Getting Ready for the Holidays–a To-Do List

I’m being deluged with seasonal craft ideas on my various social media feeds. Everyone seems to be getting ready for the holidays.

Christmas is a mere 50 days away and coming on fast.

Now’s a good time to take inventory of what you’ll need to get you and the grandkids holiday ready. Planning ahead means less stress later. And, it can save money because you have time to compare prices and shop mindfully.

But taking inventory is more than about shopping; it should also start your hunt for the seasonal stuff you’ve stashed away–but have forgotten where!

Cookie Baking with the Grandkids

An annual event for many families, you can even do long distance baking If you are geographically distanced from your grandkids.

Cookie Decorating Checklist:

• Pastry bags–100 Ateco 21-inch pastry bags ($18 for a roll) keeps you well-stocked and is more economical than buying smaller quantities. Just tear off the bags from the compact roll.
• Icing tips and couplers–Often, when it’s time to decorate, I find myself with tips and couplers that are mismatched.

• Small, offset spatulas–They help to spread icing smoothly.
• Cookie cutters–I have many, including some from my childhood, but I I have my eye on a winter village set and a personalized cookie cutter where you can imprint a message customized with your family name.

• Food coloring–This year, I’m trying plant-based food colors.
• Sprinkles, colored sugars, and other edible cookie decorations.
• Meringue powder–Needed to make icing. One year I bought a 1-pound carton thinking I made a smart buy, only to find it turned buggy after a year. Evidently, you can freeze meringue powder.

Money-Saving Cookie Decorating Tips:

• Kids tend to over-sprinkle decorations so have them work over a sheet pan. Spoon up excess and reuse.
• Make your own colored sugar. Put sugar in a small, plastic sandwich bag. Add a few drops of food coloring and massage the bag to disperse the color. Spread sugar out on a sheet pan to dry before using.
• Instead of pastry bags and tips, use zip-top plastic bags, snipping a tip from a corner to squeeze out icing.

Cookie Icing Demos:

• If you’ve never iced cookies before, learn how to decorate cookies with thinned royal icing from Wilton.
• Decorate cookies like a pro, courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen.

Cookie Storage and Packaging Checklist:

• Airtight tins or plastic containers to store finished cookies.
• Decorative tins, food-safe cellophane bags, or other packaging materials for cookie gift giving.

Money-Saving Cookie Gift Packaging Tips

• Package cookies flat in a zip-top bag. Put it in a recycled gift box and wrap like a regular present.
• Put cookies in a wide-mouth glass jar. such as a recycled pasta sauce jar. Cut a square of pretty fabric to set over the jar cover and tie in place with ribbon or raffia.

Christmas Tree Decorating

Once the tree is set up is not the time to rummage for what you need. Check to be sure you have:

• Strings of lights–It’s always good to have an extra string or two.
• Ornament hooks–They tend to disappear from year to year.
• Extension cord–If your tree will be placed far from an outlet. You might want to invest in a remote control outlet so you don’t have to crawl under the tree to turn lights on and off.
• Tree decorations–There’s still time to make some ornaments. Enlist the grandkids.

Money-Saving Tips

• Fill an ornament-sparse tree with bows made from a spool of ribbon.
• Hang your cookie cutters as ornaments.
• Dry citrus slices in your oven. Slice lemon or oranges crosswise about 1/4-inch thick. Press gently with paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Lay slices on cookie rack on a sheet pan and dry on the lowest heat setting of the oven. It may take a couple of hours. When dry, remove from oven and prick a hole with a paring knife, thread a ribbon through the hole and tie decoratively.

Holiday Parties and Gatherings

If you’re hosting a party or attending a potluck, here are some holiday kitchen tips.

• Appropriate platters and serveware–Look for sales for what you need or check in advance to learn what you can borrow from family or friends.
• Spices–They’re usually on sale, along with flour and other baking supplies, during the holidays.
• Candles–Real or battery-operated, they add sparkle to any table setting.

Christmas Gifts

Christmas shopping can take so much time and effort–especially if you have a big gift list.

• Start early to solicit wish lists from the family so you can start keeping an eye out for sales.
• Donate grandkids’ toys and books they’ve outgrown before Christmas; they could become another child’s Christmas gifts.
• Keep a lookout for toy sales to donate to kids in need, for such organizations as Toys for Tots. I look for sturdy toys, toys that don’t require batteries or electronics, and toys that don’t have a million parts that can get lost.
• Gift wrap, gift tags, and ribbon–because you know you’ll run out.

Money-Saving Tips

• Florists’ ribbon bought online is usually cheaper than traditional gift wrap ribbon you find in stores.
• Get the grandkids to help make gift wrap with potato stamps.
• Cut out old Christmas cards to make gift tags.

Sign Up to Get Grandma’s Favorite Recipes–Free!

Sign up here for my email newsletter. Every Wednesday, I’ll give you a new idea for an activity or insight to nurture the little ones in your life. And once you subscribe, I’ll send you a link so you can download your set of quick and easy recipes as my thanks to you.