Your guide to planning ahead for the holidays. From preparing, to buying your Christmas gifts to having Christmas gifts delivered early so you can enjoy the festivities.

BY: TENNY F

Plan Early

The key to a super stress free holiday is planning ahead! Buying Christmas gifts at the beginning of December like everyone else is not the way to go. We recommend targeting these months to begin your purchase.

January –  From the 2nd of January, after the festivities that began in October including Halloween, Christmas and New Year celebrations, there will be a plethora of items to choose from, as shops clear out their stock.

July to August – Summer holidays are winding down and back to school items are popping up in shops. Seize this opportunity to explore the huge range items including toys, games and clothing you can use as stocking fillers or items that form part of your main Christmas gift.

November – This it is the perfect time to shop around especially if you plan on buying in bulk or purchasing corporate Christmas gifts. Many organisations offer early bird and bulk purchase discounts, so get in there early and you will be saving yourself a bit of cash to splurge elsewhere if you choose.

Set a Budget

The reason there is so much anxiety around this time of the year, stems from the seemingly endless list of gifts for everyone you know: family, friends, colleagues and business associates you need to purchase gifts for. Regardless of whether you are buying these gifts as an individual or you are a procurement officer in charge of corporate Christmas gifts for clients. The pressure to ensure you purchase the perfect festive gift, at the best price is real.

To ensure you’re well organised, start by doing the following:

• Write down everyone that has made it onto your nice this year.
• Discuss the budget with whoever needs to approve and assign a budget to everyone on your list in order of priority.
• Don’t forget to set aside a small part of your budget as contingency for anyone you missed out or a deserving person you did not consider at the start of your planning process.

Assign Completion Date To Calendar

Have a handy planner and highlight dates to complete your holiday to do’s.

For items like Christmas hampers that need to be sent to people who do not live in the same town, city or country – make sure you send these off early! At least 4 weeks in advance to ensure they are received in good time. During holidays, postal services run a different schedule, so ensure you keep abreast of the changes to delivery times.

Gifts like Christmas flowers and other perishable items can be sent closer to the time of festivities to ensure they are at their best when they are delivered.

Flowers and plants make excellent gifts at Christmas. If you plan on gifting flowers or plants ,we recommend placing an order with your local florist early. At least one month in advance, as they can get really busy over the holidays due to multiple events and parties being organised.

Check out our range of Christmas flowers and plant for inspiration.

Decorate Your Home or Office

It is a great idea to get everyone involved in this process. There is no better way to get into the Christmas mood than bringing out the box of tinsels and baubles, dusting off the wreath and sprucing up the elves.

Christmas balloons are nice to have around the home or office, so check out our fun range to inspire your creativity. This is a sure fire way to amp up the holiday feeling, and the perfect opportunity to begin indulging in festive chocolates and treats for everyone to enjoy! It is the season to be merry after all, why not start early.

Prepare Christmas Cards

Remember that list you started off with when you set out your budget for the holiday? Its time to whip it out again, but this time to help you sign the cards. If you are sending out a lot of cards, make sure you purchase enough stamps so you don’t keep rushing back to the post office at the last minute. There is no such things as expired stamps so you can easily use them the following years!

Food Prep

Don’t assume everyone wants the same turkey dinner this year as they did last year. You will be amazed at how much a human’s pallet and appetite for favourites can change in 11 months. Discuss and decide what the option(s) should be for Christmas lunch or dinner. By doing this, you give ample time to research your menu, know where you will be shopping for the ingredient you need and avoid those last minute dashes to the store. Remember if you fail to plan your will probably be drinking garri on Christmas day as they say in this part of the world. 🙂

Don’t forget you can make some baked goods like some cookies and cakes ahead of time, sometimes up to 2-3months in advance!

Enjoy the Process

As with anything, we can get overwhelmed and stressed during the build up to Christmas. I can’t stress enough how important it is to remember to relax and enjoy the process.

You do not have to do all the prep work yourself, and you really can’t have fun when you are stressed out. Delegate as much of the work as you can to other members of the family or colleagues and friends. You will be amazed at how quickly the job at hand gets done, when everyone gets involved.

Now you know what to do to ensure you have a stress free holiday. This is the time to spend with those you love and a time to say thank you to those who have made a real difference throughout the year. Planning the holiday season will almost guarantee you have ample time to enjoy the weeks leading up to the festivities. Life is definitely sweeter when you can put your feet up, drink spiced wine, Coke, Fanta or whatever else and enjoying some holiday treats!

Now, that’s my kind of celebration.

On a final note…

Do you have other ideas on how to enjoy a stress free holiday season? Do share your ideas and comments below, we would love to hear from you.

Flower and Balloon Company is a florist in Nigeria who specialise in delivering unique gifts, flowers, plants and balloons. We are the premier gift delivery company in Nigeria and our international florist and gift experts are always on hand to help curate the perfect gift. Send premium fresh flower, balloons, seasonal gifts and  hampers with confidence all over Nigeria.

In need of an expert florist in Nigeria with beautiful fresh flowers , gifts, balloons and hampers? Our florist is UK qualified and always available to help 24/7.

Call or WhatsApp our flower shop in Lagos on +2347052983420/ +2348088197311 or visit our website – https://flowerandballooncompany.com/

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The post How To Prepare For Christmas Like A Pro first appeared on flowerandballooncompany.com and is written by Flower and Balloon Company

While out shopping with the kids, this weekend we walked past a high street shop that had just put up a giant light box decoration to mark the beginning of the holiday season.  It was the first shop to put up decorations this year and naturally we were all happy to see the glowing lights from this giant display that said XMAS!

Why not CHRISTMAS in full, I wondered.  Is Christmas such a long word that it has to be abbreviated, it only has 9 Letters.  One letter more than Hanukkah (the Jewish Celebration), two letters more than Ramadan and the same 9 letters as Eid-El-Fitr. So why haven’t any of these other religious ceremonies been abbreviated with an X.  And why use X in its abbreviation anyway and not C, which is the most logical letter since Christmas begins with a C.

I turned to the dictionary to find out what X means- I typed into the search box (What does X mean in English).  It said, X is used to represent a number, or the name of person or thing that is not known or stated, proper noun. X can be used to represent the name of a person when you do not know their real name, or when you are trying to keep their real name a secret.

So is this why X is used to represent Christ in Christmas, to ensure Christ is unknown and to keep his name a secret? No wonder the real meaning of Christmas has been hijacked by the commercial market that push the fictitious Santa Clause and his Elves as the bearers of desirable gifts, but in actuality the most precious gift of all was God’s most precious son Jesus Christ to the world.

I am not sure how far back this Christmas to Xmas started, but there’s no reason why it should continue being this way. Just as every religion deserves to be respected, Christianity also needs to be respected. Christ cannot be replaced and should not be replaced with an X.

At Christmas we remind ourselves and other’s of God’s gift to us, with celebration and thanksgiving, therefore let us embrace the word of God which says in: – Ephesians 5:20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.

As with anything in life, the value we place on anything we hold dear will determine others perception of it.  Christ is the reason for the season and it should never be forgotten or replaced.

Remember it’s CHRISTmas, not Xmas.

About the Author

Tenny is a Health and Safety Professional, a qualified Florist and owner of The Flower and Balloon Company in Lagos Nigeria. When she is not busy designing exquisite floral arrangements, she loves to travel and explore the world with her best buddies…her two children.

The post It’s Not Xmas, It’s CHRISTmas! first appeared on flowerandballooncompany.com and is written by Flower and Balloon Company