Planning a Matheson Family Christmas Post 8

 

Halloween is well underway in our house. The Decorations have been up for a while, because of Jake’s declaration of love for Halloween. I embraced it, and have decorated and been watching Halloween movies (I have watched Nightmare Before Christmas 3.5 times already). What I’m really focusing on now is getting everything else ready and figuring out what I need to still do. 

Cale covers the treats, so it’s one less thing for me to think about. I got lucky a couple months back and found some one selling a paw patrol costume online for cheap. Let me stress, I am not a mom who will pick her kid’s costume. I asked Jake what he wanted to be for Halloween, and he DID tell me Spider-man…again. I said ok, cool, I just found a chase costume, and he suddenly wanted to be Chase. I would have let it go. I did however stress, if we wasn’t 100% sure, to tell me now. I’m also not one of those moms who will change the costume last minute, when we pick, that is the final answer. So we’ve got the costume. I still need to grab some brown makeup to put his little nose (I’m saying this in a totally cutesy voice). As for Brock, our rule is, if you can’t walk to the door yourself, you don’t go Trick-or-Treating. So our little skeleton stays at home (he also can’t tell me what he wants to be, so until then, hand-me-downs). 

If I’m being completely honest, the other step for my planning includes the most efficient way to tear everything down at about 9pm. Last year after our Halloween festivities were complete, I came home and put on my Christmas socks. I mean business.

-Mama Bear Out!

Planning A Matheson Family Christmas Post 7

Well, I did have a video recorded for today, but we had a sick little man on our hands this weekend (still do), so I had no time to edit. So I’m swinging in instead with a screen cap of my video, and the rundown of what the post was all about. 

 Since about January, I have been keeping a notebook for Christmas. One exercise I have been doing is a minimum of once a month, I have listed out every person I buy for, and a gift idea for them. As a result, I have a pretty decent idea of what I’m getting everyone this year.

 However, this doesn’t help you in the slightest. This is why I thought I would share another method of picking out gifts I have used over the years. My dad was always an excellent example of this, so I will use him. You write down the person you’re buying for, and list things that you know they like or that make you think of them. If I were doing one for my dad, it would look like this:

Dad: Coffee, coca cola, video games, walking, comics.

This list could be much bigger, but if you look at it, there are already plenty of great ideas in there alone. If you do this with each person, it makes gift giving easier. I’m not about to say you won’t have any struggle, I struggle every year for my Brother in-law. But it’s a formula that works, and does help for sure. 

Sorry there was no video or jokes (if you even actually like my humor), but I am a Mama Bear, so I have to watch over the cubs.

-Mama Bear out!

Planning a Matheson Family Christmas Post 6

(This was me trying to get a nice pic prior to heading out

With Thanksgiving as close as it is, and we’re hosting for Christmas, travel and guests are something I like to tackle early. I am a major list maker, as such I have made lists of the things I need to pack and prep for, for our travels for Thanksgiving. When I plan this ahead of time, it gives me the time to look at potential things that might need tweaking, or how to simplify things on the list. 

Meanwhile I also need to look into Christmas. Since the kids were born, it’s a safe bet that we will have a good portion of the family staying with us. This means, I need to confirm all who are coming, and try and figure out accommodations for them. It could mean doubling up the kids, or picking up an air mattress. 

We’re not in this situation, but it could also mean you need to book a flight. I have no idea what the flying situation looks like these days, but I expect it’s more complicated than ever. 

And then there is the part we had to adapt to last year, and that’s travel restrictions holding us back from getting to travel. Last year was a curve ball when our family couldn’t come. There was a lot more to do, and I think Jake really missed everyone (Brock didn’t notice because he was four months old). I’m keeping that in my back pocket for sure. 

So these are the things I’ve been working on. I’ll catch you next time. 

-Mama Bear Out

Planning a Matheson Family Christmas Post 5

 This is a post I get excited about, because it’s a big impact item. I have been making my menu and grocery list. For me, the holidays are steeped in tradition, a big player is the food. So it stands to reason I have a pretty good idea what we will be eating year to year. I do include things like the bits an bites my Aunt makes, cookies, and copious amounts of hot chocolate. 

Primarily though, I take a look at the menus for Christmas Eve, Christmas, Boxing Day, and typically the day after too. I look at the day after too because where I work in retail I do not have the time or desire to venture to the stores on that day. For any Americans who are joining us this year and are not acquainted with Boxing day, in some parts of Canada, the day after Christmas, we don’t reopen the main stores, and have an extra day to relax and reflect. I will typically have a big pot of soup ready in case anyone is hungry prior to Christmas eve dinner. Christmas eve, we take from my family traditions and have Cornish Pasties (my Great-Grandparents were from Cornwall England, and this stems from them). We go out, look at lights and come home for Hot Chocolate. I also put the slow cooker on with an overnight breakfast. Christmas day, there is usually soup left if you’re hungry and then we have the Turkey Dinner, as per my husband’s family tradition. Boxing day my Grandparents hosted a pot luck when I was a kid, so typically we have a bunch of appetizers kicking around. Beyond that it’s typically left overs, or I do up a Turkey Pizza, Divan or Soup.  Thus you see my menu. 

Here is the big impact part, the grocery list. I go through this whole menu and add in all the items I will need, and they are carefully separated into 3 categories, Non-Perishable, Frozen or Fresh. Why this can make a big impact, is because I have started on the Non-Perishables. So my Christmas groceries are spread out, and I grab stuff when it’s on sale. This saves money and time. I have a designated cupboard that Cale has to access for me weekly (I’m too sort) and that is where all my Non-Perishables go. Eventually I’ll start on Frozen and I put a big “C” on them with a sharpie (there will be a post) and save the fresh stuff to the very end. So when everyone is in a mad scramble with a massive grocery order, I’m basically in the produce and refrigerated aisles and out. 

This has been done out of necessity in the past too, I simply couldn’t afford one big grocery order at Christmas either. Not to mention when it comes to produce, often m Mother in-law likes to stop on her way up at a farmers market, so she’s excited to grab that stuff too. 

So that’s what I have been working on. I get excited about this post, because this method has always served me well, and I sincerely enjoy sharing it. 

-Mama Bear out

Planning a Matheson Family Christmas Post 4

I don’t know how you feel about the saying, “In these unprecedented times”, but I kind of hate it at this point. Unfortunately it’s accurate, so it complicates things when trying to plan things. We got a wrench thrown in the works last year when the boarder between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick got closed, and I was left having to run around. That said, I’ve been looking at planning for Thanksgiving. I know I have some people reading this post who are not from Canada, so let me explain for us it’s October 11th this year. The province I live in has had quite a few more cases as of late (this is something I could get into a major rant about, but I will avoid that today). The plan is to be together with my in-laws, but I’m setting up a backup plan here. 

 We have the decorations covered (see the last post), so really it would be food and travel we’re planning for. I expect we’ll see some Turkey sales on soon, so I’m keeping my eyes open. I’m planning for two scenarios, if we get stuck home, and if we get to see family.

 Traveling with two kids, that takes planning alone, but there are other scenarios here. I have heard about long lines at the checkpoint between the two provinces. That begs the question, when do we leave? I’m honestly thinking a super early morning might be in order, but these are the ideas we’re focusing on at the moment.

 What are you Thanksgiving plans? I feel like unless you force yourself to look at them earlier, with how early it is in October, it becomes a mad scramble. 

-Mama Bear Out

Planning a Matheson Family Christmas Post 3

Planning a Matheson Family Christmas Post 2

Welcome back to my blog series, Planning a Matheson Family Christmas. My first post was just the other day, and I did a vlog, which was fun. Downside, I didn’t have the traditional family apple picking pic…see above. 

Today, I’m talking about our latest projects, the budget and master list. Starting with budget, of course food and gifts will spring to mind when piecing this together. Other things we consider are, mailing expenses, clothing for Christmas and New Years eve, decorations (we’ll probably need some lights, garland and wreaths), stuff like this. The budget is pretty straight forward, you figure out what you can afford and spread it out accordingly. Some people also budget first and figure out the finances later. I’m not a huge fan of this method, because it typically gets really big and people rack up their credit card bills. I am not a believer of overspending, I feel like it takes away from the holidays, and throws another stressor in the mix. The budget it straight forward if you have a concept of how to do up a budget.

The Master List is more fun and can include the whole family. This year was Jake’s first year contributing. All we do is brainstorm things we like to do over Christmas, or things that make us think of Christmas. The reasoning behind it is we see what the priorities are for our family. I honestly expected the first thing out of Jake’s mouth to be presents, but he was set on decorating (Mommy’s small heart grew three sizes that day). I do this at the very beginning, so I can budget, yes money, but also time. Even pre covid I didn’t like crowds and rushing, so budgeting my time is important, especially because I work in retail. What’s more, I don’t look at the list and expect to do EVERYTHING. I use this as a tool to prioritize events, activities, and little touches (those being candy canes, hot chocolate, egg nog, etc).

As previously mentioned in my vlog, I’m not going to end with “Here is your assignment”. Instead, here is what we’re doing to get ready. Hope you found the post helpful, and I’ll catch you next time.

Mama Bear Out!

-Nancy 

Planning a Matheson Family Christmas, Post 1

https://youtu.be/Hd597E_mVak