Planning backwards from Christmas
A countdown is most useful when you work backwards from it. Shipping cut-offs, school holidays and travel all land in the last two weeks, so the calm way to do Christmas is to finish the big jobs early and leave December for the fun ones.
- Six weeks out: make your gift list and set a budget per person. The gift idea finder helps with the hard-to-buy-for.
- Four weeks out: order anything that ships, especially from smaller sellers who sell out.
- Two weeks out: post cards, book any travel and plan the main meal.
- Final week: wrap, shop for fresh food and leave room to enjoy it.
Christmas traditions that start with a countdown
Advent calendars have counted down to Christmas since the 1800s, starting with chalk marks on doors and candles lit each day. Today the countdown is as much a part of the season as the day itself, whether it is a chocolate calendar, a paper chain that gets one link shorter each night, or a quick check of the days left on a phone.