I've got my list, how 'bout you?

And yes, it is handsomely decorated with stickers. :)

Welcome to our little piece of the interwebs! With some regularity (daily? weekly? monthly?) we'll be sharing what we're doing to get ready to meet Marilyn's goal of all of her Christmas gifts purchased and ready by November 15, 2009.

Making A List, Checking it...Regularly
It's January, and you're looking at your credit card statement, or surrounded by the holiday junk that still needs to be put away, or at thank you notes that still need to be written. Why in the world should you be getting ready for NEXT Christmas already? And if you can be convinced that you should be preparing, WHAT, exactly, should be you be doing now?

If you're going to get your shopping done early this year, you need a plan of attack. And that plan starts with your shopping list. In fact, this is the perfect time to begin making your Christmas list -- while you can still remember who you gifted in 2008 that should be on your 2009 list. Here are categories to consider:

• Family
• Friends
• Co-workers
• Employees
• Caretakers
• Club or group
  
• Service providers (e.g., hairdresser, sanitary workers, parking garage employees)

Find a small notebook, notepad or application for your iPhone or PDA (more on that in the future!) and enter the names on your list in the notebook. Give each person their own page (unless you're buying the same gift for a whole category of people). Then, as you think about it, shop for others, or inspiration strikes, enter gift ideas for each individual on those pages. Later, you'll be able to use these pages to track purchases, attach receipts and check on your progress.