There are sites that offer Christmas Planner templates, usually in pdf format, which you can download and print. Then, store the printed sheets in a binder, and write out your task list, holiday budget, gift list and calendar.

I’m sure that helps people who are trying to organize a hectic holiday season, but Excel would be a better tool for all those lists and budgets. So, with my daughter’s help, I created an Excel Christmas Planner that you can download from my web site.

Instead of hand writing your lists, and doing your budgeting on a calculator, enter all the details in an Excel workbook, and let it do the heavy lifting for you.

The workbook includes a dinner planner, which will help you schedule the preparation for any large meal, whether it’s the American Thanksgiving this week, or Christmas, or a weekend dinner party.

It’s our first draft, so there’s probably much more that we could add, and would appreciate any suggestions for improving it.

Filed under: Excel