Preparing for the Holidays. All of Them.

Last-minutes plans will always be a fact of life around the holidays. Spend one minute on Google and you’ll see the search term “Last-Minutes Plans for…” produces a lot of responses for events occurring in the last three months of the year: Last Minute Halloween Costume Ideas, Last Minute Thanksgiving Side Dishes, Last Minute Things to Keep Near the Bar at Christmas, etc.

Many last-minute challenge occur because plans change, flights get canceled, and people who RSVP’d don’t show up. When these things inevitably happen, don’t stress. Instead, have either a backup plan to address the change or, if you’re feeling adventurous, make up a new plan on the fly and run with it.

Not in the “oh hi, we saw you just moved in so here’s a welcome casserole” kind of way. This is more of the “I’m going to be home Halloween night passing out candy do you want me to keep an eye on your house?” kind of advanced planning.

If you’re speaking to the neighbors, then you know the neighbors. And if you know the neighbors, you take the tiniest step in being more involved in your community. Plus, you’ll be able to make sure you don’t offer the same treats, and you’ll be better organized to handle any rowdy Halloween enthusiasts.

This will also come in handy for any Thanksgiving and Christmas travel plans. If you know your neighbors well enough to make sure nobody decorates their house on Halloween, you know them enough to see if they’ll contact you if the roof suddenly disappears while you’re spending Thanksgiving with the in-laws. Maybe not enough to collect your mail; the post office has a service for that.

It’s a busy time of year, and depending on your schedule, the Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas stretch can lead to a great deal of running around. And when faced with such a potentially hectic schedule, sometimes the biggest favor you can give yourself is a clean house. Few things in life feel nicer than opening the front door after a hectic holiday event and realizing that, whatever else has happened, the house is clean.

So it doesn’t matter if you’re not going to be home Halloween night, if you aren’t hosting Thanksgiving at your place, or if you’re out of town the last two weeks in December; clean the house at least once. Even if he definition of “cleaning” just means putting the clothes in the wash and wiping down the kitchen counter, go ahead and do it. Nobody’s saying you’ve got to wipe the place down from top to bottom and polish the floors until you can see a reflection, but maybe sweep/vacuum and rinse out the toilet bowl. Having a cleaner house will bring a sense of calm sorely needed during the stressful holiday season.