Blogmas #24 Christmas Eve Checklist

Bowser posing, isn't he cute :)
We've finally reached the end of the countdown to Christmas- can you believe that there's just one day to go?! I always remember the last week before Christmas feeling like an absolute lifetime when I was young, these days when gets to the 24th I'm utterly baffled as to where all of the time went. My day today involves brunch at my mums, tying up all of the loose ends this afternoon and then having a relaxing pamper evening later on tonight. I plan on getting everything finished and sorted, and then sitting back and enjoying the festivities while I still can. Are you ready for tomorrow? Here are five things you probably wont want to forget to do today!

1. Charge Your Camera
While phone cameras are really quite good these days, for special occasions like Christmas I'll always use my big DSLR camera. The picture quality is always better and they also perform better in low light which is handy for any early morning shots! While it's a bit more effort than simply grabbing your phone, if you do have a camera it's worth using it for times like Christmas day- that way you can capture really good, high quality pictures to look back on. Make sure you pop your camera battery on charge today so it's ready to go in the morning. 

2. Finish Wrapping and Organising Presents
If you still have a pile of presents that still need to be wrapped, it's probably best to make a start on them because you're quickly running out of time! Once they're wrapped it's well worth organising them, so everything goes to the right person and nothing gets forgotten. I recommend getting a big gift bag for each household, then put in the individually wrapped presents and cards of everyone who lives there inside. That way it's easy to transport them, the bag can go straight into the car when you're dropping off gifts and you know that nothing has been mixed up or left behind.

3. Do Any Last Minute Shopping
The majority of shops close tonight at around 7pm, and don't open again until 9am on boxing day. The last thing you want to be doing is driving around on Christmas day searching for somewhere that's open because you forgot to pick up a crucial ingredient! If you're cooking, write a list of everything you're going to need and go through it carefully being sure not to overlook any essentials like gravy, table sauces and drinks. Don't forget to check if your regular household essentials will last until boxing day too- bread, milk, washing up liquid, bin bags as well as things like batteries for kids toys.

4. Set An Alarm
This probably wont be necessary if you have kids who will be waking you up at the crack of dawn, but if you don't then an alarm is essential. If you're going to be cooking Christmas dinner and having people over you'll need to get up early enough to start your prep work; if you're going out you don't want to be sleeping in and turning up late (especially if you're planning on having a few cocktails tonight!) Oversleeping, running around in a mad panic and rocking up wherever you're going late is never going to be the most fun or relaxing start to the day.

5. Last Minute Cleaning and Organising
If you haven't already, now is a good time to get rid of the old to make way for the new. You could sort through the things you no longer use and bag them up to donate to a charity shop- most will be open today. Getting everything cleaned and organised just makes for a much nicer environment, and also saves the stress of messing around searching for things or cleaning up on Christmas day. Making sure you have an empty bin ready for all the torn-off wrapping paper and everything organised and where you need it it will mean the day runs much more smoothly.

What's on your to-do list today? Are you ready for tomorrow?