Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown - 3 Days

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The house is clean, the groceries are ordered and the cookies are baked. There is not much left to do but wrap gifts. Block out some time in the evening tonight and tomorrow to get through the pile without going crazy. Recruit help when possible from your hubby and tiny humans...make it a family affair! Strategize your wrapping based on who you are seeing and when you are seeing them. Have a Christmas Eve exchange? Start there...end (or don't bother) with the gifts you are mailing or exchanging after the New Year.

Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown - 4 Days

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We're in the home stretch...hopefully the house is cheery and bright, free of dust and smells of delicious cookies (that are hidden out of the reach of rumbling bellies).

Today is all about you. T-Minus 4 Days is the midpoint in the one week countdown. Take a break and treat yo'self.

Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown - 5 Days

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Hopefully by now your T Minus 7 Days and T Minus 6 Days Checklists are all checked off, the side dishes are prepped and a batch of cookies is put away.

Luckily for both of us, the Monday is pretty easy. It's just time to decorate. Stop, I know what you're thinking. "Decorating for Christmas takes days, weeks." Well, this isn't Christmas. The motto of the Ultimate Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Guide: Decor is "If you don't have it, don't go buy it". This saves money, time and ultimately the headache of trying to head to the store the week of a holiday. So work within your attic, storage closet or your backyard! Head over to my Christmas Pinterest board for inspiration, but here are some of my favorites. Customize them to what you have packed away.

Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown - 6 Days

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The key to a smooth and easy Chaos-Free Christmas is leveraging your free time this throughout the week and weekend for prep. Use lunch breaks to run last minute errands when the stores are less crowded. Recipe prep in the evening while dinner is cooking and the kitchen is already messy.  It seems early to start cooking, but that's what your freezer is for! Focus on prepping and freezing the dishes that can stand the cold to minimize your cooking on Christmas morning. Watch the daily guide for thawing instructions later in the week!

Chaos-Free Christmas Countdown: 7 Days

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Happy Monday...just one week until Santa unloads his sleigh in your living room and family bursts through the front door! Are you ready? Fear not, I have the ultimate Chaos-Free Christmas guide. Watch for daily guides and to-do lists for the perfect Christmas day, starting with tomorrow (Tuesday).

The week leading up to Christmas usually looks like the whole year took a big poo on the page of my planner and left a years worth of plans crammed into a week. As everyone prepares for a week off of work or home with their tiny humans, deadlines at work are inevitable, half-days at school for the tiny humans make the schedule more difficult, and surprise drop-ins from friends and family have us turning off the lights and locking the doors. Follow my Chaos-Free Christmas Manual for a smooth holiday spent outside the kitchen and tucked into bed before the crack of dawn every morning.

Have Yourself a Merry Little December

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November was jam packed with travel for All About the Benjamins. In the last week alone, we traveled nearly 3000 miles from home to Chicago and back and to Charlotte, NC and back. We walked over 75 miles while we were away!

Despite the chaos, I generally I kept my promises to myself and my readers...I offered an Ultimate Guide to Thanksgiving full of party planning tips, recipes and menu inspiration. I've continued working on my social media presence, tweeting, facebooking, instagramming and updating my stories more, to keep my readers satisfied, especially on days that I'm not writing. With my remaining 5 minutes everyday, I sleep until my alarm goes off and I start over again. With a nice back-log of ideas and posts, December should be another month of cozy coffees, gift guides and a Chaos-Free Christmas Manual. I'm dreaming of a Merry and Bright December!