You may ask what is this holiday spirit everyone is talking about? According to the Collins English Dictionary it is: “another name for holiday feeling”. So how one gets into this holiday feeling?

This is pretty simple, the easiest way is start planning for holidays, make a checklist and go shopping for items you are missing. Going to the stores alone, that are beautifully decorated for Christmas, will set you into right mood straight away.

When writing down your checklist don’t be too specific. Allow yourself to be spontaneous and get things that you really like rather than stick to your list no matter what.

It seems that pre-Christmas shopping at HomeSense is becoming our habit. Last year my daughter and I went on a Christmas decorations haul. This year we did it again but concentrated more on home decor, baking accessories, festive cosmetics and edible gifts.

THINGS TO DO – CHRISTMAS CHECKLIST

1. Write down Christmas wish lists or letters to Santa as kids like to call them.
2. Decide on Christmas tree – small or big, natural or artificial.
3. Choose home decor: wreaths, garlands, Santas, snowmen, reindeer etc.
4. Get Xmas tree decorations. We have plenty of them already but it is our tradition to add at least one new ornament every year.
5. Unpack Christmas box with tableware and other items (if you have one).
6. Find obligatory Christmas outfits: jumpers, pyjamas, fluffy socks, hats, antlers, cosy slippers.
7. Test the lights because there is nothing worse than finding out on the Christmas Eve that the tree lights are not working… I know this from my own experience.
8. Bake gingerbread house and cookies. Look for festive cookie cutters, if needed.
9. Make a list of people that you want to consider while writing cards and buying gifts. In all that rush it is easy to forget someone important… teachers, work colleagues, neighbours.
10. Prepare greeting cards, gift tags, ribbons, gift boxes and wrapping papers.
11. Purchase (or make) gifts and stocking fillers.
12. Get festive scented cosmetics and candles to make entire house smell nice.
13. Finish countdown calendars. We usually make our own for kids but I spotted some nice wooden ones (ready to be filled) in HomeSense as well.
14. Plan the dinner menu, even if your will be spending it with the closest family alone.
15. Buy or bake festive cakes such as Panettone bread.
16. Arrange Christmas movies to watch and games to play.
17. Make a list of things to do and places to visit. We want to go the the famous Brighton Royal Pavilion Ice Rink this year.
18. Christmas crackers are important and fun part of the celebrations as well.
19. Stock up festive hot chocolate flavours, spiced teas and Christmas coffees blends to relax after all that hard work.
20. And don’t forget to post all of the cards and gifts, that need to be sent, at least week or two before, depending on destination.

cinnamon & orange soap bar (£2.99) from HomeSense

Festive scented soaps and candles make house smell so good… this little soap filled all our house with scent of cinnamon and oranges and I only brought it home. It will make our bathroom Christmassy when it is a bit closer to the date.

set of 3 festive cookie cutters (£2.99) from HomeSense

We will definitely be making some Christmas baking… for the school bake sale and possibly to give away to our neighbours, too. We haven’t made ginger bread house for the last few years so this is definitely on our agenda as well.

wine vinegar in ceramic bottle (£3.99) from HomeSense

I’m big fan of edible gifts, especially when they are nicely packed in a pretty container that can be reused, like this bottle of red wine vinegar.

Jelly Bean Factory (£8.99) & Jelly Bean tin truck (£5.99) from HomeSense

Our girls love Jelly Beans so I had no other choice but to get two gift sets containing those as well.

small artificial wreath (£5.99) & large natural cone (£1.45 each) from HomeSense

Our new wrath looks pretty realistic despite the fact that only the cones are natural.

mini panettone bread (£2.49) from HomeSense

I always wanted to try real Panettone bread. There was a huge choice of flavours in our local HomeSense, therefore we go got this little one to taste before buying bigger one later on…

HomeSense gift card

And if you are unsure what to get as a gift for someone, there are always gift cards available… let the person go on their own treasure hunt instead.

NOTES

In case that you are not familiar with HomeSense they are part of the same retail group as TK Maxx and you can find their goodies across both of those stores.

Our Christmas recipes and craft ideas can be found here.

DISCLOSURE: This post has been commissioned by HomeSense. All opinions expressed here are our own and we retained full editorial control.