Great Artists Are Organised

There is no substitute for being well prepared when it comes to creating beautiful meals for family. Your special event can be prepared years and months in advance in certain areas, and then in the weeks and days prior to a huge celebratory feast like Christmas. Plus you'll feel less chaotic and have more energy for those you love. 

Years ahead: First of all, think big! What meals would you love to create for future family gatherings like Christmas? What meals would you like to serve? What home grown ingredients would you proudly like to plate up to your loved ones? Imagine the look on your children's faces as you serve up a delicious home cooked meal, made with love! At our place, we love to grow fruit trees in pots. We love growing blueberries because they are great to simply pick and eat. The juicy berries are ripe from mid-late spring onwards into summer, perfect for Christmas. They are splendid on a lovely creamy pavlova - I just hope the kids haven't eaten them all by the time Christmas comes around in a weeks' time!

What would you love to create in the years ahead for your family? Start dreaming now about future Christmas celebrations. What food themes would you like to celebrate? Explore your new food vision and see how the details, colours and ingredients intertwine. What can you see?

Months ahead: Now it is time to write lists. Lots and lots of lists. Get a list for everything from presents to buy, decorations to create, sauces to make, friends to celebrate, and even down to the list of things you want to do when the big feast is over! How inspiring is that list to write in a busy period like the middle of December! Why should you take the time in an already busy season to write something down, especially when it just keeps running around and around in your mind?

"The power of a list is that it stops an idea from spinning, bumping and colliding around into others thoughts in your mind. Every idea needs a list to call home. Lists are the place ideas go to, to stop them from being wild-child ideas that keep you up late at night. Lists create a well organised rhythm of creativity and productivity in your life."

Now that your idea is has a place to rest in a well organised set of lists, your mind can rest too! But it's not quite time for rest yet...

Weeks ahead: In the weeks leading up to your big event, it is time to prioritise the ideas and lists you've created. The ideas and lists will all come together in the final few days to reveal the grand vision you have in mind for Christmas. But where do you even start in the weeks leading up to a big event?

Look across all your ideas and lists and work out what are the most important items to start working on now. This might mean tackling the shops (again!), or creating a food budget or even doing that pantry stocktake, so you don't end up buying another spice jar, which you already have three of in the pantry! Getting the important tasks prioritised first is like making sure you have a clean kitchen to cook in. It's the best feeling because you can enjoy the process, rather than feeling stressed out by a lack of progress. 

Days ahead: Now we are into the fun stuff, the final few days. As the large event comes closer and closer the excitement and stress levels tend to rise and rise. Now that you've been executing on your priority list items you can orchestrate the small details. This is your chance to show the creative flair you have, knowing that you have already organised the bigger items first. You don't need to rush off to do the last minute things, because you have been progressing with them over the last few weeks. Now, in the final days and hours you can turn up the music, relax into your flow and find the fun in making every little part of the day amazing!

I can't wait to share what I'm working for Christmas with my family - there'll be plenty of photo's on the day. I can't wait to see yours photo's too! 

Finally, remember to explore your big vision and see all the details well in advance, then write loads of lists, then choose the big priorities and get them done early and then enjoy the last few steps that make big, family celebrations all worth while!

I'm sure you'll enjoy the feeling of entertaining knowing that you've creating the organisational structures to allow your creativity space to flourish.

The beauty is in the detail.