News & Advice

The holidays are a time to gather with loved ones and celebrate, but that also means there’s a lot to get done. 

Between traveling, holiday shopping, planning meals, decorating, and attending events and gatherings, this is a busy time of year. By planning out what you need to get done, you’re able to take some stress out of the holiday season.

Follow this holiday planning checklist to put your mind at ease. 

DO YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING AND WRAP GIFTS 

Holiday shopping starts with budgeting and making a list of gift ideas. With some preparation and discipline, you can avoid overspending. Don’t forget gift-wrapping supplies while you’re out and about! 

Now, set aside some time to wrap gifts. Turn on your favorite festive music or holiday movie to make checking this item off your to-do list a lot more fun. 

MAKE A LIST OF EVENTS AND PRIORITIZE

There’s always a lot going on around the holidays. Make a list of everything you could do, then prioritize what’s most important to you to attend. 

Maybe you always volunteer somewhere with friends around the holidays, have an annual work party, and attend a Christmas Eve service. Whatever your priorities are, also consider your family traditions — even something as simple as a family movie night or white elephant party with friends can be scheduled ahead of time. 

Once you fill out your calendar, place it somewhere visible to your entire family so nothing gets missed. 

FIGURE OUT HOSTING AND TRAVEL PLANS 

If you celebrate the holidays with your extended family, find out who plans to host what holiday. Maybe a member of your family always hosts a New Year's Eve party while you host everyone for Christmas. Whatever the plans may be, once you know where you’ll be and when you’ll be there, either book flights or get your car tuned up before any road trips.

CLEAN AND PREPARE

Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner or a Christmas party, or even if you’ll be away traveling during the holidays, there’s no escaping cleaning and preparation. 

If you’re hosting, clean your home before your guests arrive and make sure you’re stocked up on necessities like towels and toiletries. If you’re the one traveling, clean your space before you leave so you’ll have a nice, clean home to come back to. Don’t forget to decorate for the holidays with enough time to enjoy your hard work! 

MAKE TIME TO REST

As fun as the holidays are, they can also be tiring. Colder weather can also bring with it more chances to get sick. Make sure you allow yourself time to rest in the midst of this busy time of year. This could mean setting aside one day a week to do something restful or relaxing or giving yourself an earlier bedtime. 

MEAL PLAN AND PREP 

Food is always part of holiday celebrations. If you’ll be traveling, make sure you scale back your grocery list ahead of the holidays so food doesn’t spoil while you’re away. Be sure to pack some snacks for those travel days, though, since it’s a lot cheaper than buying snacks on the go. 

If you’re the host for one of the holidays, make a meal plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks each day. Figure out what you may be able to make and freeze ahead of time. For other meals you can’t prep ahead of time, make sure you stay organized before guests arrive — you may want to dedicate the day before their arrival just to cooking. 

As you shop for food, gifts, and everything in between this holiday season, use your INOVA Debit Card to earn extra reward points and 4.99%* APR for 3 months on INOVA Visa credit card purchases from November 1 through December 31. 

Stop in and see us at one of our convenient locations, or visit us online to learn more about these specials and how you can get an INOVA Debit Card or Visa credit card.