With Christmas exactly 5 days away even us professional procrastinators are starting to get a little worried. Haven’t ordered a single gift or put up any decorations yet? Fear not, here are my top 5 tips to absolutely win Christmas this year!

Get organized 

Whenever you are crunched for time the first step is figuring out what you need to do. So make a list of all the gifts you need, what outfits are required and anything else that is going to make this the merriest week of the year!

Don’t give up on online ordering!

If you are like me and have totally slacked off in the gift department, there are really 3 options left: Amazon Prime, actual brick and mortar stores and any brands that are offering free 1-day or overnight delivery (but make sure they guarantee December 24^th delivery). You still need to get right to it though because tonight and tomorrow morning are literally your last chance to order anything online to have any certainty of it actually delivering by Christmas. So if you are totally behind the Christmas 8 ball, ORDER YOUR GIFTS NOW!

Decorate that tree

My advice here works for procrastinators and planners alike—the place for holiday décor is an old favorite: Pottery Barn. With chic, classic and festive styles, Pottery Barn will turn your home into the place everyone wants to ‘tis the season this year. And even if you are like me and live in a compact city apartment, believe it or not you can have a full size Christmas tree.

And by full size I mean, a 6 foot tall actual tree, no, not a 12 foot monstrosity that you had as a kid in the burbs, but a tree nonetheless. The key to decorating a small tree is picking a theme and sticking with it, and choosing a few ornaments to be the stars with all the others playing supporting roles. In our tree this year we used the Mini Mercury Glass Ornaments and some gold assorted ornaments to set the trend in the background and chose a few more unique pieces to stand out.

Don’t forget the simple things

Trying to plan a perfectly festive date night this week? If all the tickets to the Nutcracker and the Rockettes are sold out, try something simpler. Take a stroll past the decorations in your city’s park or look at the lights in a festive part of town. In Boston we have several public Christmas trees and holiday displays all around town and one of my favorite December traditions is walking through them at night.

Remember to give back

While buying gifts for those that we love may be top of mind and that’s wonderful, try to squeeze in some time to give back to those less fortunate. Whether you can donate your money or time, those in need will appreciate your goodwill. As a Bostonian, I am a big believer in initiatives like the Globe Santa, giving back to families and children in need is something we should all make time for this holiday season!