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My SZN Guide · Live the SZN · ❄️ Winter

The Week-by-Week December Planner

What to actually do each week of December, so nothing lands on the 23rd all at once.

Guide · planning · 8 min · 8 min read

A hand writing a December checklist in a notebook beside a lit candle and a cup of tea

Every December has the same shape: a slow first week that feels like there's masses of time, a middle fortnight that vanishes into work parties and school events, and a last few days where everything you were vaguely going to do lands at once.

It doesn't need fixing with more effort — just with the jobs sitting in the right week instead of all the same week. Nothing here is complicated; it's mostly about timing.

This is one sensible way through the month. Skip what doesn't apply to your Christmas, and don't feel obliged to do the lot — a shorter list, done, beats a longer one abandoned on the 20th.

The shape of the month

Four rough phases: settle and plan in the first week, book and buy in the second, wrap and cook in the third, and rest into the day itself in the last few. Most stress comes from doing phase three's jobs in phase four.

Postal deadlines are the one genuinely fixed point — Royal Mail's last recommended second-class date is usually around 18 December and first-class around 20 December, with international post needing to go far earlier. Everything else on this list can flex by a few days either way.

Week one (1–7 December): settle and plan

  • Write the actual guest list and dates — who's coming, who's hosting, who's travelling where.
  • Put up the tree and decorations if that's your tradition, and enjoy having them up for the whole month.
  • Start a written list: presents needed, cards needed, food needed. One list beats three half-remembered ones.
  • Book anything with limited slots now: Santa visits, panto, carol services, restaurant bookings for work dos.
  • Check advent plans — a calendar, a jar of activities, or nothing at all, decided on purpose rather than by default.

Week two (8–14 December): book and buy

  • Order presents that need posting to you, and any that need posting elsewhere — check delivery windows before assuming next-day.
  • Buy or make cards, and get the first batch written for anyone posting internationally.
  • Book the turkey or main event with a butcher if you're not buying it fresh from a supermarket, and confirm any click-and-collect food slots.
  • Sort out what you're wearing to any parties, so it isn't a 6pm scramble.
  • Wrap presents as they arrive rather than in one long session — ten minutes a day adds up.

Week three (15–21 December): post, wrap, cook ahead

  • Post second-class cards and parcels by around the 18th, first-class by the 20th — check Royal Mail's dates each year as they shift slightly.
  • Do the big food shop for anything that keeps — tins, drinks, crackers, non-perishables — leaving only fresh items for closer to the day.
  • Make anything that freezes or matures well ahead: stuffing, cranberry sauce, mince pies, a Christmas cake if you're that organised.
  • Confirm timings with anyone visiting or hosting — arrival times, who's bringing what, where people are sleeping.
  • Finish wrapping and hide presents somewhere you will actually remember.

Week four (22–24 December): the final stretch

  • Do the fresh food shop — veg, bread, dairy, the turkey if you didn't order ahead — a day or two before, since supermarkets are chaos on the 24th.
  • Set out anything Christmas Eve needs: stockings, the pillowcase, the box of chocolates that vanishes if left visible too early.
  • Check the oven timings for Christmas Day the night before, working backwards from when you actually want to eat.
  • Put your feet up on the evening of the 23rd. Whatever isn't done by then can mostly wait, or doesn't matter.

The one deadline that actually matters

If you only remember one date, make it the postal one. Everything else on this list — food, wrapping, cards you hand over in person — can move by a few days without anyone noticing. A card that arrives on 2 January can't be un-late.

Keep the jobs you want to remember for next year

Keeping this list means it resurfaces automatically next December — no rebuilding it from scratch.

  • Write the December to-do listKept for later 🤎
  • Post cards before the deadlineKept for later 🤎
  • Wrap presents as they arriveKept for later 🤎
  • Book the Christmas food shop slotKept for later 🤎

Anything you keep lands in My Keeps — ready to plan, live and remember.

December planning questions

When is the last posting date for Christmas in the UK?
Royal Mail typically recommends second-class post by around 18 December and first-class by around 20 December for UK delivery, with international post needing to go considerably earlier — often late November for some destinations. Check the current year's dates, as they shift by a day or two.
What should I do first in December?
Write down who's coming, when, and what needs booking — dates and guest numbers affect almost every other decision, from how much food to buy to whether you need extra beds.
How far ahead can I do the Christmas food shop?
Tins, drinks, crackers and anything long-life can be bought two to three weeks ahead. Fresh veg, bread and the turkey are best left to two or three days before, unless you're using a butcher's pre-order service.

Sources

My SZN editorial. Opening times, prices and local conditions change — always check with the place you're visiting before you travel.

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