In this episode, I am sharing my tips on how to plan your Christmas projects to make sure no WIP gets left behind.
Listen to the episode below or keep scrolling to read the post.
How to Plan Your Christmas Projects
I have a similar post for regular projects that you can find here, but in this episode/post I am talking specifically about Christmas WIP projects.
The reason I wanted to share about Christmas projects specifically is because this time of year we usually ramp up our cross stitch game. We are making decorations and gifts and have an abundance of Christmas patterns we can’t wait to make. However, if you don’t have a plan then some things will be left too late or just plain left behind.
I have no problem no finishing projects but if you are wanting to make gifts this year or hang some extra cross stitch decorations then I think it’s important to plan properly.
Categories
So with that in mind the first thing I want you to do is gather together any Christmas WIPs you have on the go or new ones you want to stitch.
Now you want to categorise these projects.
I have a free printable for you here that you can use to help you with this.
The three categories are gifts, decorations and “just for me”. Feel free to change these; maybe you need some doing for work or school etc. Write down which projects fit into which category.
For example, one year I made my mum a cross stitch lampshade. The pattern I was stitching for this would go into the gift category.
Don’t worry if one category has more projects in it that others, the point in splitting like this is to make sure you get gifts and decorations stitched on time.
Top 5-10
From that brainstorm pick your top 5-10 projects. A few could be gifts you want to make, a couple could be decorations and the rest just for you. Or they could all be decorations.
I don’t recommend planning more than 10 unless you know they are all small and you will get a lot of stitching done so you want to pick more. If you only plan 5 projects and get them finished before Christmas just go back through this again. I get more motivation when I plan a few and get them done than planning a lot and being disappointed.
End date
The end dates are important when Christmas planning. Think about when you will be giving the gift or when you want to display your pieces. For example, not all gifts are given on the 25th. I have a Secret Santa and we give our gifts on the 1st of December. If I wanted to make a gift for it I would need to be pretty quick.
And with decorations, if you don’t finish stitching until the 24th, are you actually going to display it that Christmas? Now again, there is nothing wrong with waiting until next year but if you want to display it this year then you need to know when to have it finished.
I like to have all my decorations up by the 16th of December; if it’s not finished by then, it probably won’t get displayed that year.
So go ahead and write your end dates on those gifts and decorations but you don’t necessarily have to do it for the just-for-me projects.
Having these end dates will keep you on track so you stitch what needs to be done sooner, first.
Christmas Break
If you get time off over Christmas, like I do, you might want to plan a just-for-you project for that time. I don’t always make this Christmas-themed. In fact, I rarely do. Usually, I’m done with my Christmas projects by Christmas Day, so I work on something else fun.
This year I have a Schitts Creek pattern to stitch between Christmas and New Year while I’m not working.
Hopefully, this helps get you stitching more Christmas cross stitch projects this season. Happy planning!
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Extra posts and episodes
- How to Organise Your WIP Projects
- How to Take a Christmas Self Care Day
- Cross Stitch Christmas Finishing Ideas
