I have a new goal for this Christmas season: I want to be wildly unbothered.

I don’t want to be standing in Target on December 22nd trying to remember whether I already bought something for my mother-in-law. I don’t want to realize on December 23rd that we have no tape. I don’t want to spend the entire month running errands, ordering things online, and wondering how Christmas snuck up on me again.

I want to bake cookies. I want to go look at Christmas lights. I want to read Christmas books with my girls. I want to go to church and sing Christmas hymns and drink ridiculous amounts of hot chocolate. Basically, I want to enjoy December instead of managing December.

I’ve been inspired by some of the holiday organization ideas I’ve seen from The Organized Method on TikTok, and I decided to take the idea and make it work for our family, and September is where I’m starting, not because I think we need to start celebrating Christmas in September. (It is still 90-something degrees in Texas. Absolutely not.)

I’m talking about doing a handful of boring, behind-the-scenes things now so that future me has a much easier December.

Here’s what I’m doing:

Buy the Advent Calendars

If your kids do advent calendars, buy them now. This is one of those things that seems very far away until suddenly it’s November 28th and you’re frantically looking for an advent calendar that isn’t sold out. We like the LEGO ones because the pieces can go into the big lego bin and it really doesn’t add more clutter. Also, edible. Edible is always good.

Book the Big Christmas Experiences

If there’s something your family does every year, or something you’ve been wanting to try, book it now. Polar Express tickets. Santa photos. Christmas concerts. Holiday tea. Christmas markets. Special dinners. Whatever your family’s thing is.

Around here in DFW, that might mean booking something at the Gaylord Texan. For another family it might be a local Christmas train or a community Christmas event. The point is to get the things with limited availability on the calendar before December gets here.

Make a List of Everyone You’re Giving a Gift To

This one sounds incredibly obvious, but I’m trying something new this year:

I’m making the list and then I’m stopping.

I’m writing down everyone I plan to give a Christmas gift to: family, friends, neighbors, whoever, and that’s my list.

Otherwise Christmas shopping has a funny way of becoming:

“Oh, I should probably get her something.”

“Wait, what about them?”

“I can’t give her something without giving him something.”

“Well, now I need a little gift for the other person, too.”

Suddenly I’ve accidentally doubled the number of people I’m shopping for.

Declutter the Toys

September is a great time to do a little toy decluttering.

What’s broken? What’s outgrown? What haven’t the kids touched in six months? What has approximately 47 tiny pieces and makes you want to scream every time you step on one?

Donate what you can. I especially like doing this before Christmas because new things are coming into the house. I’d much rather make some room now than try to deal with a mountain of toys on December 26th in an angry mom way.

Start the Stocking Stuffer Stash

This might be my favorite one. Every time I grocery shop, I’m going to pick up one small stocking stuffer. I’m giving myself about a $10 limit, which I use the grocery budget for, so it feels like it’s FREE. (Girl Math?)

It could be a pair of fun socks, a little art supply, candy, a hair accessory, a small book, something useful, something silly, whatever makes sense for my kids. This week I got little blank notebooks I know they will love. Next week will probably be “fancy” bandaids.

One little thing at a time doesn’t feel like much, but thirty stocking stuffers purchased in one Target trip in December? My budget can not handle that.

Make Christmas Cookie Dough

Make a couple batches of Christmas cookie dough and freeze them.

This one feels like it will be the most helpful for my family, because we give big boxes of assorted cookies to people as a gift.

You don’t even have to bake the cookies yet. Make the dough, portion it, flash freeze for about an hour, put it all into a gallon freezer bag, label it, and stick it back in the freezer. Then in December, you can pull it out and have homemade Christmas cookies without having to start the entire process from flour to finished cookie.

Future me is going to be so pleased with September me.

Enjoy September

This might actually be the most important thing on the list. I’m not going to spend September wishing it were December.

I want to enjoy September. I want to enjoy the last of summer. I want to take the kids outside. I want to make fall-ish food and watch the seasons change and enjoy the ordinary little things that are happening right now.Getting ahead on Christmas isn’t supposed to mean that Christmas takes over four months of your life, it’s supposed to mean the opposite. I’m doing these things because I want December to be savored and feel slower. Fewer errands, last-minute purchases, and things hanging over my head.

And more time for the things that actually make Christmas feel like Christmas.

This isn’t about materialism or buying more stuff. In fact, a lot of my September prep is about buying less impulsively, setting a limit, donating what we don’t need, and deciding ahead of time what actually matters to our family. It’s just about being prepped.