{"id":2944,"date":"2019-12-20T03:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T09:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/?p=2944"},"modified":"2020-11-25T13:34:51","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T19:34:51","slug":"christmas-game-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kerryaclark.com\/blog\/christmas-game-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"The Christmas Game Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 10 Pieces to Our Christmas Game Plan<\/span><\/h2>\n

In the words of legendary football coach, Nick Saban, “what are you willing to do to get the outcome you desire having?” Like anything else in life you plan to do, you need a plan or else you plan to fail. Christmas isn’t excluded from the failure list if it’s done without a plan. What are you willing to do to get the results you desire this year at Christmas?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"The Thought or Concept:<\/span>
\n<\/span>Let’s talk about a game plan.
\n<\/strong>We are in the pinnacle of college football season. However, this year our team didn’t make it to the college football playoffs. At any rate, there’s a takeaway we can use from any football team and that’s to create a game plan. The game plan is your strategy around how you can make your team the most successful against your opponent. Whether you think of your life as your business or your life as your field for the sport you play, to be the best and most successful you that you can be requires a game plan.  <\/span><\/p>\n

In the same way, Christmas needs a game plan. If you want to defeat the opponents that work against you having a memorable Christmas, you need to establish a clear game plan. With a plan, it gives you things to focus on. It gives you specific actions so that you’re not left to think much about anything else. Without a plan, you\u2019ll have thoughts that move you away from the desired results, like what\u2019s the use or what\u2019s the point. How will this benefit me? You\u2019ll think selfish thoughts like staying away from others and having the day to yourself. You\u2019ll think about your pains and hurts from the year. You might even think of relationships gone wrong. However, with a plan to execute, you have very little time to think about things that are outside the plan. That’s the key to having a plan for anything. It changes your focus. This year establish your game plan before your thoughts counter what you truly desire to accomplish. What are your willing to do to get the outcome you desire?<\/span><\/p>\n

The Practice:
\n<\/span>The game plan for our Christmas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let me open the Clark family’s game plan and let you take a sneak peek behind the plan we execute for Christmas. <\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Save all year for the people on our Christmas list.<\/span>
    \n<\/span>We’ve noticed a trend that occurs over time with the gifts we give at Christmas time. We usually have the same names with one or two more added and\/or removed each year. The number remains relatively the same or grows only by a couple each year. So it’s predictable and so we add these names to our family plan. We then budget $50 per person to purchase Christmas gifts. This activity serves two purposes: 1) it ensures we give gifts to the people we intended to and 2) it’s a part of our annual giving strategy (game plan) where it’s our goal to <\/span>be generous<\/span><\/a> to those closest to us.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Start purchasing thoughtful gifts starting the day after Thanksgiving. <\/span>
    \n<\/span>The beauty of having a game plan is that you’re focused on executing it all year and not at the moment that you noticed the season changed. In other words, we’ve saved for this and it’s not going to impact our day to day needs and financial obligations. Because we\u2019ve saved and planned, we can take advantage of sales during the holiday season. <\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Schedule the day for putting up Christmas decorations.<\/span>
    \n<\/span>We\u2019ve made a tradition out of decorating our home together as a family. Because we have a game plan it helps us to make it something other than a chore. It\u2019s a very special event. We play our Christmas playlists and sing our favorite Christmas songs. Each family member knows their part to decorating and it goes very smoothly.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. These films must be seen multiple times but at least once during the Christmas holiday.<\/span>
    \n<\/span>Do you have a list of Christmas movies that you enjoy each year at Christmas time? For example, here’s three of ours:<\/span><\/p>\n