Having a plan, continually re-evaluating the plan, and working the plan throughout the year has taken that Oh, my goodness it’s almost Christmas
panic out of my life.

During this month I start to get more aggressive in my shopping.

I pick up at least one thing for the holidays every time I go into the stores. I check over my Holiday Food Box and make sure that I have Thanksgiving dinner covered.

I love to make homemade gifts.

I have found that simple things can bring great joy to both the giver and the receiver.

I like to make candy wreaths.

Everyone loves to get these – kids and adults alike!

They are super simple to make too.

I just take a wire clothes hanger and bend it into an imperfect circle, then I cut out old cereal boxes and bend the cardboard over the wire so that I end up with about an inch of cardboard on each side.

I staple the cardboard there, then hot glue candy, that’s in wrappers of course, all around the cardboard.

These are really fun gifts, plus since Halloween just ended, the candy is practically free once it hits that 90% off clearance price!

You can add in coupons for even greater savings.