Have you got your game face on for the holidays yet? How do you plan for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Are you a list person? Do you always do certain things at certain times? Please share your holiday game plan.

I did something this weekend that I’ve never done before. And I probably wouldn’t have done it had it not been for some prodding by my wife. But now that the task is completed I am delighted.  Until this year I had never put up our Dickens Village collection before Thanksgiving. However, with so many different things on our family and business calendars between now and the end of the year we decided it was now or never.

It is almost a full day of work putting the village together. I’ve attached a couple of wide angle photos to show you my collection which is located in our great room on the built-in book shelves. My only problem is lugging three giant green Dickens containers down from the attic. There are lots of twists and turns on the way down and I always tend to strain my back. Where is my big strong son William when I need him?  

Well, the job is done and my back doesn’t hurt too badly. Next year I am going to do some stretching before I begin the task. Up next – getting new red bows for the window wreaths. And grabbing a fresh tree this coming weekend in the mountains.

What about you? Please share your holiday preparation stories.