3. Take Photos of Your Decor
Decking the halls might seem like a mindless task you do while sipping hot toddies and listening to the Pandora Christmas radio station, but as you accumulate more decorations from year to year, remembering how you make them all work in your home can become stressful. Do yourself a favor this season: once you have everything set up the way you like it, take photos of everything — the bookshelf where you unload your Santa collection, the stocking-covered mantle, all the other tables that get Christmas-ified. Then, when it comes time to break out the boxes next year, you can refer to the snapshots to know exactly which garland goes on the dining table vs. the banister.
4. Keep a Running List of Gift Ideas on Your Phone
We don't see any harm in waiting to do most of your holiday shopping post-Thanksgiving — there's lots of great deals, and for those of us with minimal storage, we don't have to be drowning in boxes for months. However, it's downright foolish not to have a list of people you plan to shop for, along with a list of gift ideas for them . . . a list you've ideally been adding to all year long. Keep it handy on the notes app on your phone so that when your mom mentions a perfume she'd never buy herself or you notice your nephew consistently playing with a certain toy at your house, you can jot it down and shop off it later.
