How to Prepare for the Upcoming Holidays in Advance
This is a guest post written by one of our Bees, Stephanie Modkins
The holiday season is only a couple of months away. Engaging with family, spending extra money, and heavy workloads create more internal chaos.
The best way to enjoy the last few months of the year more is to prepare early. Here are a few things that you can do now to make Halloween, Thanksgiving and, Christmas better.
No. 1: Improve Safety Features Around Your Home
A safe home during the holiday season is a must. Since you will have more visitors to your house, the chance of falls increases. The likelihood of package theft increases around this time as well. Luckily Mobee created a guide on different ways to prevent your packages from getting stolen.
A way to prevent mishaps is to repair floors and other walkways. Clip those snags off rugs and make sure they’re secure. In addition, invest in an alarm system. Products such as Ring videotape people at your doorstep and allow you to catch criminals in the act.
No. 2: Start Buying Holiday Goods and Gifts Early
Buy your holiday staples and presents as soon as possible, so that you can beat the crowd. This will help you get the best sales before stores hike up prices on silly stuff like candy canes.
Shopping when you’re not in a rush helps you make better decisions. You won’t feel pressed to pay for extra shipping or a jacked-up price for a ham or turkey.
Here’s a guide by Penny Hoard with the best time to buy things, so that you can save money.
No. 3: Get Your Travel Plans Together
If you plan on leaving town for the holidays, prepare now. Be wise and buy your tickets early, at least two months in advance. Then, review guidelines for air travel (and road travel). You may need to provide a different type of identification or meet a specific medical requirement.
Here are some tips on how to save money on your next vacation. We also recommend checking out Hopper and Google Flights. They can help give you an idea of when the best time to book and purchase a flight and hotel via price laters. Using one is great, but we recommend checking both. And also seeing if it’s cheaper to use Airbnb than a hotel is a great move as well.
No. 4: Clean up Excess Clutter
If you ever cleaned until the wee hours of the morning in preparation for guests the next day, this suggestion is for you. Start decluttering your home in October. Plan a few hours on the weekend to tackle a room. Give yourself time to organize and go through personal items. Use the three-second rule to determine what to toss or donate. This process gives your a headstart for Thanksgiving and Christmas guests. Here’s a guide on how to declutter your home.
No. 5: Adjust Your Holiday Expectations
One reason people get upset during the holidays is because of unrealistic expectations. They want to recreate the happy familial environment they see in movies or on t.v. But this isn’t always true, as families are complicated.
Then, there’s the financial piece where buying presents may be out of the question this year. Therefore, it’s important to see life as-is and adjust your wants. Be grateful and focus on what you can do. Let the rest go.
In conclusion, prepare for the holidays now. Give yourself a break. Reduce the busyness of the period, so you can enjoy everything the season brings.
Editor’s Note: Stephanie Modkins is an active Mobee user. She spent her childhood as a military dependent traveling to different places like the Philippines. This experience taught her the value of diversity. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, playing cards, and watching singing competitions.
Looking to make a great holiday season? Here are 12 tips to host Thanksgiving on a Budget, as well as some Christmas foods from around the world. Here are also some holiday gift ideas for family members and ideas on how to use Mobee to earn extra holiday cash.