Every year I keep thinking, “Next year, I’m going to do Christmas better,” when it comes to Christmas. I usually enjoy Christmas a great deal, but I always strive to make things just a little better the next time. With our family, things change every year. With our kids getting older and our family getting older, things change on how Christmas can be celebrated each year.
If you want to make Christmas better in terms of things you think you might have done wrong this year, you need to write down your ideas right now so that in November, you can look back and remember what you think you can improve on (and maybe write down the things you think went well and you want to make sure you do that again).
How is all of this going to work? My methodology is pretty simple. I use Microsoft Outlook (which is also connected to Google Calendar and Synchronizes with that) as my calendar, so on Canadian Thanksgiving, there is now a Calendar entry called: Christmas Improvement Plan, which has a small document.
I have two headings in the document: What Went Well for Christmas and What To Improve For Christmas this year.
Under each heading, I have a simple set of bullets with the ideas that struck me on Christmas night on what would make Christmas, and that is it. On October 8th, I will get a reminder from Outlook (and Google) to check the document and start planning for Christmas. What is a point on the list? Start Christmas work on Remembrance Day (November 11th), not on American Thanksgiving! I also need to put in a reminder to start decorating the house, as well!
Yes, Christmas planning can begin on December 26th, but it isn’t that much work, now is it?
Christmas Wishes from the Past
I seem to do this a lot, so here are my Christmas wishes from years gone by:
- Joyeux noël 2023 Enjoy your Family, Friends and Festivities. If you are working today, thank you. If you are alone, it will get better.
- Christmas 2022 was after a rough year for many folks including me. Inflation, COVID, and dealing with losing family members was a bit much really.
- Merry Christmas 2021 was another COVID crisis time. Omicron hit and Christmas became much more closed up. Maybe the last one of these, but we thought that last year.
- Merry Christmas 2020 ! Do you see the pussy cat in the tree? An odd year with a Pandemic and all. Make sure you pop those Christmas Crackers.
- Christmas All Year Round ? Yes, it does feel like that these days doesn’t it? The 12 Days of Christmas Debt ? What the heck ? That isn’t Christmasy at all!
- Merry Christmas 2017 ! That was a year of fun videos that I found to help celebrate the holiday. Love that old CFCF fill.
- Merry Christmas, Highspeed Internet a right, Inflation at 1.2 and #MoneyTalk 2016 ! Sheesh, I couldn’t even be bothered to send a message that year, how Grinchy.
- Merry Christmas 2014 ! A lovely quote from the King James bible for that year. Seem to have done nothing for 2015. This year I even had a Christmas Eve post.
- Happy Christmas 2013 ! I loved the photos of every years Christmas Tree, very festive. Another Christmas Eve post too.
- Merry Christmas 2012 ! You see the hideous curtains we had in the den back then. That year we had the $150 Christmas challenge too.
- Merry Christmas 2011 ! The tree moved back to the front room and I used Google Translate to create a festive message. Think I was on French training that year. Also At Christmas Why Not Just Give Cash ?
- Merry Christmas 2010 has some very deep philosophical commentary in it. Must have been hitting the Christmas cheer early. Christmas Eve that year must have been a Friday.
- Merry Christmas 2009 and all you got was an NFB short? Not that bad really. There was also Christmas Eve thoughts too.
- Merry Christmas 2008 ! That was the year of the infamous Financial Advent Calendar too.
- A few last Yuletide Thoughts was what I had in 2007.
- Merry Christmas 2006 ! A quieter year I suppose.
- Whatever little money you have, make sure you spend it was my first year writing here. Quite gruff and grinchy.
- Advent, it begins again, is when the Christmas season begins
