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It's the most wonderful (and stressful!) time of the year. While we've had holiday jingles playing since September, we're also guilty of running out of tape in the middle of gift-wrapping. That's why we recommend planning ahead in the weeks leading up to December so that everything is merry and bright, not rushed and frantic! Read on for our detailed to-do list leading up to the holidays.
Six weeks to December 1st
Decide on your holiday plans. That way, you, your family and friends will all have time to make the necessary arrangements.
Make a (gifting) list and check it twice. Write down the names of the people you’d like to give gifts to, add some gifting ideas next to their names and note which gifts need to be shipped and which will be given in person.
Update your holiday card list. Look through your current list to see who you’d like to add for this year. If you’re going the eco-friendly eCard route, import your email addresses now to have them ready to go.
Prep for your holiday photo. Book your holiday photographer now! The closer it gets to the holidays, the more likely they’ll be booked up for the season. Or if you have some photos from a family vacation you want to use, start sorting through your photos and selecting them.
Four weeks to December 1st
Shop for holiday decorations. If you need some new Christmas tree decorations or a few more stuffed snowmen, get your decorations now so you’ll have them ready to go once it’s time to decorate!
Shop for gifts. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great days for amazing deals, but always keep your eye out for sales before then. Don’t forget to check the return policies and shipping estimates before you purchase.
Create (and share) gift wish lists. If your loved ones like gifting hints, wish lists are an easy way to ensure everyone wins.
Send out your holiday party invitations. You’ll want to give people plenty of time to make childcare arrangements, shop for gifts if there’s a gift exchange involved, find a festive outfit and figure out travel logistics. December 15th is the most popular day for holiday parties, so if you’re thinking of hosting a party that week, get those invitations out ahead of time to avoid conflicts with other parties. We recommend sending your invitations:
- 4–6 weeks before the party if you have guests visiting from out of town or if the party involves a lot of prep like catering.
- 2–4 weeks before the party if it’s a more casual get-together, a gift exchange or an after-hours work party.
- 1–2 weeks before the party if it’s an office lunch party or a virtual event.
If you're planning a Hanukkah party, make sure you check the date. If it's year where it falls earlier in December, make those party plans now and send out those invitations!
Think about what to wear. Sequins! Velvet! Ugly sweaters! This is the time to go all out and be a bit extra. Or a lot extra. Your call. If you're on the hunt for new holiday outfits, now is the time, especially if you're ordering online and want to make sure
Plan out your Christmas menu. Turkey? Ham? Goose? Figure out what your main dish will be, then plan around that. While Thanksgiving has a fairly set menu, Christmas dinner is a little more open to interpretation. You can opt to serve dishes you traditionally enjoy or incorporate something new into the feast.
Two weeks to December 1st
Send out cards. People love receiving and displaying holiday cards. Send your cards now so they can be enjoyed all season long.
Assess your old holiday decor. Before you decorate, take a moment to confirm that you have all of the cords and hooks you need. Also, plug in your lights to make sure that they’re still actually lighting up.
Make your holiday party shopping list. Food? Drinks? Decor? Dinnerware, flatware and drinkware? Write down everything you think you’ll need for your party to determine what you need to get (and note what you already have).
One week to December 1st
Get your Christmas tree. If you have an artificial one, skip this, but if you love the real deal, the week of Thanksgiving or right after is the perfect time to get yours. If you get it too early, you risk it drying out. Too late, and you may end up with a tree that’s seen better days.
Deck those halls. It’s time to decorate. Go, go, GO!
Make those hauls. It’s Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday/Cyber Week and if you haven't started your holiday shopping, now is the time to make most of those deals!
Make last-minute Hanukkah plans. You have eight days and nights to celebrate! Create an invitation for an evening get-together, or send a Hanukkah card to someone you won’t see in person this year.
Get your wrapping paper (and tape!). Now that you know what you need to wrap, it’s time to get the supplies: wrapping paper, tape, scissors, gift tags, gift bags, ribbon, bows and cellophane for those hard-to-wrap items.
Buy your party supplies and food. You should be able to get the majority of your party essentials now to have them ready for your holiday gathering. We even have a curated list of great options right here.
Week of December 1st
Panic. We’re kidding—it’s going to be fine. You have 24ish days left to get everything done, so have some eggnog and relax.
Buy thank you cards. Get your thank you cards now to have them ready post-holidays, or if you’re worried you won’t have time to send out paper cards, send them digitally with one of our designs.
Start wrapping gifts. Set aside some time to wrap everything. Doing everything all at once is lovely since you can pack away the wrapping materials afterward, but make sure to keep them within reach for last-minute gifting.
2 weeks to Christmas
Send out holiday eCards. Whether you think they’re more environmentally friendly, economical or you just don’t have time for the paper ones, holiday eCards and Christmas eCards are a great way to send along some holiday cheer.
1 week to Christmas
Send out eGift cards. If you’ve run out of time to shop for a physical gift, don’t know what they like or can’t ship something, opt for an eGift card!
Pick up any last-minute sips and bites. With everything else going on, who could blame you for forgetting the Baileys or Santa’s cookies? Try going to your local store during an off-time (in other words, not on the weekend or right after work) to grab any overlooked items.
Whew! We know that's a detailed list, but most important of all? Don't forget to pause and enjoy the time with family and friends. Happy holidays!
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What makes Evite SignUp Sheets different from SignUpGenius?
Developed hand-in-hand with community organizers, PTA presidents, parents and teachers, Evite's signup sheets are designed to make organizing volunteers a breeze. Here are a few ways SignUp Sheets are different than SignUpGenius:
- 100% free: SignUp Sheets are free to use.
- Ad-free: No popup ads ever! Our signup sheets remain clutter-free, keeping your volunteers focused on signing up.
- No extra login required: Seamlessly use your Evite account to create and manage your signup sheets, keeping all your events in one convenient location.
- Automatic reminders and notifications: Stay on top of your event with automated reminders and notifications for you and your participants. Perfect for busy parents, teachers and anyone juggling multiple commitments.
- Customization options: Tailor your signup sheets to your specific event, whether it's a school fundraiser, potluck, volunteer opportunity or team activity. Add custom tasks, time slots and requirements for smooth coordination.
- User-friendly experience: Our intuitive interface makes creating and sharing signup sheets simple for everyone, regardless of tech experience.
- Real-time updates: Get instant notifications whenever someone signs up or makes a change, so you always know where things stand.
Choose Evite SignUp Sheets for the easiest, most streamlined way to get volunteers and signups for your next event!
What is a signup sheet?
Signup sheets are the perfect way to streamline scheduling, volunteer recruitment, class parties, snack duty, potluck organization, parent-teacher conferences and more! You can think of them as your digital assistant for coordinating events and tasks and ensuring that your event is a success.
Evite SignUp Sheets offers parents, teachers and event planners customizable online forms that organizers and volunteers can access and update effortlessly. Volunteers can choose their preferred time slots, sign up for tasks or indicate what they'll bring to the event. It only takes organizers a few minutes to create a signup sheet and send it out with a shareable link, so they can get the word out via text, email or social media—whichever way they prefer!
Long story short, signup sheets save everyone involved tons of time, avoid scheduling headaches and ensure everything runs smoothly before and during the event.
How do I create a signup sheet?
Creating a signup sheet has never been easier than with Evite! Here’s how to create a sheet that’s sure to make your event an absolute success:
- Go to Evite SignUp Sheets and choose the template that best fits your needs. Evite offers multiple signup sheet templates perfect for every occasion, including:some text
- Signup sheets for standalone events (without different time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing a class party, potluck or end-of-season party.
- Signup sheets for recurring or multi-day events (without different time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing a meal train, post-game snack duty or during appreciation week.
- Signup sheets for single or multiple day events (with time slots), perfect for when you’re organizing concession stand volunteers, fundraisers and parent-teacher conferences.
- After selecting your sheet template, create a title for your signup sheet and add the date, the location, the time (if applicable), who the organizer is, the organizer’s phone number or email and an optional note describing the event to your volunteers. You can also change your signup sheet background and title image if you wish!
- Next, create slots for your signup sheet. If you aren’t logged into your account, you will need to do so at this point, but luckily, you can use your existing Evite account (no need to create yet another login!). What you’ll include here will depend on what your event needs, but you can include a list of what’s needed (along with optional descriptions), how many volunteers are needed, and dates and times.
- After creating your slots, you can then add a wish list from any retailer or include supply suggestions from Evite’s retailer partners. These are to help your volunteers find and purchase supplies quickly and easily.
- Finally, review your sheet, copy your shareable link and send it out to everyone on your list! Every time a volunteer signs up for a slot on your signup sheet, Evite will email you. We will also send reminders to you and your volunteers before your event so no one will forget about it, and we’ll even let volunteers know if you remove their slot or cancel your event sheet so you don’t have to!
What information should be included on a signup sheet?
When it comes to signup sheet information, there are some essentials to include regardless of what you’re organizing:
- A title for your signup sheet. Tip: Aim to keep your signup sheet title concise but clear. You want volunteers to read it and have a general understanding of what your event is about, and also make it easy for them to look for later if they need to reference your sheet again. You have the option to include a more descriptive note in a different field about your event, so save the more in-depth details for that!
- When and where the event is taking place.
- The organizer’s name and phone number.
- Slots for volunteers to choose from. Once you choose the SignUp Sheets template that fits the occasion, the slots you’ll need for your sheet will be right there and ready for you to add the relevant info, such as dates, times, items to bring and tasks to complete.
When adding your slot information, clearly define what people are signing up for, especially for a what-to-bring list or role assignments. If you want someone to bring healthy snacks for kids to enjoy after a game, specify that. You want your volunteers to feel confident in what they’re bringing and to make it easy for them to know what’s expected of them. It will save them time and stress (and you, too!). That being said, if you make your ask too specific (for example, asking for a hard-to-source item or something expensive), you may not end up with a volunteer for it. So be clear about what you expect, but also be reasonable!
Aside from providing the basic signup information, you can also add optional descriptions to both your entire signup sheet and individual slots. While not required, they can help guide your volunteers further and provide more information. You can add information about allergies, preferences and general info about the event. You can also add a wish list to make it easier for your volunteers to bring exactly what you need!
What are the benefits of using a signup sheet template?
Signup sheet templates offer a ton of advantages for both organizers and volunteers and with Evite SignUp Sheets, you'll enjoy even more benefits than other digital and paper signup sheets! Some benefits our signup sheet templates offer include:
- A 100% free experience (no subscriptions required!).
- Shareable links for quick and easy sharing.
- No need to create another login—you can use your existing Evite account.
- The option to add a wish list to help your volunteers out.
- Automatic reminders—we’ll remind everyone on your behalf.
- An easy-to-use experience with eye-catching guided templates.
- Clean, modern designs with no pop-up ads.
With Evite SignUp Sheets, you can enjoy organizing and coordinating all your events with ease. Signup sheets streamline the signup process for everyone involved, ensuring that everything will go to plan on the day of your event while saving you precious time in the process.
