We’ve all been there–it’s December 15th, and you still haven’t sent out your Christmas cards yet. At this point, you’re wondering how you’re ever going to find time to send them out, whether or not they’ll arrive before Christmas, or if you should even bother. You don’t have to find yourself in that place this year, if you take a little time to plan out your Christmas cards now.

The first thing you’ll want to do is formulate your address list, so you’ll know how many cards you’ll be sending. Update any addresses that have changed, and delete and add as necessary.

Once you know how many cards you need, purchase the cards ahead of time, either from an online retailer or from a store. Photo cards can be purchased online and add a personal touch because they let all of your recipients see how your family has grown and changed over the last year. You can also buy traditional cards online, and some even come personalized with your name or a message of your choice inside. The best time to buy cards at a store is right after Christmas, so you can get them at 75% off and put them away for the next year.

When you get the cards, the next thing to do is go ahead and sign the cards and address the envelopes. Do this in stages so you don’t get stressed out. If you start early enough, you can do just a few cards a day and still get done in plenty of time. A shoebox makes a great container for organizing your Christmas cards, because you can stick the card and envelope in there together, and even file alphabetically with index cards if you wish. Leave the envelopes open, so you can add a Christmas letter, if you like.

If you want to include a Christmas letter, write it little bits at a time as you remember things. This is something you can do year-round if you like–just sit down once a month to add a sentence or two about what happened in your family that month. You can edit it and print it out when you’re ready to send your cards, and you’ll have a great letter without much effort.

When the letter’s done and it’s time to send, the only thing left is to insert the letters, seal the envelopes, stamp, and send! That’s not nearly as time-consuming as having to complete the whole process at one time, and it relieves a lot of stress.