Planning to have a good Christmas break
Stay in a holiday cottage big enough for your close family and to have people that make you happy around you.
Use the Internet to research aspects of Christmas
A certain amount of planning is always necessary at Christmas. People plan menus, entertainment, music, gifts, table settings, decorations etc. Fortunately we have that wonderful resource of the Internet that helps us in all these aspects. Enter 'Christmas Menu Ideas' into a browser and a host of suggestions will appear.
Make Christmas Lists
Planning Christmas home or away entails making lists for every aspect of being responsible for Christmas in your home: lists of presents for each person, list of dishes for Christmas Day, list of food to buy, lists of drinks, list of accessories such as napkins, party poppers, Christmas crackers and so on.
Online Christmas Shopping
A little more planning may be required when spending Christmas away from home in a rented cottage. There are the travel arrangements to think about, the grocery shopping (nearest supermarket, times of opening).
Online shopping with your Christmas groceries delivered to your cottage door is a very good option. Most people have their cars full of luggage when going on holiday and don't have space for the extra food. Having the groceries delivered takes another chore out of the agenda and do you really want to queue in a store during the pre-Christmas rush?
Christmas Security
A little thought should also be given to keeping your own home safe whilst it's empty. Christmas is a popular time for burglaries and the last thing you want to find is a ransacked house when you return from your Christmas break. A few security suggestions:
- Leave lights to come on and off on timers
- Let trusted neighbours know that you will be away
- Encourage neighbours to park on your driveway whilst you're away so that it appears that someone may be home and your neighbours may be glad of the extra parking spaces when they have guests.
- It is assumed that you have good security, locks on windows and a burglar alarm installed and switched on.
Thinking about the family at Christmas
Anyone with children wants them to have a really lovely time and plans their presents in advance.
One of the considerations when spending Christmas away from home is how to bring back all those presents that Santa so generously showers on the children. Inevitably, the car will be stuffed to the gills with suitcases, sports equipment (that sledge may come in handy if it snows), treats and nice things for your Christmas holiday home. It might be wise to warn Santa to give exceedingly small sized present this year, preferably envelope sized that take up little space.
It may also be very nice to take stocking to hang up on Christmas Eve in your holiday cottage, especially if the cottage has a large old-fashioned fireplace with a good sized mantelpiece.
