I had never heard of today's planner until I started doing some web searching, but once I found it I read just about everything on the site. Christmas Organizing is the online home of Krisann Blair, also known as the Christmas Coach, and she has a lot of really great ideas that will help you prepare for the holidays.
Beginners to Christmas Organizing are encouraged to try out her Christmas Organizing Express plan. This plan introduces you to all her organizing concepts in 25 steps over five weeks. You can start these steps at any time, but if you are a member of her Yahoo group (free) she goes over them starting five weeks before Advent.
I read through all 25 steps of the plan and made quite a few notes for myself. One of the steps in week one is "Journaling," and she asks you several questions that I think are key in planning your Christmas. Her questions also involve the whole family-- what does each member of your family look forward to about Christmas? One of the things that has been on my mind for the past several years has been the importance of creating our own family traditions that our daughters will look back on someday. So the idea of including the whole family in the Christmas planning holds a lot of appeal for me.
One of her other concepts that I really liked is creating a Christmas Organizing Planning Center. This can be as elaborate as a place in your house or as simple as a tote bag holding your Christmas planner. The important thing is to have everything you need for Christmas planning in one spot, so that when you sit down to plan you don't have to go searching. She also suggests keeping a favorite Christmas CD, candle, or pictures of your family's Christmas celebrations in your center for inspiration.
In addition to her Yahoo group, she also offers the Candy Cane Club (for a fee). Members of the Candy Cane Club have access to members-only content, e-books, forms, and even a personal phone call with the Christmas Coach herself. Full club benefits are listed on her website.
Overall I found her plan to be very user-friendly. If you're new to Christmas planning (or even if you aren't), this plan could be for you!
Beginners to Christmas Organizing are encouraged to try out her Christmas Organizing Express plan. This plan introduces you to all her organizing concepts in 25 steps over five weeks. You can start these steps at any time, but if you are a member of her Yahoo group (free) she goes over them starting five weeks before Advent.
I read through all 25 steps of the plan and made quite a few notes for myself. One of the steps in week one is "Journaling," and she asks you several questions that I think are key in planning your Christmas. Her questions also involve the whole family-- what does each member of your family look forward to about Christmas? One of the things that has been on my mind for the past several years has been the importance of creating our own family traditions that our daughters will look back on someday. So the idea of including the whole family in the Christmas planning holds a lot of appeal for me.
One of her other concepts that I really liked is creating a Christmas Organizing Planning Center. This can be as elaborate as a place in your house or as simple as a tote bag holding your Christmas planner. The important thing is to have everything you need for Christmas planning in one spot, so that when you sit down to plan you don't have to go searching. She also suggests keeping a favorite Christmas CD, candle, or pictures of your family's Christmas celebrations in your center for inspiration.
In addition to her Yahoo group, she also offers the Candy Cane Club (for a fee). Members of the Candy Cane Club have access to members-only content, e-books, forms, and even a personal phone call with the Christmas Coach herself. Full club benefits are listed on her website.
Overall I found her plan to be very user-friendly. If you're new to Christmas planning (or even if you aren't), this plan could be for you!
Christmas Organizing Express: A Breakdown
- Free Yahoo discussion group with year-round activity
- Free newsletter
- Website has all the information you need to follow the plan
- Website has other resources such as recipes and (my favorite) a state-by-state listing of all the Christmas stores in the US!
Yahoo group is free
Candy Cane Club is $25
Length of Plan:
Five Weeks
Begins:
Whenever you want to. The official plan start date for 2010 has not yet been posted, but I'd estimate that it will be mid-October.
Length of Plan:
Five Weeks
Begins:
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