To finish Christmas crafts on time, you can look to reduce the number of projects you’re trying to complete at any one time, prioritise anything with a fixed deadline (such as the 25th itself, or an earlier date) and choose simpler versions when necessary.
A finished, straightforward project is usually much more useful than a really ambitious one that misses out on Christmas Day!
Decide Which Crafts Really Need To Be Finished
Start by listing every Christmas craft you currently want to make. After that, separate them into three groups:
- Crafts that must be ready for a particular event or posting date
- Crafts that would be nice to finish but don’t have to be
- Ideas that can wait until next Christmas
Be realistic about what you can complete with the time available. You don’t have to actually get to making every idea, just because you bought all the materials.
If lots of your craft projects are gifts, prioritise the ones for people you’ll be seeing first or those that need to be posted.
Work Backwards From Christmas
Give each important project its own deadline rather than treating Christmas Day as the one single deadline for everything.
A homemade gift that needs to be posted might need to be ready several weeks before Christmas. Decorations for a party might also need to be completed earlier than decorations intended for Christmas Day.
Allow time for parts of the process that can’t be rushed through such as:
- Paint, glue or clay drying
- Materials being delivered
- Mistakes that need to be corrected
- Gifts being wrapped and posted
- Finishing details or assembly
Giving yourself an earlier, personal deadline gives you some spare time if the project takes longer than expected.
Just be kind to yourself, even if you are going for ambitious targets.
Break Each Project Into Small Tasks
“Finish the Christmas wreath” can feel like too overwhelming a job. However, a project like this is much easier to tackle if you break it down, perhaps as follows:
- Gather the wreath base and decorations.
- Arrange the main pieces.
- Attach the decorations.
- Add ribbon or finishing details.
- Check for loose pieces.
- Hang or wrap the finished wreath.
You can complete one of these stages during a short crafting session; you don’t need to force everything into one afternoon.
Prepare Everything Before You Begin
You can easily waste time looking for scissors, replacing missing glue or discovering halfway through a project that don’t have enough material and need to run to the store!
Before you get started, gather the tools and supplies that you need for the whole project. If possible, keep each Christmas craft in its own box, bag or tray. This makes it a lot easier to return to work without repeatedly setting everything up.
A prepared project is also useful if you suddenly have a free half hour that you can use.
Simplify The Project If Necessary
If time is running short, look for parts of the design that can be simplified without compromising the quality of the finished project.
You might:
- Make fewer decorations
- Use a simpler pattern
- Reduce the amount of embroidery or embellishment on something
- Create one handmade item instead of a complete set
- Use ready-made bases, tags or boxes
- Repeat one easy design instead of making every item different
Simplifying a project doesn’t mean that you’ve failed.
Finish One Craft Before Starting Another
Switching repeatedly between several crafts can mean that none of them ever get finished!
Choose the project with the nearest genuine deadline and take it to completion. This might include less exciting final jobs such as trimming threads, sealing a surface, attaching a hanging loop or wrapping the finished gift.
New ideas can be written down for later without you needing to start on them immediately.
Use Short Crafting Sessions
You don’t always need a long uninterrupted day. A series of focused 20- or 30-minute sessions can be enough to complete a project, particularly when the materials are already prepared.
Give each session a specific purpose. For example, you could use one session to cut all the pieces of a project and another to assemble them. This is more effective than sitting down with the vague intention of “doing some Christmas crafts.”
Know When To Stop Adding Details
A craft can be complete even if there are finishing touches you could feasibly make. Extra decoration, another coat of paint or more elaborate packaging might add time without making a meaningful difference.
Before adding something else, ask whether it’s necessary for the item to work, look finished or survive normal use. If it’s not, the project may already be done.
It’s Fine To Leave Some Crafts Until Next Year
Christmas crafting shouldn’t stress you out and add to the holiday burden (worrying about the turkey is bad enough). If a project no longer fits the available time, store its materials together and label them clearly for next year.
Finishing Christmas crafts on time is largely a matter of choosing fewer projects, setting earlier deadlines and accepting a simpler finished result. You don’t need to make everything perfect and catalogue quality.
Don’t stress yourself out, try to make it fun (otherwise what’s the point) and enjoy the day!