Don't let the turkeys get you down!

The turkeys are ready! Finally.
I have finally listed the last of the Thanksgiving merchandise in my shop. Just in time, too! The last day to order for guaranteed delivery in time for the big feast is Tuesday, November 16th!!

I'm going to sit back, take a deep breath, relax for 5 minutes, and then, get busy listing Christmas items!

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I received a disturbing e-mail yesterday. It simply read: "Only 47 shopping days til Christmas!"

It disturbed me on, oh so many, levels.

I could feel the annual panic beginning to well up in my chest. "I'm not prepared. I won't be ready." My mind began to chant the seasonal battle cry of most of the women I know. I could actually see those days peeling off the calendar in my mind. Various deadlines lunged at me as if I was caught in a 3-D movie.

How do the holidays always seem to sneak up on us? I mean, they come every year. Not only that, but Christmas is ALWAYS on the 25th of December. It's not like Easter that jumps around a bit.

Then, it dawned on me. This friend sent this message very late last evening. Yesterday was pretty much over with. So that meant, he's counting Thanksgiving Day and Christmas as shopping days! Okay, I can accept he might do some shopping online after Thanksgiving dinner, after football overload and when he is too stuffed to do much else than wiggle a little mouse around to browse the web. (Actually, a few years ago, my brother found you could actually access a few of the Black Friday sale prices on Thursday evening.) But just what does he plan to buy us at CVS or Walgreens (worse yet, 7-11) on Christmas morning?!?

Okay, NOT planning to shop after dinner on Turkey Day and NOT counting Christmas Day and actually getting a move on right now, this very minute, I have 46 Days!! Only 46 Days!! Not just shopping days, but planning, cooking, cleaning, wrapping, decorating, packing and shipping days. That's 46 EVERYTHING days!!!

I'm a list maker. So, right now, I'm going to sit down and make some lists. You know the kind - the gift list, the deadline list, the merchandise to be finished list, etc.

Then, in true Scarlett O'Hara style, I'll get busy "doing" tomorrow!!! (You know, when we're a day closer.)

I'm making my list and checking it twice...

With only 79 days left 'til Christmas morn', you bet I'm making a list - or two - or maybe ten!

There's the list of everybody we need gifts for, the list of those gifts I want to make, the list for those we need to order or shop for, the card list, the list of things that need to be done to get the house ready for the holidays, the baking list - and those are just the household lists!

Then there are the business lists. Most important over there, is the list of merchandise I need to get finished and listed in time to sell them for the holiday!!

I'm starting to prioritize my lists. I need a list of all my lists!!

Santa has it easy. He's got two lists - the good girls and boys and the bad. The bad is easy. He can do a production line for packing up those bags of coal. Oh, and he can have some elves work that line for him. I hear they work cheap - just a plate of cookies and some hot chocolate. I'm sure Mrs. Clause is working on those cookies already.

Santa just needs to decide what each child on the good list should receive and then send a work order to the right elf department. The gifts are made, wrapped and placed in the sleigh for him with neat little labels telling him just where they go.

I understand he then settles in for a good long nap, gets up for a great meal with the missus and then sets off for one super long night of delivering gifts with lots of cookie snacking along the way. When he gets back to the North Pole on Christmas morning, I hear he settles in for a long winter's nap! How many of you got a long nap on Christmas morn after staying up all night getting the gifts together?

(If you did, please won't you tell me how?)

Oh yeah, before I tackle all those lists there's the immediate lists. I have orders to fill now, birthday gifts to make that are due by next week, and packing lists to put together for our Fall trip out west to see the in-laws (in a couple weeks). Talk about needing to prioritize!!

I did get my Halloween merchandise done this week. I don't stock a lot of Halloween items but I like to feature a few. This year, I've just done three onesies and I listed them today. Y'all had a sneak peak yesterday before they were all done. Here's a peek at the finished products.
Just click here or on the pic for a link to the shop for more info on each.

Here's hoping your lists stay manageable this year. we can always dream, can't we?