Christmas Countdown Calendar and Checklists

Christmas Countdown 2019
Six Weeks to an Organized Christmas

Will you follow the Christmas Countdown this year? Beginning Sunday, October 27, we'll prepare for the holiday season with daily messages, weekly assignments, encouragement and fun. This six-week get-organized program will take you to the start of the holiday season, prepared and ready for Christmas.

Your road map begins with the Countdown calendar. Setting out each week's focus, it'll keep you motivated and on track to an organized Christmas as we work the Countdown together.    Read More >>

Make a Jiffy Pop® Popcorn Topper for Halloween

Halloween Jiffy Pop Popcorn Topper
   October 20, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

It's ghoulish-good fun: a printable Halloween topper for Jiffy Pop® popcorn!

Add our free printable template to a package of Jiffy Pop® brand pop-in-pan popcorn for an inexpensive "popcorn topper" craft gift just right for the spooks and goblins on your gift list.

Paired with Witches Brew Halloween mix, it's perfect for Halloween BOO-ing, co-workers or classmate gifts.    Read More >>

Three Tips for Smart Catalog / Internet Shopping

Tips for Online Shopping
   October 16, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

Planning for Christmas, catalog or online shopping has many advantages over the holiday mall scene.

No long lines. No sore feet. No staggering to the car, weighed down by parcels and shopping bags.

Shopping becomes a pleasure, conducted from a favorite chair. Phone in your selections (or place them from your computer), sit back, and wait for the UPS man. Ahhhhh!    Read More >>

Witches Brew: Spooky Halloween Drink Mix

Witches Brew in a Cauldron
   October 14, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

It's simple and sweet, a Halloween treat: Witches' Brew!

Combining apple cider drink mix, Halloween candy treats and a free printable gift tag, Witches Brew is easy to make and give.

Use small black salsa bowls from the Dollar Store to make Witches Brew in a Cauldron, or use creative packet-folding and a licorice rope "broomstick" to make broom-shaped Witches Brew packets.

Add free printable gift tags or bag toppers to make an easy Halloween craft.    Read More >>

Christmas Organizing Secret: Try A Tear File!

Tear Files for Christmas Organizing
   October 11, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

Christmas magazines and catalogs are fabulous resources for seasonal decorating, gift ideas, and Christmas recipes—but en masse, they can become too much of a good thing.

When the piles avalanche from every side table, finding an article or a recipe that caught your eye a few weeks ago can be an impossible job.

How do you keep all that good information without being crushed by stacks or drowning in paper? Answer: a set of tear files.    Read More >>

Halloween Treat: Make A Haunted Gingerbread House

Halloween Gingerbread House Recipe
   October 10, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

Gingerbread houses aren't just for Christmas anymore! Use our easy-build methods to create a Halloween Gingerbread House to brighten your autumn home or workplace.

Using melted bark coating or candy melts makes this craft simple enough for kids.

A black cat peeps from piles of pumpkins. Orange and black gumdrops light the path on Halloween night. Spiders creep and bats flap.

Don't miss our friendly ghosts!    Read More >>

No More UFOs! Get-Em-Done Strategies for Handmade Holiday Gifts

How to finish homemade gifts
   October 9, 2019 by Cynthia Ewer

Scanning a list of handmade craft gifts is something like reading a cookbook: it makes you hungry!

Whether you wander the crafts store, settle in at the library's craft bookshelf, or flip through holiday magazines, visions of bright and beautiful gifts follow one after the other. Will this be the year you give hand-crafted gifts ... to everyone?

Give in to the impulse to overload on holiday crafts projects, and you're likely to find yourself drowning in UFOs: Un-Finished Objects.    Read More >>

Christmas Countdown: Get Organized for the Holiday Season

Christmas Countdown 2019
Six Weeks to an Organized Christmas

What do you really want for Christmas? More time, more joy, and less stress? Welcome to the Christmas Countdown! We're kicking off the 2019 Countdown on Sunday, October 27.

A calmer, more centered holiday celebration is easy when you simplify your holidays with the Christmas Countdown get organized plan.

The Christmas Countdown is a free six-week Christmas organizing workshop from Organized Christmas. Written by author and Web publisher Cynthia Ewer, the Countdown has been online since 1998. Tested by hundreds of thousands of families like yours, it's a tried-and-true road map for an organized Christmas.

Countdown assignments, spread over six weeks, simplify the job of getting ready for Christmas. By breaking down Christmas preparation into small, easy-to-take steps, the Countdown gives you a holiday headstart for a stress-free Christmas season. We'll cover gift lists, cooking, decorating and fun--and you'll be ready for Christmas with time to spare.

Ready? We're counting down to an organized Christmas, starting on Sunday, October 21!    Read More >>

Pages