriched our lives instead of draining them.

 

Now, please do not get the impression that we are doing any of this perfectly, especially me. There are still plenty of blips [00:09:00] that catch us off guard, but I think I can say for the both of us that every year we move closer to having the type of holiday experiences that we imagine without sacrificing our sanity to make it happen.

 

Oh, definitely. Every year I’m so proud of the progress we’ve made, so believe us when we tell you there’s a better way, as you think of the dozens of tasks standing between you and Christmas, and your breath gets short and your heart starts to speed up, this is a moment to pause. Yeah, let your brain catch up to what’s going on in your body.

 

Take a deep breath and remind yourself that the antidote to stress isn’t action. In this case, the antidote to stress is reflection. And that’s why step one is not starting our holiday to-do list with what’s waiting to be done. We are stopping to reflect on what we’ve already accomplished and we’re making a TODA list.

 

This is one of our favorite tips. Instead of writing down what you need to do, you write down everything you already did and then you go, ta-da. Look at what you [00:10:00] accomplished. Yes, this does sound silly late, but it definitely works. Think back to last year’s holidays. Just start listing everything you were responsible for.

 

Planning meals, buying gifts, wrapping presents, decorating and coordinating with the family, sending cards, organizing gatherings, making sure everyone had what they needed. And I bet you are already realizing it’s way more than you thought you did, right?

 

Oh, definitely. I think especially for anyone listening to this podcast, I feel confident saying that we spend so much time thinking about the one thing we forgot or didn’t do perfectly, that we never stopped to acknowledge everything we actually managed. So make that list, get it all down, and then just look at it for a second.

 

That is a lot of tasks. Yeah. You deserve credit for that. You did an amazing job juggling all of it. Your to dollars can be a huge boost to your confidence, but it’s also what gives your planning meaningful direction, right? As you jot down last year’s wins, you’ll start noticing [00:11:00] patterns, what felt worth the effort, what you never want to repeat, and the handful of tasks that truly made the season shine.

 

Those insights become your natural starting points for this year’s plan. So once you’ve celebrated yourself, which you should actually do, not just rush past it, then we move to what we call the tackle list.

 

Now this is where things get interesting. Go back to your TODA list and mark any tasks that you did not enjoy doing. Be honest. This isn’t about what you think you should enjoy or what looks cute on Instagram, what actually drained you? What fills you with dread? Just thinking about it, and unfortunately, I’m sorry, you probably can’t cross off like all the holiday concerts and things like that, but what’s things that you have control of?

 

Fill you with dread when you think about them. And then pick your top five most dislike tasks and write those down separately. And here’s the important step. Ask yourself why you did them even though you [00:12:00] hated them. Sometimes we do things out of obligation or because we’ve always done them or because we assume someone will be disappointed if we don’t.

 

But are those reasons actually compelling? This is your chance to eliminate anything that’s not truly necessary and that you genuinely don’t enjoy. Just cross it off. Like if you hate baking cookies from scratch, just stop doing it. Buy them or skip cookies altogether. You have our permission, but chances are high that some holiday related tasks really do have to happen even though they’re not fun.

 

Like I mentioned, maybe they relate to the tradition that your kids cherish the most, or maybe there are tasks that have to get done to make more enjoyable parts of the holidays possible. For me, wrapping gifts is one of those tasks, ugh, dread. It’s the worst. It’s so tedious and I put it off as long as I can, but unwrapping gifts is so much fun.

 

It extends the magic of Christmas, so I’m not willing to abandon that chore, even though I hate it. [00:13:00] For the tasks you dread, but are committed to, you need a plan to make them manageable. Maybe you tackle it with a friend or you ask someone else to take it over, or you reward yourself afterward with something you really want.

 

Yeah. With wrapping gifts, maybe I could swap with a friend who loves to wrap but hates doing Christmas cards, or I could invite some friends to bring their gifts over and we could have a wrapping party or maybe I’ll just keep it simple and I will try to make the experience as enjoyable as possible.

 

I could put on the holiday or little women 95 version. Of course. Of course. Grab a peppermint hot chocolate and pretend like I’m living in a Hallmark movie. All of the people in the Hallmark movies love wrapping gifts. Yes. If you can’t get out of a task, the best thing to do is to find a way to get into it.

 

And if you can afford it, sometimes the best option is paying someone else to do it. Your time and sanity are worth something. Definitely. That’s so smart. Outsource what you can. Okay, so now that you’ve made your todo list with your wins from last year, you’ve made your [00:14:00] tackle list with what you’re not doing or what you’re doing differently this year.

 

Now you’re ready for step three. Making your actual to-do list for this year, but you’re doing it with intention. This time you’re focusing on what you enjoy and what actually matters to you. With so many details to keep track of it can be helpful to organize this list into categories, maybe gifts and spending, traditions and activities, food decorating, whatever helps you see things clearly.

 

And some people organize by location too. Things to do online, errands to run, stuff to handle at home. There’s no wrong way. Just find what makes sense for your brain. And as you’re adding tasks, keep checking in with yourself. Does this align with the kind of holiday season I actually want? Because if your goal is cozy and low key, but you’re adding elaborate decoration projects to your list, you know, maybe rethink that.

 

Okay? So once you’ve got your list, you need to decide when things should happen. That [00:15:00] is step four. You might not be ready to schedule everything specifically, but you can get rough goals for timing. One way to do this is to make a simple sheet for November and one for December.

 

Split each sheet into early, middle, and late in the month, and then you can sort your tasks into those timeframes. When does it make sense to tackle each thing? But don’t feel like you’re locked in. This is just a guide. You’re not failing. If you don’t get something done early in November that you had scheduled then, but each week you can look at what’s coming up and decide what you can realistically handle.

 

The whole point is spreading things out so you’re not trying to do everything in the last two weeks of December when life is crazy town. Banana pants, that’s a pretty accurate description.

 

All right, so those are the four main steps to dollar list, tackle list to-do, list and timing, but we’ve got a few bonus ideas that might help too. First is [00:16:00] early bird tasks. These are things you can knock out way in advance. These are my favorite kind of tasks. Yes, so this is things like grabbing, stocking stuffers every time you’re at the store, or stocking the pantry with non-perishables, making freezer meals, planning outfits, and rounding up addresses.

 

There really is so much you can do early if you stop to think about it. And also be aware of anything that requires tickets. Get on that now before it sells out. Another helpful list is for one and done decisions. These are things you decide once and then stick with every year. So that’s things like choosing a holiday to court color scheme and keeping it, or always making the same signature dish for Pollocks.

 

I love this because it cuts down on decision fatigue. Every decision that you don’t have to make is mental energy. You save for something more important.

 

And don’t forget my favorite list. Maybe this is even better than the early bird tasks. This is the TV tasks.

 

This is for when you are too tired to function, but you still feel like you should be productive. [00:17:00] Make a list of things you can do on your phone or laptop while watching your favorite show. Riding cars, organizing photos, online shopping. Yeah, that can be other things like making grocery lists, planning menus, sending emails about holiday plans.

 

It’s productive, relaxing, which is a really awesome type of relaxing. If you’re coordinating with a partner or family members, you might also want to make a holiday assignments list, basically justified up who’s doing what. You shouldn’t have to handle everything yourself. If you’re gonna do this, it’s important to have the conversation early about how responsibilities were split in the past and how to make it work better this year.

 

Just be prepared that, unfortunately, shaking things up will often lead to some immediate pushback, but if you give people time to adjust to the changes, they usually come around. And that brings us to our finalists. This might be one of the most important, the let go list, this is where you write down what you’re not [00:18:00] doing, what you’re giving yourself permission to release.

 

Maybe you wanted to make matching pajamas for everyone, but it’s mid-December and you are out of time unless you wanna lose your mind. So you can add, skip the pajamas to the list, acknowledge any disappointment, and remind yourself that this decision is giving you peace.

 

You know, when it comes to Christmas, there will always be more ideas than time. That is just the reality. Yeah. So it’s freeing to write it down and say, I’m choosing not to do this because it will give me back peace of mind. You’re not missing out on anything, you’re just choosing the bigger life. I did this last holiday season with my notes app.

 

I set up a note and called it Things I’m Proud of, and I pulled it out to look at it just this morning. And you know what? I am still proud of those things I put on there. I’m letting go of stressing about my Christmas tree not being fully decorated and letting myself enjoy it, even if it’s not done.

 

And I let go of the expectation to bake cookies and bought them instead. [00:19:00] Aw, I’m so proud of you. I’m also proud of how we skipped out on a show we had bought tickets for because the day of the show was already too stressful. It was not an easy decision to make. It felt really wasteful at the time, but when we talked about the time and energy it would take to get there and how much happier we’d be at home doing other things, the decision was a lot easier, right?

 

That money was already gone, but we didn’t have to increase the expense by also spending time and energy on it because those are harder losses to recover. Okay, so quick recap. Start with your todo list to celebrate what you’ve already done. Make your tackle list to deal with what you dread, create your to-do list with intention, and then decide roughly when things should happen.

 

If it helps, use some of those bonus lists, early bird tasks, oneand Done Decisions, TV Tasks, dividing Responsibilities, and the Let It Go List. And guess what? There are pages for all of these lists in the holiday Head Start Playbook. [00:20:00] Section 10 is full of every kind of to-do list. You might need to plan your holidays.

 

You can grab the playbook at the link in the show notes. As we step into November and the holiday pressure ratchets up, remember the goal isn’t adding more to manage. The goal is helping you feel more in control when you know what needs to happen, when it should happen, and what you’re intentionally not doing.

 

The holidays feel a lot less chaotic, so grab the holiday head start playbook, or a notebook or even open an app on your phone, and start with the TODA list. Celebrate yourself for everything you managed last year. And then work through the rest at whatever pace makes sense for you. Even tackling just one list this week will make a huge difference.

 

We’d love to hear what’s on your TODA list.

 

Connect with us on Instagram at the holiday Headstart.

 

Now it’s time for a get a ahead start tip. Each week we leave you with a small actionable tip to help you get started on your holiday planning. This week’s get a headstart tip is to prepare now for guests. So [00:21:00] tell us more about this idea. If you will be hosting guests during the holidays, consider what you can do now to make their stay easier.

 

Maybe it’s just posting your wifi password in the living room, but if you’re having overnight guests, you may want to create a whole welcome sheet. Include essentials, like how do you use the shower? There’s nothing worse than being in a strange house and not getting the shower to work, or how to use the coffee maker.

 

How to work the fan in the guest room, and which remote actually turns on the tv. This would be a perfect TV task you can do from the comfort of your couch. If you have the Canva app, you can easily whip up something with all the important information, print it out, and put it up where you need it, or you know, just even a Google Doc would do the trick.

 

It’s just a little touch that makes your guests feel instantly at home, and it saves you from having to remember to tell them a dozen details once they arrive. As a way to keep ourselves accountable and give you some ideas of what you can do in advance for your own celebrations. We’re sharing what’s on our to-do lists.

 

What are you working on this week, Heidi? [00:22:00] Well, I just got out the Christmas cards I ordered in September and have not touched, so I need to get started on those, but. The thing that’s on my mind is last week I did a task that has made me very philosophical.

 

Okay, so buckle up. Over the weekend I made a batch of chocolate frosting to put in the freezer. So as part of our winter solstice dinner, we have the kids frost, little Debbie Swiss rolls for Yu Logs. Like making frosting is just a tiny blip on the huge list of holiday related tasks I have to get done.

 

But this is something I could do in advance. And I told myself, you know what? This is a 10 minute commitment. But what it ended up being was closer to an hour. Oh no. I got in the kitchen and I realized the mixer bowl was dirty, so I had to wash that. And then while I was doing that, I loaded the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher, and then I had to find the rest and get out in the ingredients.

 

And I had forgotten to soften the butter. So I had to do that without melting it. And then I mixed up the frosting, which. It really was a 10 minute task, but then I had to, you know, get the freezer bag set up and get [00:23:00] everything portioned and sealed and cleaned up. And this tiny nothing of a task was a huge headache.

 

And I think this is why we run into so much trouble during the holidays. Things that aren’t complicated end up being hugely complicated. And we underestimate how much time and energy it takes just for nothing. Yeah. And then I got into the middle of it and I was grumbling like about all this work and I thought, why am I making frosting when I could just buy it?

 

I dunno what my thought process was. I think I got in my head. About how canned frosting usually contains Xantham gum, and I can’t eat Zham gum, but I’m not going to be eating this frosting because the least appetizing thing on the planet is anything a child has decorated. So heck, they don’t even usually wanna eat it after they’ve decorated it themselves, all children universally.

 

So the Z thing, gum thing is [00:24:00] irrelevant. It doesn’t matter at all. So. And plus, I think there’s ana gum in the Swiss rolls, but that didn’t even phase me ’cause I knew I wasn’t gonna eat. Oh, well, okay. It actually worked out then. So the fact that you had this whole thing and it was inconvenient enough that it brought it to your attention means now you realize.

 

This is something you don’t even need to keep doing. So going forward it will now not be a task you have to do. So in the long run, you have saved yourself a lot of time by having this experience. That is true. But you know what I did? I made a big batch and portioned it into like three bags. So we’ve got frosting for the next three December, but four years from now I’ll remember.

 

Well, I mean it still saves you time the next three years too. ’cause you don’t even have to get it at the store. So. There we go. You still That’s true. It was still a win. Overall. It was a win. Yes. But you know, let’s apply this to everything we are doing this year. This is why it’s so important to be reflective before you dive into your to-do list.

 

’cause if I had just thought about this, I would’ve been like, of [00:25:00] course I can just buy this. What am I even doing? So remember that even tiny tasks take more work than you think, and before you start any of it, pause and reflect on whether it’s actually necessary. Okay. Emily, what are you working on this week?

 

Well, I’m still mostly in birthday mode. This is the problem with having a child’s birthday in November, December is like, I feel like I can’t think too much about what needs to be done for Christmas or even Thanksgiving until I get through this child’s birthday, which I need to power through. ’cause obviously there’s other things I need to do.

 

But I am mostly in birthday mode right now. But the other thing is my bestie Lori was just sending me and our other friend Emily, in our little group chat, these are my old college roommates, she was sending us pictures that she had taken with a self-timer of her family, like family pictures, Christmas card pictures.

 

And I was like, pretty impressed. They turned out pretty good and I was like, okay, I have a nice camera. I used to take pictures of other people, I could be taking our Christmas pictures . I think I’m gonna try it. [00:26:00] So I have never done this before, but I’m going to at least attempt to use my N Nice camera and get a family selfie that we can use on a Christmas card.

 

Worst case scenario, I’ll at least take. Pictures of the kids myself, I think. And that’ll do the job. So I’m gonna try and get that done. It’s not gonna be in the next week because my daughter will be traveling for a marching band competition. But after she gets back in town,

 

i’m gonna at least attempt it. And then if the selfie doesn’t work, I’ll just take pictures of the kids and call that good. I often only do the kids on the Christmas cards ’cause it’s easier to get pictures of them than all of us together. That is so smart. That will save you so much time and stress every year of trying to find someone who’s doing mini sessions at the right time.

 

Yeah. And, paying for that and oh yeah, this could be a game changer every year. It that I have done the mini sessions. It has been a stress because sometimes one photographer doesn’t offer it from one year to the next and I gotta find a new photographer. And then what day are they doing their mini sessions and is that a day my kids are with me or are they with their [00:27:00] dad?

 

And like it has. Been so complicated every single year, so this could be a really good way to take that stress away by taking control and doing it myself, and if I can figure out a way that turns out a good photo and works for us, and then we can get it done earlier in the year. That was always the other big hangup was yes, A lot of times these mini sessions until November, and then I’m scrambling to get the pictures back from them and then get the cards ordered and you know.

 

We’ll see how it goes. Well, I’m gonna try and take this inspiration from Lori and make it happen. Well, I love that. That’s such a good idea. Well, fingers crossed. If it doesn’t work out, you’re no worse off than you were before, so, right, exactly. You’re probably gonna have to bribe the kids ’cause that, I think downside ’cause they would be better for a stranger than they will for their mom.

 

100%. So we’ll have to see what I can come up with. All right. To wrap up the show, we are sharing our nice list. Emily, what is on your nice list? This week I’m putting Miss Mouth’s, messy Eater [00:28:00] Stain treater on my nice list. This is why I just call it Miss Mouth. That is too long of a name. So I shared about this stain remover before on our teacher approved podcast because I was so impressed with how it removed berry stains from my tablecloth after a family dinner.

 

It recently wowed me again, so I had to recognize it here too. My daughter had scribbled with pen on a dress, my daughter, who is old enough to not be coloring on her clothes. But anyway, I set the dress aside to deal with later because you know, I know from all these years of experience that getting ink out of clothes is the worst, and you usually have to try multiple things.

 

Yes. So finally the other day it was sitting in the laundry room and I thought, I’m just gonna spray this mis mouse on it. It’s not gonna make it worse. But when I came back the next day, the stain was pretty much all but gone. So I sprayed it again and left it and then washed it and it was, it came all, it all came out.

 

Well that’s awesome. ’cause I’ve got a marker on a tablecloth that I just haven’t dealt with. So maybe I’ll give that a try. Yeah, give it a try and see. Certainly won’t [00:29:00] make it worse. That’s true. What’s on your nice list, Heidi? Well, I am putting the Jackie Lawson, I think it’s pronounced Jackie. It has to be Jackie Jacque is what I wanna say. Throw back to, uh, jury duty. Uh, the Jackie lost an Advent calendar, so it’s a digital calendar app, Jackie Lawson is a greeting card company.

 

I think they’re based in the uk. It’s not really my style of greeting cards, so it’s not something I paid a ton of attention to, but every year they release this sweet, slow, charming advent calendar where you’re in a charming little festive setting. Last year it was Paris. The year before that it was like a Edwardian Manor house, like Downton Abbey.

 

Oh yes. I loved that one. I like that one too. The Paris one was, was fine every day there’s something to find. Like last year you had to find Santa where he was hiding in the shops, in the street, in Paris. And I think this year there’s an elf that goes around.

 

I think the setting is like a little village [00:30:00] Christmas fair. So cute. It looks very sweet. , music isn’t great. I’ll say, uh, you know, all that, the free music they have available, but it’s just, it’s very slow and I love to do it in the evenings by the Christmas tree. Because it’s just like a little calming, festive button on the day.

 

So if you want something to slow you down, but bring some seasonal spirit, I highly recommend the Jackie Las Night event calendar, and I’ll put a link in the show notes and thank you for signing me up for it too. I meant to tell you. You’re welcome. I hope you enjoy it as well. I’m excited.

 

Well, that is it for today’s episode. Remember to get started on your lists. And don’t forget this week’s get a Head Start tip to prepare now for guests.

 

Thanks for tuning in today. Use this week to get a headstart on planning for what’s ahead. And remember, don’t get it perfect. Get it going. Come follow along on Instagram at the holiday headstart. We would love to hear from you. If you liked this episode, head to Apple Podcast and leave us a review. We’ll see you [00:31:00] here next week.