Welcome Wednesday: Meticulous Planner or Last Minute Scrambler?

[#1]

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Halloween just ended, and while I'm fully in the camp that it is too early to start putting up decorations and celebrating Christmas, I'm 100% on board with trying to get as much of the Christmas shopping done now as possible.

My mom has always believed that you can enjoy the Christmas season more if you aren't fighting the crowds trying to get your shopping done in the middle of December. Having done this for many years now, I agree with her.

So, my question for you this week is: Are you like me and have your Christmas shopping done early, or are you out trying to find things in the mad dash of Christmas Eve?

Let me know in the comments below, and have a great rest of the week!

[Valerie Knapp]

Hey @Jimmy Seddon , another great topic for discussion.

I am a capital M, Meticulous planner. As an example, my friends used to tease me for keeping a Google Sheet of all of the different activities / events I was interested in, to try to say to them, 'well, there is this show, or this event or this film' at any given time when we trying to organise to meet up.

For Christmas, instead, I am more in the camp of, buy the thing when you find it and give it to that person when you see them. A lot of our money we have to spend on things like bills and rent so for me, it is a treat to be able to get something for a friend or relative just because.

[Susan Waldrip]

Hi @Jimmy Seddon , thanks for the question!

My immediate family celebrates winter solstice and the Yule holiday by putting out food daily throughout winter months for the birds and wildlife and donating goods to shelters (human and animal) instead of buying gifts. On the day of those holidays, we have special dinners together as an experience. It's really fun!

[Teodora V _Warsaw Dynamics_]

What @Valerie Knapp said. I am also planning everything earlier so I can avoid any delays or headaches. I am allergic to the last-minute presents that only got buried under piles of dust after the Christmas unpacking.

[Tomislav Tobijas]

Hah, I actually have my Christmas tree still wrapped up! 🎄 Every year, it feels a bit more ‘annoying’ to decorate the house and get everything ready for Christmas. Since I usually spend the holidays at my parents’ place, I don’t put much effort into decorating my own home - I’d rather help them out and enjoy the time together there (it’s quite a trip from my place 😅).

[Barbara Szczesniak]

I like to get my shopping done early, though many of my family are coming to our house this year, so I have extra time.

As my nieces and nephews get older, I don't see them as often, so I don't always know what their current tastes are or what they already have. I greatly prefer to be a "buy something I think you'd like" gifter; it's much more enjoyable than buying something off a list you give me after I bug you endlessly to tell me what you want. 

Wishing you all a calm, pleasant shopping experience that culminates in grateful people expressing their thanks to you—out loud!

[John Funk]

I am way more of a meticulous planner that a shoot from the hip kind of guy. That would stress me out. 

[__ Jimi Wikman]

I have been with my wife for 31 years, and she does all the shopping as she has a 10th degree black belt in shopping. Stepping in when she is in Shopping God Mode is something I have learned is not something I want to do, so I just support anything she says and stay out of her way.

When I do go shopping for Christmas, I do so on Christmas morning (In Sweden we celebrate on the 24th) when the stores open. It is often just me and two other old guys there, smiling and enjoying the quiet.

So, I do not plan besides staying out of my wife's way and should I want to buy something I do it a few hours before opening gifts (In Sweden we do that after Donald Duck that is on at 15).

Completely stress-free.

[Stephen_Lugton]

I try and spread shopping out around paydays, so I completed my Christmas shopping for everyone except my 9 year old daughter sometime in March at a craft fair, since then I've been working on next year's birthdays and Christmas 2026.

My daughter's tastes have changed since march so I have to wait until now to get things for her.

[Barbara Szczesniak]

Wow, @Stephen_Lugton, kudos to you! I've barely recovered from the previous Christmas by March. Your way sounds like you can just enjoy the holiday season (unless, of course, you need to worry about what to cook for all the family coming to your house for the holidays). 😀

[Stephen_Lugton]

@Barbara Szczesniak I don't need to worry about what to cook for the family; my girlfriend has already ordered the meat and things like stuffing and pigs in blankets, all I have to do is pick them up the day before, and I decide how I want to cook the vegetables, I'm probably going with 4 or 5 out of:

• Roast Potatoes with Garlic, Rosemary, Thyme, and cherry tomatoes
• Roast cauliflower steaks with pine nuts 
• Caramelised parsnips
• Orange glazed carrots
• Brussel Sprouts with red onion, caramelised pecans and chestnuts
• Air fired courgette with mixed herbs

All served with some combination of:

• Onion gravy (possibly with cherry tomato quarters)
• A paprika based tomato sauce
• Ketchup (for the 9 year old)

Desert will be something simple:

• Syrup fried peach halves
• Profiteroles (with baileys)

[Valerie Knapp]

@Stephen_Lugton