November Christmas To Do List

• Book a Christmas market trip while fares are low. Most European markets open from mid-to-late November, and Eurostar fares climb as the date nears, so now is the time to plan. See our guide to Europe’s 20 best Christmas markets for dates, UK travel times and the cheapest breaks.
• Watch for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The big sales land late this month — Black Friday is Friday 27 November 2026 and Cyber Monday follows on 30 November. Shop from your list, check price history, and mind the delivery deadlines.
• Get your kitchen ready for the big cook. Sharpen or replace your vegetable peeler and keep a spare so everyone can help with the veg. Here is why a spare speed peeler is worth it, plus our top three picks.
• Buy gift wrap cards, crackers and Christmas decorations using 3 for 2 offers.
• Start thinking about teacher gifts: our guide to Christmas gifts for teachers that won’t break the bank covers the budget tiers, the etiquette and the staff people forget.
• Write your Christmas cards and buy stamps – save money by being organised and posting your cards early using second class stamps.
• If you do your grocery shopping on-line many supermarkets will now let you book your delivery slot for the Christmas period.  If you can do this it’s a great idea to do it now as all the delivery slots will get booked up quickly. See when supermarkets open their Christmas delivery slots for this year’s dates.
• Fix the menu you will be offering on Christmas Day or whenever you are entertaining.
• Order the food you need for your menu
• Select the wine you want to serve with your menu and buy it in during November
• If you’ll be running any parties also order the wine you need for these.
• Work out your wardrobe for the events you will be attending over Christmas (glitz up an outfit from last year with this seasons statement jewellery)
• Don’t forget Stir-up Sunday (also called Mix-up Sunday), the last Sunday before Advent — 22 November in 2026. This is the traditional day to make your Christmas pudding and cake.
• If you haven’t already got one I recommend you buy yourself a small multi-purpose lighter.  During the summer months I use these to light the barbecue but at Christmas when you have lots of candles to light they can save you a lot of time.
• Talking of candles look out for scented tealights and candles, have plenty in stock for Christmas and also to brighten up those cold winter evenings in January after you have to take your Christmas decorations down.
• Stock up on sellotape for all the parcels you’ve got to do up this Christmas.  If you haven’t got one I recommend treating yourself a proper sellotape dispenser as it can help speed up your wrapping.
• Don’t leave it until the last minute to check your Christmas tree lights and baubles – this is a great task for your husband on a rainy Sunday in November.  If there’s a problem with any of these you may as well find out now so you can choose what you really like in the stores rather than having to shop for replacements from whatever they have left at the last minute.
• If you haven’t already and normally shop online for your groceries then try and secure your delivery slot with your favourite supermarket now.
• Don’t forget that the First Sunday in Advent is when you should open the first door on your advent calendar.  If you are a Good Parent to any children then its traditionally your privilege to give them an Advent Calendar’s as a present this weekend as a way of introducing them to the Christmas story.
• Get ahead with party food.  Either cook food like sausage rolls and mince pies now and freeze them for Christmas or take the easy option and take advantage of 3 for 2 offers when you see them and freeze them for Christmas.
• Decide — and diary — the day you will put your decorations up. Two natural choices are the last Saturday in November (28 November in 2026, the day before Advent Sunday) or the first Saturday in December (5 December in 2026). Getting the boxes down, decorating and clearing up afterwards always takes longer than you think, so doing it on a Saturday lets you enjoy a finished, tidy home on the Sunday before the week ahead.
• Plan your Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping. Note the normal price of anything on your list now, so you can tell a genuine deal from a fake one, and set up wishlists so you can check out quickly.
• Confirm your final guest numbers, with a firm deadline. Knowing exactly how many you are cooking for means the right size turkey — and enough chairs, plates and glasses.
• Set up a wrapping station and wrap presents as you buy them, rather than in one late-night marathon. A tip from our readers: an ironing board makes a brilliant height-adjustable wrapping table.
• Keep a disguised ‘emergency kit’ under the tree — a wrapped shoebox holding tape, scissors, a screwdriver, spare batteries, spare bulbs and a few plasters. It looks like a present but saves the day on Christmas morning.
• Buy children’s advent calendars early — the most popular ones sell out well before December.
• Order your Elf on the Shelf now. If the elf is part of your December, buy it in November — the official sets sell out, and you will want the props gathered before the 1st. Our 56 easy Elf on the Shelf ideas include a no-spend list of things you already have at home. See our last-minute, no-prop elf ideas for the nights you forget.
• Sort the office Secret Santa. Agree a budget and draw names early — see our office Secret Santa gift ideas and etiquette, and for the wider family or friends swap our Secret Santa gifts under £10, £15 and £20 guide.
• Jot down what worked and what did not last year, and keep a quiet list of the gifts you have already bought (in code if need be) so you do not buy a duplicate of your own ‘great idea’.
• Have friends or family abroad? American Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November (26 November in 2026) — a lovely time for a card or a call, and the date that kicks off Black Friday. Canada has its own Thanksgiving earlier, on the second Monday of October (12 October in 2026).

Click here for our December / Last Minute Christmas Planning Guide

Planning the entertainment as well as the food? Print our free Ultimate UK Christmas Quiz — 200 questions in ten rounds, with answers, ready to play at the table.

Making your own cards this year? Our guide to creative Christmas card ideas to make at home sorts them by technique, with the difficulty, time and cost of each.

Getting ahead on the baking? Stollen is one to make now: our guide to how to make stollen covers the recipe, its history, and why it keeps for weeks.