Have you ever found yourself hastily stuffing envelopes with holiday cards in late December? Anyone who’s been there knows it’s not the enjoyable, rewarding experience that sending greeting cards should be. Instead of letting the stress of the season delay your card-sending, buy your cards during Brookhollow’s Christmas in July Sale. From now until July 31, you can take 10 percent off all orders of holiday cards with code BS715. Here are some other great ways to get ready for the season:

Go through your decorations
It seems like we gain more decorations every year. This leads to some of our older versions getting stuffed into the back of the closet. Take an hour or two to go through your holiday decor from last year. What did you use? What stayed in the box? Are there items you can live without? Maybe you have tinsel that has seen better days, or a few ornaments have broken but are still in the box. Toss anything that is broken (like the string of lights you’ve been saving and never fixed). If there are ornaments or other decorations that are in good shape but you don’t want to keep them, consider donating them to a thrift shop or homeless shelter.

Do some cleaning
Many people opt for the ease of using a fake tree at Christmastime. While they can be handy to put up and they don’t require frequent watering, fake trees can collect a lot of dust. Take your tree out of storage and use a damp cloth to gently wipe all the branches, the trunk and the base. You can also use this method to wipe off your ornaments and lights. They, too, can be coated with dust from being on display and even sitting in the garage or basement during the off season. If you celebrate Hanukkah, give your menorah a polish so it’s shiny and ready to go on December 6.

Revamp your holiday card list
Do you annually find yourself scrambling to get a list of all the people you need to send holiday cards to? Take some time in July to gather a bunch of names of potential recipients. You may even want to make two lists, one for personal use and another for business greeting cards. Consider sending cards to friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers, staff members and clients. It’s amazing what such a small gesture can do for your relationship with someone – he or she will appreciate that you thought of them and took the time to send a card.

Along with creating the list of people you plan to write cards to, you’ll also need to gather their addresses. Once you’ve written down all the names, go through and see which addresses you have. Make note of anyone who has moved since you last wrote them a card so you can ask for their new address. It’s a little early to do this in July, as your recipients may move in the next five months, so consider waiting to ask about this until closer to December.

Rewrite recipes
During the holiday season, many people celebrate by baking cookies and making special foods. Sometimes our recipe cards can get pretty dirty from years of use and accidental spills. Go through your holiday recipes and rewrite any that are difficult to read, have been soiled by dirty hands or are falling apart. When the time comes to make these delicious items, you’ll be glad you prepared ahead.