It may only be October, but that means there are only nine weeks until Christmas. Before you lose your mind and start running around in circles (with your hands in the air) think about all the pre-planning you can do now. Okay, are you better. Good. That’s why I always try to plan and prepare as much as possible before the beginning of October. I love to make homemade gifts and decorations and getting an early start in critical for my sanity. Here are the ten things to do now to prepare for the holidays.
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****Update March 13, 2020****
I grew up in a very loving, underprivileged family. We were the type of kids that never knew we weren’t well off until other people pointed it out. Don’t get me wrong; we did not want for anything because my parents sacrificed relentlessly for us. My father was a Pastor, so sacrificing was and is in my family’s nature. Why am I telling you this? Even though sometimes we may have received practical gifts like underwear; my mom always made the gift wrapping special in my eyes. We would often receive packages from my Oma and Opa from Germany, and they would have packed our gift inside of a purse or in a tiny little box. I can not tell you the excitement we would have upon seeing those packages on our front porch.
So you’re visiting Portland, OR. You’ve gone to the amazing 
Painting your fireplace is a big deal. Like, there’s no going back, kind of big deal. If you painted your fireplace and didn’t like it, you could sandblast the paint off, but it most 
