Well it’s time to face the facts. Whether we’re ready for it or not, the holiday season is upon us, so the best thing to do is get prepared. Some people may be thinking to themselves: “It’s way too soon, I still have time”, but when it comes to planning for the holidays, how soon is too soon?

Although it’s typical for folks to procrastinate this time of year, the smartest decision you could make is to start your holiday planning as early as possible. Dong so will amount to planning to avoid the stress of the holiday season. That’s because once Halloween has come and gone, the season takes on a momentum of it’s own. From goblins and ghouls to Thanksgiving giblets and gravy. Then after that the days of Christmas countdown, followed swiftly by tons of discarded New Year’s resolutions. Don’t allow your self to be caught off guard, yet another year!

Are you planning home repairs or remodeling? Roofers, plumbers, carpet cleaners, electricians and gardeners are especially in demand this time of year. If you have work that requires one of these, or some other skilled worker, have you already begun to make preparations to reserve a work date? Have you factored in these and other repair expenses into your holiday budget? Will you need to obtain a part time income to accommodate these expenses?

IF YOU WANT TO BYPASS THE HEADACHE AND STRESS THIS YEAR:

These are some things to begin considering right now. Why not make a list (and check it twice:), and start giving serious thought to what holiday preparations you need to make for your household. By getting some things done early, you’ll have more holiday time in the long run, to spend with family and friends

Holiday income - Will you be looking for additional ways to make some extra spending money this holiday season? If so, that is one of the things you need to start preparing for now. Why not check out the following “write for pay” sources. If you’re already writing hubs and other articles online, but not making any money, find new ways to generate more traffic to your writing. There are also daily “ghost writing” assignments you can get paid a predetermined flat rate for. Start checking into different ways to earn Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas shopping money now.

Holiday shopping and budget - Have you given any thought to where you’ll do your holiday shopping this year and what type of budget you’ll be on. With the economy on a downtrend, merchants find it necessary to charge more but the consumer ends up getting less. If you’re expecting extra mouths for Thanksgiving dinner, you could not only start planning your menu, but even stocking up on canned goods and other non perishables that you’ll need.

When it comes to your Xmas spending and gift buying - figure out how you will get more bang out of your buck this year. You might want to start preparing your Christmas list now. Obviously, all of us have people in our lives that we consider more special than others. Make sure they’re on your priority list, so when you have to make some cuts and whittle down your list, you don’t overlook someone special. You’ll find that giving this some thought now could end up saving you and others some unnecessary hurt and embarrassment.

Holiday cleaning and preparing for guests - Many households end up in disarray right before the holidays, thanks to last minute remodeling, makeovers and decorations. If you’re planning some serious remodeling or repair work before the Thanksgiving or Xmas holidays, set the wheels in motion so your household can suffer as little disruption as possible.

Expected house guests often prompt extra cleaning and minor repairs. Maybe you’re having some ROOF WORK done to replace a few loose shingles. Perhaps this is the time you choose to have a little PLUMBING work done to get rid of that leaky pipe once and for all. Whether it’s having the CARPET CLEANED or just MAKING OVER THE SPARE BATHROOM for your guests to use. You may be putting the work off until the very end, just because the work itself may not take that long. But you must take into account that mistakes and accidents happen, not to mention other unforeseen occurrences. The closer to an event that you make preparations, the more chance there is of something going wrong. If you do things early, you leave room for error. Give yourself, workers and repairmen and everyone involved, the needed time to accomplish whatever household preparations you have planned for the holidays.

NOTE: When it comes to home repairs, why not exercise a little more forethought this year.   Sometimes minor plumbing, roofing, painting and even carpentry repairs can be handled by a few trips to the Home Depot or local hardware store. This is especially the case if you allow yourself the time needed to research what steps are involved and what materials are needed. Not only will you get a jump on your holiday preparations, you may end up saving some money in the long run. But whether you do the work yourself, or hire a skilled laborer to do it for you, advance planning is the key to cutting down on complications.

Holiday time off - If you work and have to request time off for the holidays, have you put your bid in already? If you’ll be leaving town for the holidays, do you need to make plans for children being out of school early? Are there pre-travel arrangements that you need to make for your winter vacation? Get a head start now, and make sure your holiday plans go smoothly.

If you're ready to start planning for a smoother holiday season, get out a pencil and paper, and begin a Checklist of things you need to start doing.  Include everything from any house repairs you want to have done, to getting all the laudry in the house done, and shopping to stock up on extra toiletries and paper and plastic goods.  These may seem like small things, but it's usually the little things that end up causing us the biggest headaches.

As you begin to create your ongoing list, day by day, start to get the things you've written done so you can check them off. As you work down the list (and as the holidays get closer and closer), add more things, and keep checking them off as you go. Keep working your list for the next few weeks until you’ve written down and taken care of everything you can think of to cut down on last minute stressors.

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Studies have shown that people are more prone to encounter various health issues that are stress related, particularly during the holiday season. This stress can be directly attributed to:

• Worrying about debts and utility bills during the holidays

• Worrying about holiday spending and going over budget
• Crowded stores and parking structures
• Crowded streets, freeways, and public transportation
• Stress associated with gift selection and gift giving
• Stress from physical and mental fatigue
• Stress from visiting friends and relatives
• Stress from visitors and household guests
• Anxiety from home repairs and decorations
• Anxiety over menus and meal preparation
  
• Anxiety from disruption of regular routine

These are just a few of the more typical stressors that are responsible for headaches, migraines, nagging neck and shoulder pain and more. The Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays are supposed to be an enjoyable time of year. By waiting until the last minute to take care of necessary details, we set ourselves up for a frantic and frenzied time.

This holiday season doesn't have to be that crazy time of year that you wish you could just sleep through. Do yourself a favor and start your planning and spending now. Whether you're doing home repairs or having someone else do them, cooking or catering, gift maker or gift buyer, visiting or being visited, designated driver or designated drinker, whatever your plans are for the holidays this year, time is fast approaching, so time to get a move on!