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Feeling the December dread already? This week-by-week Christmas planning checklist (with a free printable!) breaks the whole season into small, doable lists made for families with babies and toddlers.
Christmas with little ones is pure magic, mama – and it is also a lot. Gifts, cards, outfits, the Elf, the tree your toddler wants to climb, and a baby who still needs two naps through all of it.
The trick is not doing more. It’s starting a little earlier, doing a little each week, and happily crossing off the things your family doesn’t care about.
That’s exactly what this Christmas planning checklist is for. It starts eight weeks out (hello, late October) and gives you one short list a week, so nothing lands on you all at once on December 23rd.
Download the free printable checklist (PDF) →
How to Use This Christmas Planning Checklist
Print the checklist, stick it on the fridge, and work through one box a week. That’s it.
A few ground rules that make it work with babies and toddlers:
- Cross things out on purpose. If Christmas cards stress you out, skip them. A calm mama beats a perfect mantel every time.
- Do the slow things first. Anything personalized, anything that sells out and anything that has to be booked goes at the top.
- Plan around naps, not the other way round. Every outing and every big day in this plan assumes nap time still happens.
- Starting late? Totally fine. Jump in at whatever week it is today and work back through anything that still matters.
Page two of the printable has a four-gift planner, a list for everyone else you buy for, and a simple budget box, so the whole season lives on two sheets of paper.
8 Weeks Before Christmas: Choose Your Kind of Christmas
Late October. Before you buy a single thing, decide what this Christmas actually looks like. Ten minutes here saves you weeks of second-guessing later.
- Set one total budget that covers gifts, food, travel and outfits – not just presents.
- Decide where you’ll be. Hosting, visiting, or staying home in your pajamas are all good answers.
- Book the big stuff: flights, pet care, and time off work.
- Write the gift list. If you want fewer, better presents, try the four-gift rule: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read.
- Pick three traditions that matter most and let the rest go this year. Little ones remember the cozy bits, not how many activities you squeezed in.
7 Weeks Before Christmas: Order Anything Slow
Early November. This is the week for everything with a long lead time.
- Order personalized gifts and keepsakes like a first Christmas ornament or a stocking with their name on it.
- Buy matching family pajamas now – the baby and toddler sizes are always the first to go.
- Book family photos or a Santa visit at a time that works with naps (first slot of the morning is your friend).
- Take or choose your Christmas card photo. Need inspiration? Steal one of these baby’s first Christmas photo ideas.
- Choose a hiding place for gifts that a curious toddler can’t reach.
6 Weeks Before Christmas: Clear the Decks
Mid November. A little clearing out now makes room for what’s coming.
- Order Christmas cards and stamps.
- Sort the toys and donate what’s been outgrown, before the new ones arrive.
- Test the lights and check the decorations. Put anything breakable or small enough to mouth in a separate box for the high shelves.
- Plan the Elf’s arrival. Jot down a handful of easy setups from this list of Elf on the Shelf ideas, print an arrival letter, and pick a name from these Elf on the Shelf names.
- Fill or buy the advent calendar so it’s ready for December 1st.
5 Weeks Before Christmas: Shop the List
Late November. The sales are everywhere this week. Your list is what keeps them from emptying your wallet.
- Shop the sales from your list only. If it isn’t on the list, it isn’t a bargain.
- Buy the stocking stuffers. If you have a little guy, start with these toddler boy stocking stuffer ideas. Shopping for a little girl? Try these toddler girl stocking stuffer ideas.
- Stock up on wrapping paper, tape and gift tags.
- Choose Christmas outfits and check they still fit – babies grow fast in six weeks!
- Write your family Christmas bucket list. This Christmas bucket list for toddlers is full of simple ideas to choose from.
4 Weeks Before Christmas: Deck the Halls, Safely
Thanksgiving weekend. Time to decorate! With a crawler or a toddler in the house, a few small changes keep the pretty things (and your little one) safe.
- Put up the tree and anchor it to the wall or a heavy piece of furniture so it can’t be pulled over.
- Hang unbreakable ornaments on the low branches and keep glass, small ornaments and anything with hooks up high.
- Tuck away cords and candles, and keep button batteries locked up – they hide in light-up decorations, musical cards and toy remotes, and they are very dangerous if swallowed.
- Keep holly and mistletoe out of reach. The berries can make little ones sick if they eat them.
- Welcome the Elf and start the advent calendar on December 1st.
- Post the Christmas cards.
3 Weeks Before Christmas: Finish and Send
Early December. Get the last of the shopping done and anything that has to travel out the door.
- Finish the gift shopping.
- Check shipping deadlines and post your parcels. Carriers publish their holiday cut-off dates every year, so look them up before you plan your post office run.
- Wrap as you go – a few gifts each evening after bedtime beats one long night on Christmas Eve.
- Sort gifts for teachers, daycare and babysitters.
- Plan the Christmas menu, including what the baby or toddler will actually eat.
2 Weeks Before Christmas: Get Ahead
Mid December. This is the week that makes Christmas Eve peaceful.
- Assemble the big toys and add the batteries now, not at midnight on the 24th.
- Shop for the pantry and freezer so only the fresh food is left.
- Pack the Christmas Eve box: new pajamas, a Christmas book and a little treat is plenty.
- Charge the camera and clear some phone storage.
- Traveling? Start the baby packing list with the things that help your little one sleep away from home: their sleep sack, a familiar blanket or lovey, and whatever they usually fall asleep to. For the drive, these toddler toys for road trips are lifesavers.
1 Week Before Christmas: Keep It Simple
Christmas week. The planning is done. This week is for enjoying it.
- Buy the fresh food.
- Bake one thing together. One! These cute Christmas desserts for kids are a fun place to start.
- Lay out the outfits and hang the stockings.
- Plan the big day around nap time and tell family what time you’ll arrive (or when you need everyone to head home).
- Confirm times with family.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning
You made it, mama! Here’s how to keep the two big days calm.
On Christmas Eve: sprinkle the reindeer food, open the Christmas Eve box, read one Christmas story and keep bedtime as normal as you can. Then set out the gifts and take a photo of the tree before the wrapping paper flies.
On Christmas morning: start with stockings, have breakfast before the big gifts (a North Pole breakfast is a sweet tradition to start), and open presents slowly. Toddlers often want to stop and play with the first thing they unwrap – let them! There is no rule that says everything has to be opened by 8am.
Keep a bag for wrapping paper and a second one for gift tags, so you know who to thank for what.
After Christmas: Wrap It Up
- Write the thank-you notes. Little ones can add a scribble or a handprint.
- Put half the new toys away and bring them out over the next few months. Fewer toys out means more play and less mess.
- Donate what’s been replaced.
- Save one keepsake from this year – a card, an ornament, a tag in their handwriting.
- Write down your favorite moment while you still remember it.
Final Thoughts
A calm Christmas with babies and toddlers isn’t about doing it all – it’s about deciding early what matters, spreading the work out, and leaving room for naps and snuggles on the couch.
Print the checklist, grab a pen, and cross off the first box this week. Future you (the one sipping something warm on Christmas Eve instead of assembling a play kitchen) will be so grateful!
Download the free printable checklist (PDF) →
Frequently Asked Questions
When should I start planning for Christmas?
About eight weeks before Christmas, in late October, is the sweet spot. That leaves time to order personalized gifts, book photos and a Santa visit, and spread the shopping over several paychecks. If you’re starting later, just begin at the current week on the checklist and work back through anything that still matters to you.
How do I keep Christmas simple with a baby or toddler?
Choose two or three traditions you really care about and skip the rest, keep nap times and bedtime where they are, and give fewer gifts. Little ones are easily overwhelmed by a packed schedule and a pile of presents, and they are happiest when the day still feels familiar.
How many gifts should a toddler get for Christmas?
There is no right number, but lots of families like the four-gift rule: something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read, plus a stocking. It keeps the budget and the toy pile under control, and it makes it much easier to tell relatives what to buy.
How do I make a Christmas tree safe for a baby or toddler?
Anchor the tree so it can’t tip, put unbreakable ornaments on the low branches, and keep glass ornaments, ornament hooks, tinsel and anything small enough to fit in a little mouth up high. Tuck light cords out of reach, and never leave button batteries from decorations where a child can find them. A play yard or baby gate around the tree is a simple fix for determined climbers.
