Are You Prepared for Christmas?

With the busy holiday season, it's always good to have a checklist of things to do so you don't forget anything important:

• Do you have everything you need from the grocery store?  Last minute trips on Christmas morning (if the stores are even open) aren't much fun.
• Is your home ready for guests?  Cleaning, organizing, setting out things guests will need, and most importantly, kid-proofing your home (locking up medicines and guns) are all important.
• Are you prepared for a disaster?  Imagine what would happen if you have a house full of guests and something small, like a power outage, or something huge, like a tornado, strikes.  How could you prepare now for such situations?
• If you will be out and about partying and drinking, have you pre-prepared a plan to get about, and get home safely, afterwards?
• Are the kid's presents put together, wrapped, and hidden until Santa arrives?  If not, maybe have a friend or relative take the kids for a few hours while you get these tasks done then repay the favor for them.
• Have you purchased a handful of extra gift cards in case unexpected guests show up?  Buy cards for things you would use as well in case you don't have any extra people show up and end up keeping them.
• Do you have plenty of supplies on hand for everyone?  Everything from alcohol and extra toilet paper to gas for the turkey fryer and extra batteries for new toys should be on the list.
• If you are traveling, do you have basic survival supplies with you as well as alternate plans prepared in case you get stranded by the weather or other unforeseen circumstances?