March 19, 2025 • 19 mins
Planning ahead for Christmas can feel overwhelming, but small steps now can make the holiday season smoother and happier. In this episode, we’re sharing five practical ways to get ahead on holiday planning in March. From crafting a personal recovery kit to selecting a holiday decoration theme, we’ve got loads of actionable tips to prevent stress from stacking up in December.
Episode Highlights:
[00:00:44] - Tradition Spotlight on gentle April Fools jokes
[00:04:20] - Task 1: Stock a personal recovery kit
[00:07:40] - Task 2: Pick a decorating theme
[00:11:47] - Task 3: Organize your garage before it gets hot
[00:12:32] - Task 4: Edit your Christmas card list
[00:13:46] - Task 5: Search for ideas of traditions you might like
[00:14:34] - What’s on our to-do lists this week
[00:16:55] - Our Nice Lists
What's Next?
Need motivation to get started? Try scheduling a Holly Day this month to focus on holiday prep!
Resources Mentioned:
- The Fall Risk by Abby Jiminez
- Paperian Brilliant Weekly Scheduler
- Follow on Instagram @theholidayheadstart
- Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!
If you enjoyed this episode, you'll love these too:
- Episode 20 - 5 Things You Can Do in January To Get Ahead for Next Christmas
- Episode 23 - 5 Easy Tasks to Do in February to Get Ahead for Next Christmas
More About The Holiday Headstart:
Welcome to The Holiday Headstart podcast, where we get intentional about kicking overwhelm to the curb and bringing joy back to your holidays (and every day). We’re Heidi and Emily, 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’re 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.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Welcome to the Holiday Head Start Podcast,where we get intentional about kicking
overwhelm to the curb and bringing thejoy back to your holidays and every day.
I'm Heidi, and I'm Emily.
We're two sisters and former elementaries.
(00:27):
And we're 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 daysthat make life special don't become
the days that make you stressed.
You can check out the shownotes at theholidayheadstart.
com.
Ready to get a headstart on your holidays?
Let's go!
Heidi (00:53):
Hey there, friends.
Welcome back to theHoliday Head Start podcast.
Today we are sharing five simplethings you can do in March to
get ahead for the holidays.
Emily (01:01):
But first we have a tradition spotlight.
Traditions are an important tool inbuilding a healthy, happy, connected life.
This week we have a tradition from Heidi.
Heidi (01:11):
Well, this isn't one of my own traditions, but I came
across a thread the other day.
That was a roundup ofgentle April fool's jokes.
And I thought they were so fun.
And I thought maybe all of youwould enjoy hearing about them too.
So Sam said he did a surpriseChristmas for his family.
Everyone got a present and they had aChristmas dinner with chicken instead of a
whole Turkey and listen to holiday music.
(01:32):
And he even dressed uplike a budget Santa Claus.
Like it was very much a throwntogether costume, but he had a picture.
It was so cute.
Rachel says, and I'm just goingto quote exactly what she says.
She says the soft pretzel tree onlyblooms once a year on April 1st.
We wake up and pick the soft pretzels forbreakfast with butter and cinnamon sugar.
And she explains, I bake some soft frozenpretzels, hang them from the branches
(01:55):
of our tree and then wake everybody up.
That is so cute.
And think how happy Stanley from theoffice would be to have a pretzel tree.
So would Neil.
He loves us.
Oh, he does.
You have to do that.
I'm going to think about it.
Danny suggested hiding all of thesilverware and then serving something
messy for dinner like spaghetti andthen you just start eating with your
(02:17):
hands and act like it's totally normal.
Oh my gosh.
And along those lines, Shiloh sayshis mom used to make a normal dinner
on April Fool's, but instead ofsetting the table, she would put
random items in brown grocery sacksand they had to eat off of, or with
whatever happened to be in the bag.
Oh gosh.
So instead of a plate, theymight have a container lid.
(02:37):
Your fork might be a pasta serverand your cup might be a gravy boat.
Oh my gosh.
So it was hilarious to see everyoneopen up their bag and April
Fool's Day was something thatthey looked forward to all year.
That is cute.
I've heard that before.
That's a really cute idea.
And several people mentionedsticking googly eyes on everything,
which I'm always here for.
Emily (02:58):
I've done that twice, including last year.
And I was informed that it wasn't as funnybecause I had already done it once before.
I'm like, Oh my gosh, you guys,it's hard to think of things.
They've got high standards.
Yes.
Seriously.
So I'm going to have to dosomething else this year.
But the first year I did it,they thought it was hilarious.
Heidi (03:16):
Well Maisie had a fun idea that might work where you
wrap all their food in Christmas
Um, Rebecca suggested having thetooth fairy come and leave fake
teeth under a pillow as a refund.
April Fool's Day can be lots of fun.
A fun way to add a littlesurprise for the people you love.
It doesn't have to be mean or hurtful orsomething that's going to make a mess.
(03:41):
You can just have fun with it.
Emily (03:42):
Yes.
We'd love to hear about yourfavorite April Fool's traditions.
Come join us on Instagramat the Holiday Head Start.
Heidi (03:49):
We are back today with our monthly series about five simple tasks you can
do this month to get ahead for Christmas.
Emily (03:55):
If you're someone who prefers planning ahead, Over last minute
rushing, one of the challengesof planning ahead for Christmas
is just knowing where to start.
Heidi (04:04):
So we are here to help you push back on that helpless feeling.
It might be too soon to wrap gifts orbake cookies, but there are a lot of
fundamental tasks you can do at anypoint in the year to make wrapping gifts
and baking cookies a little easier.
when we do get to that point.
Emily (04:20):
But our first task for March is something that you can actually
use all year round, and that isto stock a personal recovery kit.
Tell us about this one, Heidi.
Heidi (04:29):
I would love to.
I'm so excited about this.
So if you are someone who gets drainedby big things, even good big things, try
creating a recovery kit for yourself.
Emily (04:39):
Yeah, the idea is to get a box or a basket that you can fill
with little things to help youpamper yourself after a taxing event.
Heidi (04:47):
Obviously, this would be lovely to have as you settle into
your post Christmas life, but youcould use this any time of year.
Think how great it would be tohave this on hand after hosting
house guests for a week, or aftercompleting a big work project when
you just need a little you time.
Emily (05:04):
Definitely.
And as a little spoiler alert, if youalso join us on the Teacher Approved
podcast, we will be sharing this ideain a few weeks for helping teachers
recover from the end of the school year.
Heidi (05:14):
And it would also be helpful for teachers to have on hand at
the start of the school year.
Those first few weeks back are no joke.
All teachers deserve a little pampering.
Emily (05:25):
For sure.
I think for women, especially womenwith children talking about pampering
and taking time to rest and recovercan feel like a pie in the sky
dream or like you're being selfishfor even thinking about yourself.
But even though it might not be easyto make it happen, finding a way to
rest is essential to your health.
Heidi (05:44):
And if you are someone who struggles with that guilt over taking
time for yourself, remember that ifyou want to be able to give your best
to the people you love, you do haveto be a little selfish sometimes.
Emily (05:55):
Gretchen Rubin from the Happier Podcast has a great
saying that applies here.
When we give more to ourselves,we can ask more from ourselves.
If you want to be able to show up as thebest version of yourself, you have to
make your well being a priority sometimes.
Heidi (06:10):
And this is especially important after a draining event, like we hear
people all the time talk about howyou can't pour from an empty cup.
And making a recovery kit is a tangibleway to help refill that empty cup.
Emily (06:24):
Yeah, think how great it will feel on Christmas night to pull out
your recovery kit with some fuzzysocks or a head massager or a magazine
you love but don't normally buy.
Heidi (06:34):
Now, if socks and head massages and magazines don't
interest you, you can stock yourrecovery kit with things that do.
Maybe a craft kit or art supplieswould be more restorative for you.
Or maybe you want to stock up on someDoorDash gift cards so that you don't
have to think about meals for a few days.
Emily (06:51):
If you're not sure where to start, try thinking about your five senses.
What are some soothing sounds or scents?
What textures do you find comforting?
What's something relaxingyou can read or watch?
And of course you can't gowrong with some favorite treats.
Heidi (07:05):
I am working on adding a page to the Holiday Head Start that will
help you plan your own recovery kit.
But while I get that set up, you can getstarted on finding a box or a bin to use,
find a shelf where you can store it, andthen just start adding to it over time.
You can even make this one ofyour holiday tasks each month.
If you need a little reminder.
Emily (07:25):
We all know that we need some downtime to recover
before we can bounce back.
A recovery kit is a way to make surethat needed downtime is actually
restorative and not just crashing out.
Heidi (07:36):
And if you have a loved one going through a tough season right now,
a little recovery kit for them mightbe a welcome and much needed gift.
Emily (07:44):
All right.
Stocking and relaxation kit is tip one.
What's tip two, Heidi?
Heidi (07:49):
Well, this is to pick a holiday decorating theme or color scheme.
We used January and Februaryfor our holiday reflecting.
And now that we have moved into thesecond quintile of the year, we're
working on our holiday dreaming.
If holiday decorations are importantto you, one way you can make them
less stressful and less expensiveis to pick a decorating theme.
(08:11):
And stick to it.
That's the hard part.
Emily (08:13):
This has been a huge lifesaver for me.
I used to buy all the cuteholiday decor I came across.
Not only was this expensive, butit turns out that having more stuff
actually makes it harder to decorate.
If you have lots of small things in lotsof different styles, you end up with
festive clutter instead of cute decor.
Heidi (08:30):
Oh yeah, I have fallen into this trap many times.
Picking my holiday color schemeshas saved me lots of money and
lots of hassles over the years.
So, for example, for the 4th of July,I discovered that my decor, wait
for it, is red, white, and blue.
No.
Emily (08:44):
Groundbreaking.
Heidi (08:45):
I know.
But, once you start shopping for 4th ofJuly decor, you see that a lot of that
decor uses kind of a beige y tan insteadof white to make it look like Christmas.
Betsy Ross herself made thatpatriotic wreath and I am
always tempted by that decor.
I love it all, but I remind myselfthat it doesn't fit what I already own.
(09:06):
So I just admire it on the storeshelf and I leave it there.
Emily (09:10):
Well done.
And that's not to say you can neverchange up your holiday decor, but unless
you're wanting and can't afford a bigoverhaul, it's a safe bet to stick
with your established color scheme.
Heidi (09:22):
This is especially important with Christmas decor.
You know, all fourth of July decormore or less goes together, even if
it's not an exact match, but withChristmas, all bets are off these days.
There's, you know, all blue Christmasdecor, metallics and bright colors
with magenta and lime green.
And that is just scratching thesurface of what's available.
If you've ever looked online beforethe holidays, you know, like stores
(09:45):
have whole colorway schemes of things.
And if you don't have a vision ofwhat you want, you're just going to
end up with a lot of clashing decor.
Emily (09:55):
In the Holiday Head Start playbook, there are two pages that can help you out.
First, there's a decorating preferencespage where you can reflect on what
holiday decor means to you and whatdecoration pieces are important.
Heidi (10:07):
Yeah, I'm not someone who does much outdoor decorating, but my
neighbor across the street makes themost darling porch scapes each season.
It's so charming and welcoming.
I love it.
Also, I can say it's not for me.
Emily (10:20):
Yeah, it's easy to feel like you have to care about all
seasonal decorations if you'regoing to care about any of them.
But if you take the time tofigure out what really matters to
you, you can make sure your homereflects what you want it to say.
Heidi (10:31):
And not to mention you can save yourself from wasting
time and resources on decorationsthat don't really matter to you.
So take a few minutes to figure outyour preferences and then move on to the
second sheet playbook, which will helpyou uncover your preferred color story.
Emily (10:47):
Oh, I love this.
It's such a helpful tool.
The page is geared toward Christmas,but since it's digital, you could easily
make a copy and adapt it for any holiday.
Heidi (10:56):
Right?
So for example, I've got my red, white,and blue, no tan, 4th of July color story.
And for Christmas, I amstraight red and white.
Knowing my colors helps me save money andit also helps eliminate decision fatigue.
I'm not faced with hundreds ofchoices every time the stores
put out their new holiday decor.
Cause I know exactly what I need.
(11:16):
Although, I ain't admittingguilt here, I have been leaning
toward a totally different routewith my Christmas color story.
I really, really kind of want to go justgreen and gold and natural, but, uh, Whoa.
That's going to have to wait untilmy funds catch up with my vision.
I can't imagine with yourbeautiful red and white tree.
(11:37):
I know, but yeah, you're right.
I might be too sad to give that up.
Oh, you just need two houses.
There we go.
Emily (11:44):
I think that's the only reasonable explanation, right?
Yes.
Heidi (11:48):
Okay.
Emily, tell us about ourthird get ahead tip for March.
Emily (11:51):
This will depend on where you live, but consider working in your garage
or basement before it gets too hot.
If you've been wanting to sort throughyour bins of holiday decorations,
March is a good time to do that.
Heidi (12:02):
Unless you happen to live someplace that is already feeling the
summer temps in March, then you mightneed to save this tip for November.
Emily (12:09):
Or if you're someplace that still of snow on the ground, you
might want to save this for May.
But for those of us in the middle.
March and April are a great timeto tackle some of those organizing
tasks that are too hot to do in June.
And I had my garage reorganizedlast March, and it was
the perfect time to do it.
Although we did have kind ofa freak storm that day, so it
(12:29):
was actually pretty chilly.
But
Heidi (12:32):
better too chilly than too hot any day then.
And that brings us to our fourth tip, andthat is to edit your Christmas card list.
This is one I am definitelyjumping on this month.
There are some people that I sendChristmas cards to that I don't
hear back from, and that's fine.
I send cards because I want to sendcards, not because I expect anything back.
However, there are some people that Idon't hear from like former coworkers
(12:56):
that I think social media is justa fine enough way to stay in touch.
They don't need a card for me.
Emily (13:02):
Yeah, cards are expensive, and if you have to have your cards
printed out and you can shaveten people off your list, you can
probably save at least a few bucks,
and who couldn't use someextra cash during the holidays?
I think I can whittle mine downa little bit this year, too.
Yeah, I need all the penniesI can get come Christmas.
Yeah, and there's some people I send tothat I'm like, Do they not send one to me?
(13:24):
Cause they don't send cards and overall,like, again, I don't care, but when
you like have not really had anycontact with them for a long time, it
sometimes feels a little like, maybeI don't want to send them a card.
Yep.
Yeah.
Heidi (13:33):
Save that two or three bucks plus a stamp.
Another perk of editing your list now isthat you know, which addresses you need.
You've got lots of months still totrack down those missing addresses.
And then come December, you'regoing to be ready to stuff all
those envelopes without any hiccups.
Emily (13:50):
Our final March tip comes back to our quintile theme of dreaming.
Take some time this month to thinkabout ideas or traditions that
support your holiday purpose.
Heidi (13:59):
You could block out some time to do a formal search for ideas, or, you know,
you could scroll Pinterest while you'recatching up on your favorite TV show.
We are dreaming, so give yourselfpermission to push the limits a bit.
Emily (14:11):
If you need some help getting these tasks done, why
not schedule a holiday this monthfor tackling your holiday tasks?
Heidi (14:18):
And besides Christmas tasks, you can use that time to
plan upcoming birthdays and anyother approaching holidays, like
Easter's headed our way soon, so youmight as well get a jump on that.
Emily (14:28):
We'd love to hear what you're doing to get ahead this month.
Connect with us on Instagramat the holiday headstart.
Heidi (14:34):
Okay, Emily, let's share what we're working on this week as a way
to keep ourselves accountable and giveyou some ideas of what you can do in
advance for your own celebrations.
We're sharing what's on our to do lists.
Emily (14:45):
While I'm still working on my daughter's birthday and trying to get
ahead for Easter, I actually have quitea bit snagged for their baskets already.
And I got the cutestchocolate Highland cows.
I got them from Target.
They're from their Marks and Spencer lineand they are bigger than I was expecting.
So they're going to take a lot ofreal estate in the baskets, but
that's okay because they're so cute.
(15:06):
And of course we will call themMuckle Coos because that is what our
Scottish grandmother would call them.
But I do need to grab a fewmore things for their baskets.
So I want to get on thatsooner rather than later.
And I'm setting up mybaskets in my closet.
My kids don't go in my walk in closet.
They know that I.
Keep things in there thatare for surprises and they're
(15:26):
good to not go in there.
So i'm going to get the baskets outand start filling them now so that
I can actually see What more I needor don't need because I certainly
often have way more than I need
Heidi (15:37):
that is so smart because I know there's been You know easter
weekends when you're suddenly sweatingthat someone's basket is not nearly.
Emily (15:43):
Oh, yeah.
Tired of that, horror,
Heidi (15:45):
so smart to tackle that now?
Emily (15:48):
Yes.
And I'm lucky.
I do have a place that I can havethem out without the kids seeing them.
Heidi (15:53):
And plus you have kids that like to be surprised, so
they're not going to spoil the hat.
Emily (15:57):
Yes, exactly.
Like my kids are just like me thatI don't want to spoil a surprise.
And so I would never be tempted to lookand neither are my kids, thank heavens.
Heidi, what are you working on?
Heidi (16:07):
Well, I am going to work on cutting back my Christmas card list this week.
Last year, I ordered enoughcards that it kind of bumped
me up to the next price tier.
And I don't feel like I got enough cardsback to justify that extra 20 bucks or so.
So my goal is to get backinto that lower tier.
You know, I'll, I'll leave all theaunties and the cousins on the list.
(16:29):
But really with social media, Ihear from people all the time.
So if older mates and neighborsaren't Christmas card people, I
might as well save my money andjust keep in touch with them online.
Emily (16:39):
True story.
And because I had to bump upa tier, I ended up with like
more extra than I wanted.
So then I hated that too, thatI paid more, but then had like
leftovers that didn't get used.
So I gotta turn mine too.
Cut, cut, cut.
Heidi (16:55):
To wrap up the show, we're sharing our nice list.
Emily, what made it onyour nice list this week?
Emily (16:59):
I'm putting the book The Fall Risk by Abbey Jimenez on my nice list.
It's a short story she releasedrecently about two neighbors that end
up stranded in their apartments forthe weekend after construction workers
mistakenly remove their staircase.
I love a forced proximity.
And luckily for them, they sharea nice landing that they can hang
out on and get to know each other.
(17:20):
And Abby just does a really good jobof writing interesting characters with
genuinely difficult life issues thatthey're dealing with in a way that
doesn't feel like she trivializes it.
I don't know.
She handles, more in depth topics.
I feel like really well,even in the short story.
So I only wish this was afull length book because.
I love Abby Jimenez's books andI'm excited for her new release
(17:43):
that comes out I think nextmonth that is a full length book.
Heidi (17:46):
Well, I was so confused because I knew that book was coming out.
I thought, how could she havetwo new releases back to back?
Short story.
Makes sense.
Emily (17:54):
What's on your nice list, Heidi?
Heidi (17:56):
I am putting the Paperian brilliant weekly scheduler on my nice list.
That was a mouthful.
Yes, it is.
So I've used this planner for years.
It's undated.
And I think it's like.
14 or 15 months worth of pages.
So it's just one sheet a week.
It's like a, like a foot, long,11 inches long, something like
that, and about four inches tall.
(18:16):
So the size of a sub sandwich got it.
Exactly.
But I like it cause I can just,it fits on the corner of my desk.
I can see everything Ineed for the week on one.
It, I haven't found anything else thatworks quite as well for me, although I
do, I did see someone online on Instagram.
I saw someone that had that, it was kindof like that same layout, but it had a
month calendar that went on top of it.
(18:37):
That is what I really want.
So I started following them so I couldjump on it when they released the 2026.
So maybe coming soonto a future nice list.
We'll have to see, but forthe meantime, I love this.
It's just handy.
It's flexible.
It doesn't take up my whole desk,so it's exactly what I need and
(18:57):
think it's always been on Amazon.
I've always bought it from Etsy.
It's not an Etsy anymore, but it is onAmazon and it's quite a bit cheaper.
So I'll put a link tothat in the show notes.
That is it for today's episode.
Try out these five tips to helpyou get ahead on holiday prep this
month and don't forget to schedulea holiday so you have a set time
for tackling those get ahead tasks.
(19:18):
Thanks for tuning in today.
Use this week to get a head starton planning for what's ahead.
And remember, don't getit perfect, get it going.
Come follow along on Instagramat theholidayheadstart.
We would love to hear from you.
If you liked this episode, head toApple Podcasts and leave us a review.
We'll see you here next week.
Welcome to the Holiday Head Start Podcast,where we get intentional about kicking
overwhelm to the curb and bringing thejoy back to your holidays and every day.
I'm Heidi, and I'm Emily.
We're two sisters and former elementaries.
(00:27):
And we're 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 daysthat make life special don't become
the days that make you stressed.
You can check out the shownotes at theholidayheadstart.
com.
Ready to get a headstart on your holidays?
Let's go!
Heidi (00:53):
Hey there, friends.
Welcome back to theHoliday Head Start podcast.
Today we are sharing five simplethings you can do in March to
get ahead for the holidays.
Emily (01:01):
But first we have a tradition spotlight.
Traditions are an important tool inbuilding a healthy, happy, connected life.
This week we have a tradition from Heidi.
Heidi (01:11):
Well, this isn't one of my own traditions, but I came
across a thread the other day.
That was a roundup ofgentle April fool's jokes.
And I thought they were so fun.
And I thought maybe all of youwould enjoy hearing about them too.
So Sam said he did a surpriseChristmas for his family.
Everyone got a present and they had aChristmas dinner with chicken instead of a
whole Turkey and listen to holiday music.
(01:32):
And he even dressed uplike a budget Santa Claus.
Like it was very much a throwntogether costume, but he had a picture.
It was so cute.
Rachel says, and I'm just goingto quote exactly what she says.
She says the soft pretzel tree onlyblooms once a year on April 1st.
We wake up and pick the soft pretzels forbreakfast with butter and cinnamon sugar.
And she explains, I bake some soft frozenpretzels, hang them from the branches
(01:55):
of our tree and then wake everybody up.
That is so cute.
And think how happy Stanley from theoffice would be to have a pretzel tree.
So would Neil.
He loves us.
Oh, he does.
You have to do that.
I'm going to think about it.
Danny suggested hiding all of thesilverware and then serving something
messy for dinner like spaghetti andthen you just start eating with your
(02:17):
hands and act like it's totally normal.
Oh my gosh.
And along those lines, Shiloh sayshis mom used to make a normal dinner
on April Fool's, but instead ofsetting the table, she would put
random items in brown grocery sacksand they had to eat off of, or with
whatever happened to be in the bag.
Oh gosh.
So instead of a plate, theymight have a container lid.
(02:37):
Your fork might be a pasta serverand your cup might be a gravy boat.
Oh my gosh.
So it was hilarious to see everyoneopen up their bag and April
Fool's Day was something thatthey looked forward to all year.
That is cute.
I've heard that before.
That's a really cute idea.
And several people mentionedsticking googly eyes on everything,
which I'm always here for.
Emily (02:58):
I've done that twice, including last year.
And I was informed that it wasn't as funnybecause I had already done it once before.
I'm like, Oh my gosh, you guys,it's hard to think of things.
They've got high standards.
Yes.
Seriously.
So I'm going to have to dosomething else this year.
But the first year I did it,they thought it was hilarious.
Heidi (03:16):
Well Maisie had a fun idea that might work where you
wrap all their food in Christmas
Um, Rebecca suggested having thetooth fairy come and leave fake
teeth under a pillow as a refund.
April Fool's Day can be lots of fun.
A fun way to add a littlesurprise for the people you love.
It doesn't have to be mean or hurtful orsomething that's going to make a mess.
(03:41):
You can just have fun with it.
Emily (03:42):
Yes.
We'd love to hear about yourfavorite April Fool's traditions.
Come join us on Instagramat the Holiday Head Start.
Heidi (03:49):
We are back today with our monthly series about five simple tasks you can
do this month to get ahead for Christmas.
Emily (03:55):
If you're someone who prefers planning ahead, Over last minute
rushing, one of the challengesof planning ahead for Christmas
is just knowing where to start.
Heidi (04:04):
So we are here to help you push back on that helpless feeling.
It might be too soon to wrap gifts orbake cookies, but there are a lot of
fundamental tasks you can do at anypoint in the year to make wrapping gifts
and baking cookies a little easier.
when we do get to that point.
Emily (04:20):
But our first task for March is something that you can actually
use all year round, and that isto stock a personal recovery kit.
Tell us about this one, Heidi.
Heidi (04:29):
I would love to.
I'm so excited about this.
So if you are someone who gets drainedby big things, even good big things, try
creating a recovery kit for yourself.
Emily (04:39):
Yeah, the idea is to get a box or a basket that you can fill
with little things to help youpamper yourself after a taxing event.
Heidi (04:47):
Obviously, this would be lovely to have as you settle into
your post Christmas life, but youcould use this any time of year.
Think how great it would be tohave this on hand after hosting
house guests for a week, or aftercompleting a big work project when
you just need a little you time.
Emily (05:04):
Definitely.
And as a little spoiler alert, if youalso join us on the Teacher Approved
podcast, we will be sharing this ideain a few weeks for helping teachers
recover from the end of the school year.
Heidi (05:14):
And it would also be helpful for teachers to have on hand at
the start of the school year.
Those first few weeks back are no joke.
All teachers deserve a little pampering.
Emily (05:25):
For sure.
I think for women, especially womenwith children talking about pampering
and taking time to rest and recovercan feel like a pie in the sky
dream or like you're being selfishfor even thinking about yourself.
But even though it might not be easyto make it happen, finding a way to
rest is essential to your health.
Heidi (05:44):
And if you are someone who struggles with that guilt over taking
time for yourself, remember that ifyou want to be able to give your best
to the people you love, you do haveto be a little selfish sometimes.
Emily (05:55):
Gretchen Rubin from the Happier Podcast has a great
saying that applies here.
When we give more to ourselves,we can ask more from ourselves.
If you want to be able to show up as thebest version of yourself, you have to
make your well being a priority sometimes.
Heidi (06:10):
And this is especially important after a draining event, like we hear
people all the time talk about howyou can't pour from an empty cup.
And making a recovery kit is a tangibleway to help refill that empty cup.
Emily (06:24):
Yeah, think how great it will feel on Christmas night to pull out
your recovery kit with some fuzzysocks or a head massager or a magazine
you love but don't normally buy.
Heidi (06:34):
Now, if socks and head massages and magazines don't
interest you, you can stock yourrecovery kit with things that do.
Maybe a craft kit or art supplieswould be more restorative for you.
Or maybe you want to stock up on someDoorDash gift cards so that you don't
have to think about meals for a few days.
Emily (06:51):
If you're not sure where to start, try thinking about your five senses.
What are some soothing sounds or scents?
What textures do you find comforting?
What's something relaxingyou can read or watch?
And of course you can't gowrong with some favorite treats.
Heidi (07:05):
I am working on adding a page to the Holiday Head Start that will
help you plan your own recovery kit.
But while I get that set up, you can getstarted on finding a box or a bin to use,
find a shelf where you can store it, andthen just start adding to it over time.
You can even make this one ofyour holiday tasks each month.
If you need a little reminder.
Emily (07:25):
We all know that we need some downtime to recover
before we can bounce back.
A recovery kit is a way to make surethat needed downtime is actually
restorative and not just crashing out.
Heidi (07:36):
And if you have a loved one going through a tough season right now,
a little recovery kit for them mightbe a welcome and much needed gift.
Emily (07:44):
All right.
Stocking and relaxation kit is tip one.
What's tip two, Heidi?
Heidi (07:49):
Well, this is to pick a holiday decorating theme or color scheme.
We used January and Februaryfor our holiday reflecting.
And now that we have moved into thesecond quintile of the year, we're
working on our holiday dreaming.
If holiday decorations are importantto you, one way you can make them
less stressful and less expensiveis to pick a decorating theme.
(08:11):
And stick to it.
That's the hard part.
Emily (08:13):
This has been a huge lifesaver for me.
I used to buy all the cuteholiday decor I came across.
Not only was this expensive, butit turns out that having more stuff
actually makes it harder to decorate.
If you have lots of small things in lotsof different styles, you end up with
festive clutter instead of cute decor.
Heidi (08:30):
Oh yeah, I have fallen into this trap many times.
Picking my holiday color schemeshas saved me lots of money and
lots of hassles over the years.
So, for example, for the 4th of July,I discovered that my decor, wait
for it, is red, white, and blue.
No.
Emily (08:44):
Groundbreaking.
Heidi (08:45):
I know.
But, once you start shopping for 4th ofJuly decor, you see that a lot of that
decor uses kind of a beige y tan insteadof white to make it look like Christmas.
Betsy Ross herself made thatpatriotic wreath and I am
always tempted by that decor.
I love it all, but I remind myselfthat it doesn't fit what I already own.
(09:06):
So I just admire it on the storeshelf and I leave it there.
Emily (09:10):
Well done.
And that's not to say you can neverchange up your holiday decor, but unless
you're wanting and can't afford a bigoverhaul, it's a safe bet to stick
with your established color scheme.
Heidi (09:22):
This is especially important with Christmas decor.
You know, all fourth of July decormore or less goes together, even if
it's not an exact match, but withChristmas, all bets are off these days.
There's, you know, all blue Christmasdecor, metallics and bright colors
with magenta and lime green.
And that is just scratching thesurface of what's available.
If you've ever looked online beforethe holidays, you know, like stores
(09:45):
have whole colorway schemes of things.
And if you don't have a vision ofwhat you want, you're just going to
end up with a lot of clashing decor.
Emily (09:55):
In the Holiday Head Start playbook, there are two pages that can help you out.
First, there's a decorating preferencespage where you can reflect on what
holiday decor means to you and whatdecoration pieces are important.
Heidi (10:07):
Yeah, I'm not someone who does much outdoor decorating, but my
neighbor across the street makes themost darling porch scapes each season.
It's so charming and welcoming.
I love it.
Also, I can say it's not for me.
Emily (10:20):
Yeah, it's easy to feel like you have to care about all
seasonal decorations if you'regoing to care about any of them.
But if you take the time tofigure out what really matters to
you, you can make sure your homereflects what you want it to say.
Heidi (10:31):
And not to mention you can save yourself from wasting
time and resources on decorationsthat don't really matter to you.
So take a few minutes to figure outyour preferences and then move on to the
second sheet playbook, which will helpyou uncover your preferred color story.
Emily (10:47):
Oh, I love this.
It's such a helpful tool.
The page is geared toward Christmas,but since it's digital, you could easily
make a copy and adapt it for any holiday.
Heidi (10:56):
Right?
So for example, I've got my red, white,and blue, no tan, 4th of July color story.
And for Christmas, I amstraight red and white.
Knowing my colors helps me save money andit also helps eliminate decision fatigue.
I'm not faced with hundreds ofchoices every time the stores
put out their new holiday decor.
Cause I know exactly what I need.
(11:16):
Although, I ain't admittingguilt here, I have been leaning
toward a totally different routewith my Christmas color story.
I really, really kind of want to go justgreen and gold and natural, but, uh, Whoa.
That's going to have to wait untilmy funds catch up with my vision.
I can't imagine with yourbeautiful red and white tree.
(11:37):
I know, but yeah, you're right.
I might be too sad to give that up.
Oh, you just need two houses.
There we go.
Emily (11:44):
I think that's the only reasonable explanation, right?
Yes.
Heidi (11:48):
Okay.
Emily, tell us about ourthird get ahead tip for March.
Emily (11:51):
This will depend on where you live, but consider working in your garage
or basement before it gets too hot.
If you've been wanting to sort throughyour bins of holiday decorations,
March is a good time to do that.
Heidi (12:02):
Unless you happen to live someplace that is already feeling the
summer temps in March, then you mightneed to save this tip for November.
Emily (12:09):
Or if you're someplace that still of snow on the ground, you
might want to save this for May.
But for those of us in the middle.
March and April are a great timeto tackle some of those organizing
tasks that are too hot to do in June.
And I had my garage reorganizedlast March, and it was
the perfect time to do it.
Although we did have kind ofa freak storm that day, so it
(12:29):
was actually pretty chilly.
But
Heidi (12:32):
better too chilly than too hot any day then.
And that brings us to our fourth tip, andthat is to edit your Christmas card list.
This is one I am definitelyjumping on this month.
There are some people that I sendChristmas cards to that I don't
hear back from, and that's fine.
I send cards because I want to sendcards, not because I expect anything back.
However, there are some people that Idon't hear from like former coworkers
(12:56):
that I think social media is justa fine enough way to stay in touch.
They don't need a card for me.
Emily (13:02):
Yeah, cards are expensive, and if you have to have your cards
printed out and you can shaveten people off your list, you can
probably save at least a few bucks,
and who couldn't use someextra cash during the holidays?
I think I can whittle mine downa little bit this year, too.
Yeah, I need all the penniesI can get come Christmas.
Yeah, and there's some people I send tothat I'm like, Do they not send one to me?
(13:24):
Cause they don't send cards and overall,like, again, I don't care, but when
you like have not really had anycontact with them for a long time, it
sometimes feels a little like, maybeI don't want to send them a card.
Yep.
Yeah.
Heidi (13:33):
Save that two or three bucks plus a stamp.
Another perk of editing your list now isthat you know, which addresses you need.
You've got lots of months still totrack down those missing addresses.
And then come December, you'regoing to be ready to stuff all
those envelopes without any hiccups.
Emily (13:50):
Our final March tip comes back to our quintile theme of dreaming.
Take some time this month to thinkabout ideas or traditions that
support your holiday purpose.
Heidi (13:59):
You could block out some time to do a formal search for ideas, or, you know,
you could scroll Pinterest while you'recatching up on your favorite TV show.
We are dreaming, so give yourselfpermission to push the limits a bit.
Emily (14:11):
If you need some help getting these tasks done, why
not schedule a holiday this monthfor tackling your holiday tasks?
Heidi (14:18):
And besides Christmas tasks, you can use that time to
plan upcoming birthdays and anyother approaching holidays, like
Easter's headed our way soon, so youmight as well get a jump on that.
Emily (14:28):
We'd love to hear what you're doing to get ahead this month.
Connect with us on Instagramat the holiday headstart.
Heidi (14:34):
Okay, Emily, let's share what we're working on this week as a way
to keep ourselves accountable and giveyou some ideas of what you can do in
advance for your own celebrations.
We're sharing what's on our to do lists.
Emily (14:45):
While I'm still working on my daughter's birthday and trying to get
ahead for Easter, I actually have quitea bit snagged for their baskets already.
And I got the cutestchocolate Highland cows.
I got them from Target.
They're from their Marks and Spencer lineand they are bigger than I was expecting.
So they're going to take a lot ofreal estate in the baskets, but
that's okay because they're so cute.
(15:06):
And of course we will call themMuckle Coos because that is what our
Scottish grandmother would call them.
But I do need to grab a fewmore things for their baskets.
So I want to get on thatsooner rather than later.
And I'm setting up mybaskets in my closet.
My kids don't go in my walk in closet.
They know that I.
Keep things in there thatare for surprises and they're
(15:26):
good to not go in there.
So i'm going to get the baskets outand start filling them now so that
I can actually see What more I needor don't need because I certainly
often have way more than I need
Heidi (15:37):
that is so smart because I know there's been You know easter
weekends when you're suddenly sweatingthat someone's basket is not nearly.
Emily (15:43):
Oh, yeah.
Tired of that, horror,
Heidi (15:45):
so smart to tackle that now?
Emily (15:48):
Yes.
And I'm lucky.
I do have a place that I can havethem out without the kids seeing them.
Heidi (15:53):
And plus you have kids that like to be surprised, so
they're not going to spoil the hat.
Emily (15:57):
Yes, exactly.
Like my kids are just like me thatI don't want to spoil a surprise.
And so I would never be tempted to lookand neither are my kids, thank heavens.
Heidi, what are you working on?
Heidi (16:07):
Well, I am going to work on cutting back my Christmas card list this week.
Last year, I ordered enoughcards that it kind of bumped
me up to the next price tier.
And I don't feel like I got enough cardsback to justify that extra 20 bucks or so.
So my goal is to get backinto that lower tier.
You know, I'll, I'll leave all theaunties and the cousins on the list.
(16:29):
But really with social media, Ihear from people all the time.
So if older mates and neighborsaren't Christmas card people, I
might as well save my money andjust keep in touch with them online.
Emily (16:39):
True story.
And because I had to bump upa tier, I ended up with like
more extra than I wanted.
So then I hated that too, thatI paid more, but then had like
leftovers that didn't get used.
So I gotta turn mine too.
Cut, cut, cut.
Heidi (16:55):
To wrap up the show, we're sharing our nice list.
Emily, what made it onyour nice list this week?
Emily (16:59):
I'm putting the book The Fall Risk by Abbey Jimenez on my nice list.
It's a short story she releasedrecently about two neighbors that end
up stranded in their apartments forthe weekend after construction workers
mistakenly remove their staircase.
I love a forced proximity.
And luckily for them, they sharea nice landing that they can hang
out on and get to know each other.
(17:20):
And Abby just does a really good jobof writing interesting characters with
genuinely difficult life issues thatthey're dealing with in a way that
doesn't feel like she trivializes it.
I don't know.
She handles, more in depth topics.
I feel like really well,even in the short story.
So I only wish this was afull length book because.
I love Abby Jimenez's books andI'm excited for her new release
(17:43):
that comes out I think nextmonth that is a full length book.
Heidi (17:46):
Well, I was so confused because I knew that book was coming out.
I thought, how could she havetwo new releases back to back?
Short story.
Makes sense.
Emily (17:54):
What's on your nice list, Heidi?
Heidi (17:56):
I am putting the Paperian brilliant weekly scheduler on my nice list.
That was a mouthful.
Yes, it is.
So I've used this planner for years.
It's undated.
And I think it's like.
14 or 15 months worth of pages.
So it's just one sheet a week.
It's like a, like a foot, long,11 inches long, something like
that, and about four inches tall.
(18:16):
So the size of a sub sandwich got it.
Exactly.
But I like it cause I can just,it fits on the corner of my desk.
I can see everything Ineed for the week on one.
It, I haven't found anything else thatworks quite as well for me, although I
do, I did see someone online on Instagram.
I saw someone that had that, it was kindof like that same layout, but it had a
month calendar that went on top of it.
(18:37):
That is what I really want.
So I started following them so I couldjump on it when they released the 2026.
So maybe coming soonto a future nice list.
We'll have to see, but forthe meantime, I love this.
It's just handy.
It's flexible.
It doesn't take up my whole desk,so it's exactly what I need and
(18:57):
think it's always been on Amazon.
I've always bought it from Etsy.
It's not an Etsy anymore, but it is onAmazon and it's quite a bit cheaper.
So I'll put a link tothat in the show notes.
That is it for today's episode.
Try out these five tips to helpyou get ahead on holiday prep this
month and don't forget to schedulea holiday so you have a set time
for tackling those get ahead tasks.
(19:18):
Thanks for tuning in today.
Use this week to get a head starton planning for what's ahead.
And remember, don't getit perfect, get it going.
Come follow along on Instagramat theholidayheadstart.
We would love to hear from you.
If you liked this episode, head toApple Podcasts and leave us a review.
We'll see you here next week.
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