I admit it, I like to decorate the entire house, inside and out. It takes a lot of planning, but in my eyes, it is worth it. And each year has to be bigger and better than the year before. All it takes is a little planning. So are you ready to get started?

1. Choose a box or six, depending on how many decorations you have collected over the years. I find it easier to locate them the next year, if they are all gathered together in a clearly marked box. But before packing away, be sure that you wash or dust all of your decorations. I don't know if it's just my house, but it doesn't take very long for items to get dusty.

2. As I write this, Easter is just a few days behind us, making this the perfect time to check out the sales. Stores don't want to store decorations and will mark them down, simply to get rid of them. Take advantage, but make sure that what you buy is a good price or you will simply be buying for the sake of buying. But I have to admit, if the price is right, one can simply not have too many decorations.

3. Now that the decorations are out of the way, make a list of what you didn't have enough of. Now that the children in our family and extended family aren't technically children any longer, we tend to visit each other more often for holiday dinners. That means more people at the table with the addition of girlfriends, boyfriends and new friends that we tend to invite. That also means more place settings, chairs and linens. Think about who you might invite next year. Do you have everything you need? Probably not, but you have an entire year to stock up.

4. I also like to plan the menu months in advance and this is another area where I don't seem to follow the rules. I love to thumb through my cookbooks and look for recipes that you might want to share with the family that I have never tried before. Choosing your recipes now gives you plenty of time to perfect the dish.

5. You might also want to spend a little time remembering Easter stories from your childhood. Seeing that Easter is a long way off, you might want to start an Easter Memories Journal. Out of the blue, old memories will pop into your head out of no-where, simply begging to be added. You will be amazed at what you will remember once you start thinking about the topic. And come next Easter, your stories will likely prompt your guests to offer their stories as well.

So, that's it. Before you have a chance to put it off, take a little time today and start your preparations for next year. It takes all the pressure off you when you have months to get everything right!

Tags & Keywords : Easter, Easter decorating, family celebrations,