3 Tips to Help You Prep for the Holidays Now

Anyone who has a grandmother who starts cooking for Sunday dinner on Thursday knows—there’s a lot more to holiday planning than meets the eye. Whether Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza or a personal tradition that your family has adopted, this year we implore you to take a cue from grandma and get a jump start. In partnership with Calvin Klein, here are three really simple things to do now that will save you from scrambling a month from now.

Remember last year when you realized you only had $50 in your bank account and promised gifts to 25 of your closest friends? Yeah, let’s not do that again. Take a minute right now to jot down everyone you’d like to give to this season and how much money is realistic for each. Even better if you can brainstorm actual gift ideas, like a fresh scent from Calvin Klein.

Next, tally up it all up and start a system for saving. If your budget is larger, you could employ an automatic transfer from your bank account for the next few paychecks, or for smaller savings simply make a rule to stash away every $5 bill you get.

Unless you’ve curated the perfect capsule wardrobe, chances are you’re going to have moments this season where you have absolutely no idea what to wear. Use this time to take stock of your closet.

So you’ve got jeans, button-downs and T-shirts (and plenty of sneakers, natch). But seems your missing anything that resembles a blazer, a sweater that’s not a hoodie and nice boots. This is a good time to invest in a sport coat to dress up those T-shirts, like this version above from Calvin Klein, or a wool coat that can take a denim and button-down ‘fit from basic to baller. The key is to find items that work with what you’ve already got so that you are buying reinforcements rather than a one-time-only outfit.

Now that you have your list and know your holiday budget, it’s time to start price shopping. This is as easy as it sounds and could end up saving you a good amount of green. You want to make sure you’re getting the best deal when the holiday sales start happening, so go ahead and price the items on your list. It will be much easier to spot the good deals when you know the regular price of items. (You may even find and scoop up some great deals now, like this exclusive Calvin Klein luggage.)