Christmas in July: Series Opener

I'm starting a series focusing on planning ahead for the holidays and I have my friend April to thank for making me think about it. First off, let me virtually introduce April. I met her about 5-6 years ago [wow, has it been that long?] when my team moved to a new building and our cubes were next to each other. She was away on her honeymoon when I arrived and when she got back I noticed that everyone came by to see her. She's the popular girl, I thought. I'm quiet and I keep to myself most of the time so she didn't think very highly of me. I was right about her. She is popular and also very nice. Thankfully she learned to like me:)

April, like many people, starts the count down for the holidays very early in the year because she loves Christmas. This year I'm looking at the holidays from the perspective of how we can make them meaningful with what we have around us. Whether that is time, money, services, food, etc.

We'll look at what we can do to prepare for our kids' holidays, as well as, their teachers and others they need to provide gifts for. Because this takes time, and in some cases, money we're starting now so that we don't break the bank or emotional budget. Come along for the ride and if you have ideas I'd love to hear them!