Holiday prep tips with Dropbox

[Amy]

I don’t know about where you are, but every shop and store near me had combo Halloween and Christmas decorations so they’re really pushing up the calendar. So, it looks like we are in the midst of holiday season.  It still might be a little early, but preparation is key to a stress free time. With that in mind, now is the perfect time to prep to prevent panic at the holidays - so here are some tips to keep you cool, calm and collected - at least until the family arrives. 

Get organized for the holidays

The best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago. The second best time is now. It might be a little less philosophical, but I feel the exact same about organizing and planning the holiday tasks that can take a lot of time and mental effort. And, using Dropbox Paper you can even share these tasks with others! No one in the family can say they didn’t realize they were supposed to bring dessert if they’re tagged in a to-do! From the groceries, to the Christmas cards and gifts, and the photos you can make sure your friends and family are in the loop. Check out some of the tips below and of course, and let us know what we’ve missed in the comments?

Holiday Card list

There is nothing worse than making a list in a rush and realizing you forgot someone - after their card arrives at your house on the 24th of December. So starting the list for your Holiday cards early, and add to it regularly. You can save names, addresses and a check box to make sure you know which cards have been sent and which ones are still on the list (once your hand regains feeling). 

And of course, if you choose to do an online holiday card, you can keep the creative files in your Dropbox account. With the Adobe integration you can create, convert, edit, protect, and sign your PDFs in Acrobat Pro DC on desktop or mobile, you can easily save them straight to your Dropbox account. Or if you’re using the free Acrobat Reader, you can highlight and annotate PDF text, with changes saved directly to Dropbox. So now you can create the perfect card to update your friends and family, and sign and send your cards directly. 

Shopping list

We all know that the holidays are about friends and family, etc. etc., but REALLY it’s about the food! And those big complicated meals take a lot of prep - and I don’t mean just the peeling, chopping and baking. So, start that grocery list well in advance and start gpicking up bits and pieces as you go - cranberry sauce here, herbs to keep on your windowsill, the makings of a practice pie…

Dropbox family 

The holidays are a family time, but sometimes there are too many cooks in the kitchen. If you want to make sure everyone is on the same page with who is making what, you can team up remotely in advance. That way, you don’t have everyone trying to make their sides or desserts in your kitchen on the day. With Dropbox Family, you can share 2,000 GB of encrypted cloud storage. Everyone gets their own account for photos, passwords, and docs, and there’s a shared place for holiday collaboration. 

If you can’t get together until after the holidays, you can also  use Dropbox Family to organize a group trip. Share destination ideas, links, photos, and more with the shared Dropbox Family Room.

 

Collaborate on gifts

Inspiration can be painfully absent when you’re running out of time in the run up to the holidays, so having a list of potential gifts in advance can be a lifesaver. I mentioned last year that I use Dropbox Paper to keep track of the gifts I still have to get, and this year I started this list right after Christmas, right when everyone mentioned what they didn’t get in the sales. That might seem a little intense but it saves me a whole lot of worrying!

I also collaborate with my husband to make sure we pool our ideas and cover the whole family. He can also add suggestions for both of our families as they come up throughout the year - and thus began my dads fishing obsession.

Food, glorious food:

I spoke about this before but in my mind, the holidays are good events first, and family events second, and this year, I might be cooking so I am not just helping but I am driving this bus!

So, it’s time to break out the classics, and not mess around. Turkey, stuffing, ham, gratin potatoes, roast potatoes, potato croquettes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cheese sauce, red cabbage, mushy peas, and mushrooms. Casual, and that’s just the main event. This is where the teamwork has to come in to play - my sisters are each taking another course, one on dessert, one on starters. So, we share recipes to make sure we can all enjoy a feast and make sure we’re not going too far off script. 

Using a shared folder, my whole family can collaborate on recipes. Some of us scan in tried and true recipe pages, other use Paper docs to add more detailed personal updates, and we all share photos of our accomplishments. See here the wild amount of food we had last year - normal sized hand for scale - those plates are deceptive. 

Images for the gram:

We all know that part of the pride of cooking a serious meal is getting to share images of it. Whether it’s to prove you’re able to do it without burning your house down, or to start a heated debate on the best type of potato (it’s gratin btw), it’s nice to share photos with your friends and family, and to save it to your Dropbox account too. The Zapier integration lets you send info between Instagram and Dropbox automatically—no code required. You can check out more about the Zapier integration here - it can’t cook dinner for you, but it can do a lot of other things! 

These are some starter ideas on how to use Dropbox to organize your holiday season, but of course, everyone does it a little bit differently so we would love to know how you get organized for the holiday season. Let us know your tricks and even share a photo if you can!