Christmas Countdown 2009

Jolie_Paradoxe

Nice. Thanks Melissa.....will do exactly that tonight before bed! With you and Rae combined, I may actually pull off an organized front! Hee Hee

Chef Endora

Rae...This is like a virtual cattle prod.

I do want to enjoy the holiday season this year so I'll get started.

Funny thing is, I used to be organized and I don't know what happened.

ChefBeckyD

The very best way to have a good Holiday Season is to have a good Summer & Fall! From the time I started, my director has repeated over and over that what I do now will affect my business 90 days from now. I have seen that to be true time and again! Sooo, if you want a good Nov. & Dec., then you need to make sure that you are booking enough shows for August and Sept. Many consultants will say that they are taking the summer off, or not doing a whole lot for the summer, and then Sept. hits and they are looking at an empty calendar, and having to scramble to try take advantage of the new season. Stay consistent with your schedule, and your Fall/Winter will be great!
I usually do a Show of my own the end of Aug, beginning of Sept - to show off all of the new products, and to showcase new Party themes and recipes.
I NEVER call it an Open House, though. Open Houses are almost always a flop. You want to give it a special name - I usually only invite my past hosts, and a few very good customers, and ask all of them to bring a friend. (I've been doing this for long enough, that my past host list if very large!)
I'll call it a Fall Extravaganza, or a Host Appreciation Party, or something like that. I save up free product that I earn or get from hosting other shows, etc...through the year, and use it as giveaways, plus everyone gets a goody bag to take home with a SB, and some other small gift, and the recipe cards for the new recipes...I almost always finish filling my calendar for Sept. & Oct. when I do this show (avg. 5-8 bookings), and I've never had less than $600 in sales.
Oh - and I have the recipes made ahead of time, and let my guests sample them, and then they rate them, and let me know which one they'd most like to have demo'd at a show. Here is the form I use:

Attached Files

Show Survey.doc (13.5 KB, 127 views)

raebates

Today is September 1. There are 115 days until Christmas.

This is when I really start focusing on Christmas. I'll be starting any craft projects soon. I'll be working on getting my card list up to date. by starting now I have plenty of time to really think things through.

One of the ways I get ready is collecting cash. I do my best to make sure I pay cash for everything for Christmas. One of the ways I do that is to collect change. I use full dollar bills to pay for almost everything. I put all of my change in an ice cream bucket. Near the end of October (when I start my serious Christmas shopping) and just before Thanksgiving (when I finish my Christmas shopping) I take that bucket to the bank and have them convert it back into bills. I usually wind up with a total of $200-$300. Since I buy things all year long, this is usually plenty for me to finish up.

I can't guarantee that I'll post a tip every day. If you'd like to get great everyday information, go to one of my sources. They have great tips.

www.organizedchristmas.com


Here's hoping we all have happy holidays.

pc_jessica

omg only 115 days to christmas!?!?!?!?!? eek i need to get the show on the road at my house! I have accomplished my first christmas to do: getting my holiday booth booked yesterday i am starting Black Friday and Ending Christmas Eve. My next Christmas to do: start a holiday gift shopping list, and then start shopping! I envy all those that are done shopping before Thanksgiving even gets here, maybe that will be me this year (hopefully anyways)...I am definietely going to be checking out that website you mentioned!!!!

raebates

The Furry Guy and I talked over the details of our Christmas budget today. I find it helpful to set a clear budget for gifts and for other expenses. Getting clear about those things now makes it much easier to stick with them as the holiday gets closer.

esavvymom

I've been perusing a great website the last week or so.

Organized Christmas: Simplify Your Holidays and Celebrate The Season

Everything from Grand Plans to start cleaning/organizing/Holiday Planning NOW to gift ideas, budgets, etc. Tons of things! I'm hoping to keep on track with the cleaning plan- that starts this week....so by Christmas, my house will be tip-top and I can relax for Christmas!

raebates

Great minds think alike, Bobbi. That's the website I suggested in today's post. I found it last year and fell in love. They have stuff for many other holidays, too. Their focus, though, is Christmas.

raebates

Today is September 2. There are 114 days left until Christmas.

“Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind; Teach us to be patient and always to be kind.” — Helen Rice


Last year I put together a Christmas Planner. Mine is in 2 parts--a computer file and a large 3-ring binder, complete with a few pockets. I used it to gather ideas, keep track of things I'd already purchased, plan menus, and make notes for this year. No matter what you use, it's a good idea to keep all of your notes and info in one or two places. That will make it easier for you to access and use the information.

BTW, if you need a little help getting your planner started, there is a downloadable planner at Organized Christmas: Simplify Your Holidays and Celebrate The Season. You can pick and choose which parts to print.

pc_jessica

okay sooo...i just printed my very own Christmas planner!!! i am feeling more hopeful that i WILL be one of those early gift buyers!!
plus i think with you reminding us of the daily countdown that will give me more a kick in the rump to get busy with my Christmas to dos!

raebates

I saw someone buying Christmas ornaments at Hobby Lobby today. I congratulated her on getting a good start, since there are only 114 days to go. She laughed and said that she wasn't really doing that. She just knew that the ornaments she liked (the glass ones) were usually the first ones they ran out of. She was surprised that there were so few days left.

I told her about Organized Christmas: Simplify Your Holidays and Celebrate The Season. I also talked to her a bit about PC.

esavvymom

Way to seize the moment, Rae! Sorry- I hadn't read far enough back in the posts to see you had posted the same site! Duh. I was skimming,posting, and running- I get sucked into this site for too long..i was trying not to do that.

This thread should not only be a countdown- but a Christmas Accountability thread for those of us trying to do a planner approach this year! *lol* I for one, am ALREADY behind. What else is new!

raebates

Today is September 3. There are 113 days left until Christmas.

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other” — Burton Hills


Two suggestions today. The first has to do with the quote, which I got from Organized Christmas: Simplify Your Holidays and Celebrate The Season. Take the time right now to figure out what's important to you as a family. This will help you to trim good but not essential things from your calendar. There's a family values worksheet available on the website. At the very least, talk together about what's important to each of you and why. You just might learn something about your family members.

The second is to start making your lists. Here are some ideas:

• Gifts to be given, amount to spend (include family, friends, school, church, etc)
• Christmas card list (computerize it!) Print list and update it, if needed. Decide how many cards are needed.
• Visits to make
• Parties/Entertaining
• Menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, other parties
• Goodies for Sharing/Gifts. Decide how much needs to be made and divide it between the weeks from now through December 1.
• Favorite Meals of Family members for freezing ahead.
• Long-term shopping list divided into: canned foods, perishables for each holiday, linens and dishes, decorations, etc.

These will help you stay on track as the weeks go by.

raebates

Bobbi, I'm all for using this thread for accountability. We did a bit of that with the countdown last year.

One advantage to keeping many of my lists on my computer is that I'm able to update instead of starting from scratch.

pc_jessica

whaoo!! i have my christmas card list done...unless between now and dec 15th i meet anyone new or my husband decides to add anyone else to his 'friend' list!

esavvymom

That's great! But even if you have new people- just add them to it as you get them, that should be easy enough.

I've done more 'cleaning' projects today- hosed down my front porch today. Not exactly "christmas"-like....but it figures into my overall plan of cleaning house/preparing for the holidays.

pampered1224

Another good reason to start planning for Christmas too is that the PC incentives stop at the end of the year. And with most of us, our PC business stops the day we can last order for Christmas Delivery. With all the things we need to do with our personal lives, I still want to be able to reach level 1 to get free NC next year. So besides planning all the fun family stuff, I need to plan my business stuff to. That Planner sounds like just the ticket for both! Thanks!

raebates

Today is September 4. There are only 112 days left until Christmas.

There's still time to have a cash-only Christmas. Start by setting your budget now. Include everything--gifts, food, decorations, fuel/travel expenses, etc.

Begin setting aside a bit out of each paycheck now. Next year you can start a Christmas Club or, at the very least, place $10 out of every paycheck in an envelope marked "Christmas."

Look for ways to cut back. The Furry Guy and I often make gifts for Christmas. There are lots of great ideas out there. They just take a little time and thought. That's why we're starting now.

Seriously, consider paying as you go for Christmas this year. Use the credit cards to order items if you must, but pay that off as soon as you get the bill. Your bank accounts will thank you in January.

straitfan

Do we know what that date is yet? I just had a customer e-mail me wanting to know!

pc_jessica

someone said Dec. 10th...but i think they were guessing and counting back 10 business days or something like that.