October 1, 2025 • 17 mins
Christmas doesn’t have to be chaos. In this episode, Gemma unpacks what Organised Christmas is really about (not perfection), but scaffolding that gives you breathing room when December gets busy.
From presents wrapped before December, to money saved with supermarket pots and bargain finds on Vinted, Team TOM shares their biggest wins from last year.
You’ll hear how tiny steps now ...a gift list here, a pantry check there can snowball into little wins when the festive season arrives. ✨
From presents wrapped before December, to money saved with supermarket pots and bargain finds on Vinted, Team TOM shares their biggest wins from last year.
You’ll hear how tiny steps now ...a gift list here, a pantry check there can snowball into little wins when the festive season arrives. ✨
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
There, we get there, We get there, We here, we get.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Tom. Welcome back to Tom Extra Spin.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I'm, of course Jemma. I am the founder of Tom
and also the Tom app. And today we're going to
be talking about something that crops up every single autumn Christmas.
Prep Now, before you panic, I am not about to
tell you to start defrosting the turkey in September. This
is all about a gentle scaffolding, So putting in a
(00:51):
bit of support early on, just when the leaves are
starting to fall, so that when December does roll around
you can actually enjoy it rather than feeling like you're
about to run a marathon covered in tinsel.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So for those of you who are.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Not new here, you will know all about organized Christmas,
but some of you might be new. So we do
organize Christmas every single year, and every single year I
get told off talking about it too soon, the radio
interviews me, the newspapers like I can't believe it talk
about and then every single year I can guarantee and
one rolls around, we circle back and they're like, gem
(01:26):
you are right, but you know I am not one
to tell you that I told you. So if you
want to join in you can join in, you can
cherry pick the best bits of organized Christmas. We basically
start on the first week of September, so you're like, gem,
I'm already behind. That's fine, you can catch up.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
You can jump in whenever you want.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
We also do an Organized Christmas catch up at the
end of November as well, because obviously, realistically there are
going to be some weeks where you might not be
able to fully engage. But there's one thing that I
want to really hammer home. It's quite a violent term,
isn't it. That I really want to emphasize in today's
(02:05):
episode that the whole reason why we do it is
so that you, the orchestrator of Christmas, can actually have
a nice time. So for me, organized Christmas isn't about
getting everything done months in advance, just like ticking things
off for the sake of ticking things off so you
can be all smug. It's about taking those pressure points,
(02:29):
so thinking about the shopping, the wrapping, the cooking, and
stretching them out a little bit so you don't hit
them in December like a brick wall. So it's not
about perfection. It's not about having matching Christmas pajamas.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Ironed in November.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
But I mean, you know, unless you want to, and
I think that's the caveat for everything that we do
here at tom unless you want to do what makes
you happy, not what you feel like you should do.
So it's about taking those pressure points, identifying what those
pressure points are for you and for your lifestyle, working
(03:08):
out what they are, stretching them out over a few
weeks so that you feel a lot calmer. You give
yourself a little bit of headspace, and it's almost like
you're giving yourself the gift a breathing room, because December
is already jam packed, isn't it. We've got concerts, school fairs,
if you've got kids at school, you've got work parties,
(03:30):
travel visitors. You know, the weather, Even the weather, I
mean doing things in the winter always seems like it's such.
It's more of a polar isn't it. You've got your boots,
your gloves, your hats, you're scarce, there's more paraphernalia.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
So even the weather kind of just adds to the
to do lists. So then when you sort of wrap in.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Presents, cleaning the spare room, writing fifty cards, all into
the same bit of time of the year, say a
couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Well, that's Christmas.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
It's no wonder we always always used to feel stressed,
isn't it. The reason why I personally start early, is
it because I'm obsessed with Christmas?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
I mean, I do love Christmas.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
It's because I like myself in December when I'm not
burnt out, and I think my friends and my family
much refer me when I'm not burnt out as well.
You know, I want to be able to actually enjoy
the mince pies and all of the nice little goodies
and treats without having like a constant nagging thought in
the back of my brain about what I should be doing,
(04:33):
what else needs to be done, because then you don't
become present, and then you start to become resentful. And
if you're thinking to yourself, God, you know what, German,
does this actually really make a difference. Let me share
some of the winds that came through from the teen
Tom community last year, and you know there might be
something in there that you go, yes, okay, it's clicked.
(04:57):
There were people who had all their presents bought and
wrap before decembody and started. One of them had even
stashed the whole lot, I think in the garage in
an air tight box to make su Obviously they didn't
get ruined, so therefore avoiding like the creaky stairs panic
on Christmas each which I think is genius.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
And I think this is one.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Of the lovely side effects of following something like Organized
Christmas is because it frees up your headspace to think
about all of those little incidentals that might seem quite small,
but they have a massive impact on just how the
whole thing goes really and on the money side, like
(05:35):
so many of you smashed your budgets, some us like
some of you use supermarket saber pots or like the
supermarket vouchers to cover the big shot that you saved
them up over the whole year. Other people set a
small amount aside each month, kept it nice and safe
in a pot like in their banking app, and breeze
through December without even touching the credit card, which is
(05:56):
like the dream, isn't it? And don't forget a lot
of people spoke to me about bargains coming in from
Vented as well, gifts and Christmas clothes brand new with
the tag still on for a fraction of the price.
So when we're starting to.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Think about it nice and early.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
It gives us that opportunity and that time to delve
a little bit deeper to find the bargains, because obviously
that takes a little bit longer, doesn't It takes a
little bit of headspace and planning and thinking about it, but.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It gives us that wiggle room now.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Of course, food is another massive thing, and food prep
was another big win. Some of the winds that came
in from the community from last year, so some of
you filled your freezer asides, others pre ordered Christmas dinner boxes.
Loads of you stocked up on the boring bits, but
you know, the really essential bits like batteries and tinfoil
(06:49):
and stuff nice and early on in September so you
could save your budget from your food budget in December
for the fun stuff and also thinking about things like
food and just Christmas in general.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
A really important.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Win here is making sure that you are doing things
that work for you and your lifestyle and your family.
Like I said earlier on in the episode, cherry picking
the important bits and just ditching the stuff that doesn't
apply your Christmas, your rules.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
So if we are doing we've got twelve I think
this year for Christmas.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
If everyone confirms and listen, I will be buying stuff
from emins like it's because really like if you think
about it, yes, I think it feels lovely. And you know,
I like cooking. I really like cooking. But when I
look at it on balance, I would rather spend my
(07:51):
time with my family. And do I want to spend
my time prepping in advance? I don't know, Baby, some
bits I haven't really thought about it. But for the
other bits that you wouldn't really ever be able to
tell if it was homemade or not. And I'm talking
things like cranberry sauce and that sort of thing. I mean,
I know you can tell homemade cranberry sauce, but.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Does anybody actually care? That's what you need to ask yourself.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
I'll be going down to m Ands and I've got
absolutely no shame whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
And then, of course you think about the tradition.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
So December the first marks the start of Advent, and
I know that for a lot of people, Christmas eve
boxes are a big thing.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
But what a lot of teams on members do.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Is think about the use that you're going to get
out of those items in the Christmas eve boxes.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
So if you're giving your kids a.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Box with Christmas pajamas in or maybe a Christmas movie
or something like that that's shown my age and DVD.
No one watches DVDs anymore, Gemma, A lot of people
switch it and they make it a start a December box.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
It ekes out the fun and.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Also so your kids are going to get much more
aware out of everything and more use that of everything
because they're going to be able to use them for
the whole of December.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
And think about things that you don't have to be spending.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
A fortune like Christmas, Christmas eve boxes, advent boxes.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
They're not essential.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
They're things that have just kind of like appeared in
the last few years. Saying with that bluming elf, Oh
my goodness, you don't have to do Elf on the
shelf if you don't want to. Our elf we fell
into the track one year and our elf got called
back on emergency business because I was like, do you
know what my I can't I'm making a mess with
(09:36):
flower and staff that the elf has done and then
I'm coming down in the morning cleaning it up. Like
none of this makes any sense. So think about traditions
that are going to suit you, your family, your lifestyle.
Someone went on a tractor parade, which I think is
absolutely fantastic. They must live somewhere in the countryside. Scavenger
hunts for Christmas lights, Christmas ice cream runs.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Like thinking a a bit out of the box.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
We always go for a meal now now that everyone
all the kids are a little bit older, on Christmas Eve,
we go to the restaurant down the roads. It's walking distance,
which means Mike and I can have a wine and
someone else does the washing up and we have a
meal there. It's become quite efficient and then we walk
home and it's lovely. But when the kids were younger,
we used to have a little walk down to just
(10:23):
around and we'd normally do either do a carpit picnic
and maybe watch the Snowman. Every year when they were
like very little, have a carpet picnic, go for a
walk wears them out. They can have a little look
for Father Christmas in the sky and then they can
go to bed. And then when they were slightly older,
we used to walk down to the fish and chip
shop down the road, grab a bag of chips and
sort of walk around eating our chips, looking at.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That everyone's lovely Christmas lights.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
So there's all things that you can do, little touches
that make December magical without having to necessarily spend a fortune,
but without adding also to the stress.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
And obviously budget is a huge thing.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
And one thing that I really wanted to emphasize as
well today is that again, organized Christmas isn't about stuff.
It's not about who's got the most presence under the tree.
It's not about some over consumption fest. It's not about
that at all. And one thing that I know that
you all love is the rule when you're buying gifts,
(11:19):
which helps to a set expectations and also be set some.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Really firm guardrails for budget.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
So something they want, something they need, something to wear,
and something.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
To read is a really good little guideline for kids.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
And I know that some people add a fifth one
in which is something to do, like maybe tickets to
see something or an event or that kind of thing,
and it just really helps to stop that overwhelming feeling
of have I got an off?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
What do I need to do?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
And that can sometimes cause you to overspend. So it's
all about thinking within your budget, cash within your time
budget as well, because Obviously, there are only so many
hours that you're going to have free in December. You
don't suddenly get a magic money tree in December, and
you certainly don't get a magic minut tree where all
(12:12):
of these extra minutes fall out of the sky and
you suddenly have loads of time to be cooking a
Christmas feast like Nigella Laws or Delia Smith if you've
never done it or don't have time to do it
any other time in the year. But the win that
really stood out the most when I speak to people
about this after they followed organized Christmas is everyone talks
(12:32):
about like the sense of calm and how prepping ahead
helps them to feel more peaceful. So they felt more
present with family with friends because the groundwork was already done,
And like I said, they've not got like one part
of their brain frantically scurrying through a to do list
thinking about when they're going to go to the supermarket
(12:54):
and buy their turkey whilst they're trying to watch a
Nativity play. So that's what organized Christmas is all about.
And if you have never followed it before, if this
is brand new information to you, then every Monday on
TikTok Instagram and also YouTube. About ten am, give or
take a few minutes, I will post a small list
(13:18):
of jobs, so I'm two three jobs to do that week,
just tick through and then it all kind of builds
on what we did the week before. And then the
idea is by the time you get to December, the
first you put you much done and you're going to
have that sense of calm and that sense of, oh
my goodness, Okay, I do have this headspace to actually
(13:42):
enjoy this because early wins they stack up and they
snowball pardon the pun, over time. So what can you
do this week? Thinking that with all of this in mind,
can you get yourself an early win this week? What
can you do this week to give future you that
same sense of calm. You don't even have to be
(14:04):
following organized Christmas to do this, or if you are,
this is like a nice little bonus.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
So glance at your.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
December calendar now and there might already read some things
in there, So spot the crunch points early. Are there
any bottlenecks? Do kids break up on the same day.
Do you have one day where the kids one kid
breaks up at midday and the other kid breaks up
at three.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Are you working from home that day?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Is it a good idea to maybe not plan in
a lot of meetings considering you have to do the
school run three times back and forth. That always happens
to us. So are there any bottlenecks in your calendar
that you can anticipate now that you can put some mitigation?
Mitigate basically in place so that you are not stressed
on that day. Do something really simple like check cure
(14:54):
wrapping paper stash. Do you have loads already left over
from last year so you don't have to go out
and buy anything else? You can save money? Do you
have paper? Do you have tape? Do you have tags
that you can.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Reuse this year?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
And also do a freezer and pantry stock take now,
if you were or have taken part in organized Christmas
so far, you'll know that we did that a couple
of weeks ago. So before we've done that, you're good.
But with the budget in mind, just have a little look.
You might still have things lingering in there from last year,
mince pies, viennetta, that sort of thing. Maybe that tells
(15:26):
you that you don't need to buy as much of.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
That this year.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Gives you a little bit of data, or maybe there's
stuff in there that you can use up between now
and Christmas so that you can save someone on your
food budget by using up what you've got and also
make some.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Room in your pantry and your freezer as well.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
And now these things aren't dramatic, they're little winds that
they are not dramatic, but they do snowball. And these
tiny little steps, even taken like really early in December
or October, suddenly December starts to feel lighter and much
less daunting. So if you take anything from today, I
hope it's this the calm before the tinsel. Like all
(16:09):
of that prep, all of this slowly ticking things off,
it isn't boring. It's not I rollie like, don't be like, oh.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
My god, a comment that's how sad, how sad.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
It's actually the scaffolding that is going to make December
a little bit more fun, a little bit lighter and
more joyful.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
And don't forget.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
If you have the tom app, you search the Organized
Method on the app stores. If you go to the
life admin section, the Organized Christmas checklist is all there
for you, so you can even skip ahead if you
want to. And there's also some other little life admin
things on there that you can also have a little
look at SOP. Actually, if you've got a kid's birthday
(16:51):
coming up around about December, I know the loads of
you that try and jug all the two.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
There's an organized.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Kids party checklist on there as well. Thank you for listening,
and as always, remember that there is more to life
than housework.
There, we get there, We get there, We here, we get.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Tom. Welcome back to Tom Extra Spin.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I'm, of course Jemma. I am the founder of Tom
and also the Tom app. And today we're going to
be talking about something that crops up every single autumn Christmas.
Prep Now, before you panic, I am not about to
tell you to start defrosting the turkey in September. This
is all about a gentle scaffolding, So putting in a
(00:51):
bit of support early on, just when the leaves are
starting to fall, so that when December does roll around
you can actually enjoy it rather than feeling like you're
about to run a marathon covered in tinsel.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
So for those of you who are.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Not new here, you will know all about organized Christmas,
but some of you might be new. So we do
organize Christmas every single year, and every single year I
get told off talking about it too soon, the radio
interviews me, the newspapers like I can't believe it talk
about and then every single year I can guarantee and
one rolls around, we circle back and they're like, gem
(01:26):
you are right, but you know I am not one
to tell you that I told you. So if you
want to join in you can join in, you can
cherry pick the best bits of organized Christmas. We basically
start on the first week of September, so you're like, gem,
I'm already behind. That's fine, you can catch up.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
You can jump in whenever you want.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
We also do an Organized Christmas catch up at the
end of November as well, because obviously, realistically there are
going to be some weeks where you might not be
able to fully engage. But there's one thing that I
want to really hammer home. It's quite a violent term,
isn't it. That I really want to emphasize in today's
(02:05):
episode that the whole reason why we do it is
so that you, the orchestrator of Christmas, can actually have
a nice time. So for me, organized Christmas isn't about
getting everything done months in advance, just like ticking things
off for the sake of ticking things off so you
can be all smug. It's about taking those pressure points,
(02:29):
so thinking about the shopping, the wrapping, the cooking, and
stretching them out a little bit so you don't hit
them in December like a brick wall. So it's not
about perfection. It's not about having matching Christmas pajamas.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Ironed in November.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
But I mean, you know, unless you want to, and
I think that's the caveat for everything that we do
here at tom unless you want to do what makes
you happy, not what you feel like you should do.
So it's about taking those pressure points, identifying what those
pressure points are for you and for your lifestyle, working
(03:08):
out what they are, stretching them out over a few
weeks so that you feel a lot calmer. You give
yourself a little bit of headspace, and it's almost like
you're giving yourself the gift a breathing room, because December
is already jam packed, isn't it. We've got concerts, school fairs,
if you've got kids at school, you've got work parties,
(03:30):
travel visitors. You know, the weather, Even the weather, I
mean doing things in the winter always seems like it's such.
It's more of a polar isn't it. You've got your boots,
your gloves, your hats, you're scarce, there's more paraphernalia.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
So even the weather kind of just adds to the
to do lists. So then when you sort of wrap in.
Speaker 3 (03:53):
Presents, cleaning the spare room, writing fifty cards, all into
the same bit of time of the year, say a
couple of weeks.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Well, that's Christmas.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
It's no wonder we always always used to feel stressed,
isn't it. The reason why I personally start early, is
it because I'm obsessed with Christmas?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
I mean, I do love Christmas.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
It's because I like myself in December when I'm not
burnt out, and I think my friends and my family
much refer me when I'm not burnt out as well.
You know, I want to be able to actually enjoy
the mince pies and all of the nice little goodies
and treats without having like a constant nagging thought in
the back of my brain about what I should be doing,
(04:33):
what else needs to be done, because then you don't
become present, and then you start to become resentful. And
if you're thinking to yourself, God, you know what, German,
does this actually really make a difference. Let me share
some of the winds that came through from the teen
Tom community last year, and you know there might be
something in there that you go, yes, okay, it's clicked.
(04:57):
There were people who had all their presents bought and
wrap before decembody and started. One of them had even
stashed the whole lot, I think in the garage in
an air tight box to make su Obviously they didn't
get ruined, so therefore avoiding like the creaky stairs panic
on Christmas each which I think is genius.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
And I think this is one.
Speaker 3 (05:14):
Of the lovely side effects of following something like Organized
Christmas is because it frees up your headspace to think
about all of those little incidentals that might seem quite small,
but they have a massive impact on just how the
whole thing goes really and on the money side, like
(05:35):
so many of you smashed your budgets, some us like
some of you use supermarket saber pots or like the
supermarket vouchers to cover the big shot that you saved
them up over the whole year. Other people set a
small amount aside each month, kept it nice and safe
in a pot like in their banking app, and breeze
through December without even touching the credit card, which is
(05:56):
like the dream, isn't it? And don't forget a lot
of people spoke to me about bargains coming in from
Vented as well, gifts and Christmas clothes brand new with
the tag still on for a fraction of the price.
So when we're starting to.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Think about it nice and early.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
It gives us that opportunity and that time to delve
a little bit deeper to find the bargains, because obviously
that takes a little bit longer, doesn't It takes a
little bit of headspace and planning and thinking about it, but.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
It gives us that wiggle room now.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Of course, food is another massive thing, and food prep
was another big win. Some of the winds that came
in from the community from last year, so some of
you filled your freezer asides, others pre ordered Christmas dinner boxes.
Loads of you stocked up on the boring bits, but
you know, the really essential bits like batteries and tinfoil
(06:49):
and stuff nice and early on in September so you
could save your budget from your food budget in December
for the fun stuff and also thinking about things like
food and just Christmas in general.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
A really important.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
Win here is making sure that you are doing things
that work for you and your lifestyle and your family.
Like I said earlier on in the episode, cherry picking
the important bits and just ditching the stuff that doesn't
apply your Christmas, your rules.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
So if we are doing we've got twelve I think
this year for Christmas.
Speaker 3 (07:28):
If everyone confirms and listen, I will be buying stuff
from emins like it's because really like if you think
about it, yes, I think it feels lovely. And you know,
I like cooking. I really like cooking. But when I
look at it on balance, I would rather spend my
(07:51):
time with my family. And do I want to spend
my time prepping in advance? I don't know, Baby, some
bits I haven't really thought about it. But for the
other bits that you wouldn't really ever be able to
tell if it was homemade or not. And I'm talking
things like cranberry sauce and that sort of thing. I mean,
I know you can tell homemade cranberry sauce, but.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
Does anybody actually care? That's what you need to ask yourself.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
I'll be going down to m Ands and I've got
absolutely no shame whatsoever.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
And then, of course you think about the tradition.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
So December the first marks the start of Advent, and
I know that for a lot of people, Christmas eve
boxes are a big thing.
Speaker 2 (08:30):
But what a lot of teams on members do.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Is think about the use that you're going to get
out of those items in the Christmas eve boxes.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
So if you're giving your kids a.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Box with Christmas pajamas in or maybe a Christmas movie
or something like that that's shown my age and DVD.
No one watches DVDs anymore, Gemma, A lot of people
switch it and they make it a start a December box.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
It ekes out the fun and.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Also so your kids are going to get much more
aware out of everything and more use that of everything
because they're going to be able to use them for
the whole of December.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
And think about things that you don't have to be spending.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
A fortune like Christmas, Christmas eve boxes, advent boxes.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
They're not essential.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
They're things that have just kind of like appeared in
the last few years. Saying with that bluming elf, Oh
my goodness, you don't have to do Elf on the
shelf if you don't want to. Our elf we fell
into the track one year and our elf got called
back on emergency business because I was like, do you
know what my I can't I'm making a mess with
(09:36):
flower and staff that the elf has done and then
I'm coming down in the morning cleaning it up. Like
none of this makes any sense. So think about traditions
that are going to suit you, your family, your lifestyle.
Someone went on a tractor parade, which I think is
absolutely fantastic. They must live somewhere in the countryside. Scavenger
hunts for Christmas lights, Christmas ice cream runs.
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Like thinking a a bit out of the box.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
We always go for a meal now now that everyone
all the kids are a little bit older, on Christmas Eve,
we go to the restaurant down the roads. It's walking distance,
which means Mike and I can have a wine and
someone else does the washing up and we have a
meal there. It's become quite efficient and then we walk
home and it's lovely. But when the kids were younger,
we used to have a little walk down to just
(10:23):
around and we'd normally do either do a carpit picnic
and maybe watch the Snowman. Every year when they were
like very little, have a carpet picnic, go for a
walk wears them out. They can have a little look
for Father Christmas in the sky and then they can
go to bed. And then when they were slightly older,
we used to walk down to the fish and chip
shop down the road, grab a bag of chips and
sort of walk around eating our chips, looking at.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
That everyone's lovely Christmas lights.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
So there's all things that you can do, little touches
that make December magical without having to necessarily spend a fortune,
but without adding also to the stress.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
And obviously budget is a huge thing.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
And one thing that I really wanted to emphasize as
well today is that again, organized Christmas isn't about stuff.
It's not about who's got the most presence under the tree.
It's not about some over consumption fest. It's not about
that at all. And one thing that I know that
you all love is the rule when you're buying gifts,
(11:19):
which helps to a set expectations and also be set some.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Really firm guardrails for budget.
Speaker 3 (11:27):
So something they want, something they need, something to wear,
and something.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
To read is a really good little guideline for kids.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
And I know that some people add a fifth one
in which is something to do, like maybe tickets to
see something or an event or that kind of thing,
and it just really helps to stop that overwhelming feeling
of have I got an off?
Speaker 2 (11:48):
What do I need to do?
Speaker 3 (11:49):
And that can sometimes cause you to overspend. So it's
all about thinking within your budget, cash within your time
budget as well, because Obviously, there are only so many
hours that you're going to have free in December. You
don't suddenly get a magic money tree in December, and
you certainly don't get a magic minut tree where all
(12:12):
of these extra minutes fall out of the sky and
you suddenly have loads of time to be cooking a
Christmas feast like Nigella Laws or Delia Smith if you've
never done it or don't have time to do it
any other time in the year. But the win that
really stood out the most when I speak to people
about this after they followed organized Christmas is everyone talks
(12:32):
about like the sense of calm and how prepping ahead
helps them to feel more peaceful. So they felt more
present with family with friends because the groundwork was already done,
And like I said, they've not got like one part
of their brain frantically scurrying through a to do list
thinking about when they're going to go to the supermarket
(12:54):
and buy their turkey whilst they're trying to watch a
Nativity play. So that's what organized Christmas is all about.
And if you have never followed it before, if this
is brand new information to you, then every Monday on
TikTok Instagram and also YouTube. About ten am, give or
take a few minutes, I will post a small list
(13:18):
of jobs, so I'm two three jobs to do that week,
just tick through and then it all kind of builds
on what we did the week before. And then the
idea is by the time you get to December, the
first you put you much done and you're going to
have that sense of calm and that sense of, oh
my goodness, Okay, I do have this headspace to actually
(13:42):
enjoy this because early wins they stack up and they
snowball pardon the pun, over time. So what can you
do this week? Thinking that with all of this in mind,
can you get yourself an early win this week? What
can you do this week to give future you that
same sense of calm. You don't even have to be
(14:04):
following organized Christmas to do this, or if you are,
this is like a nice little bonus.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
So glance at your.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
December calendar now and there might already read some things
in there, So spot the crunch points early. Are there
any bottlenecks? Do kids break up on the same day.
Do you have one day where the kids one kid
breaks up at midday and the other kid breaks up
at three.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Are you working from home that day?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
Is it a good idea to maybe not plan in
a lot of meetings considering you have to do the
school run three times back and forth. That always happens
to us. So are there any bottlenecks in your calendar
that you can anticipate now that you can put some mitigation?
Mitigate basically in place so that you are not stressed
on that day. Do something really simple like check cure
(14:54):
wrapping paper stash. Do you have loads already left over
from last year so you don't have to go out
and buy anything else? You can save money? Do you
have paper? Do you have tape? Do you have tags
that you can.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Reuse this year?
Speaker 3 (15:06):
And also do a freezer and pantry stock take now,
if you were or have taken part in organized Christmas
so far, you'll know that we did that a couple
of weeks ago. So before we've done that, you're good.
But with the budget in mind, just have a little look.
You might still have things lingering in there from last year,
mince pies, viennetta, that sort of thing. Maybe that tells
(15:26):
you that you don't need to buy as much of.
Speaker 2 (15:29):
That this year.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
Gives you a little bit of data, or maybe there's
stuff in there that you can use up between now
and Christmas so that you can save someone on your
food budget by using up what you've got and also
make some.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Room in your pantry and your freezer as well.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
And now these things aren't dramatic, they're little winds that
they are not dramatic, but they do snowball. And these
tiny little steps, even taken like really early in December
or October, suddenly December starts to feel lighter and much
less daunting. So if you take anything from today, I
hope it's this the calm before the tinsel. Like all
(16:09):
of that prep, all of this slowly ticking things off,
it isn't boring. It's not I rollie like, don't be like, oh.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
My god, a comment that's how sad, how sad.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
It's actually the scaffolding that is going to make December
a little bit more fun, a little bit lighter and
more joyful.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
And don't forget.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
If you have the tom app, you search the Organized
Method on the app stores. If you go to the
life admin section, the Organized Christmas checklist is all there
for you, so you can even skip ahead if you
want to. And there's also some other little life admin
things on there that you can also have a little
look at SOP. Actually, if you've got a kid's birthday
(16:51):
coming up around about December, I know the loads of
you that try and jug all the two.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
There's an organized.
Speaker 3 (16:57):
Kids party checklist on there as well. Thank you for listening,
and as always, remember that there is more to life
than housework.
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