Okay, Sweetpea. Darling. Angel of mine.

I've made us a plan.

Last Thursday, I asked you to think about the things that make the holidays harder than they need to be.

The overflowing freezer.

The guest room that's become a holding zone.

The weeknight dinners that completely fall apart in December.

The Thanksgiving dishes we KNOW could have been made ahead.

The gifts with nowhere to hide.

The seventeen things we suddenly remember need doing at the exact same time.

And I told you I've been working on something.

Well…

WELCOME TO PREPSGIVING. 🦃✨

Starting October 1, we're spending 31 days doing little things that make the entire holiday season easier.

And you're invited.

🌿 Host Yourself First

Before I tell you what we're doing, I want to tell you WHY I'm doing it.

I want to enjoy my holidays, too.

I don't want to spend November and December constantly thinking about the next thing that needs to be done.

I don't want to arrive at Thanksgiving exhausted from preparing for Thanksgiving.

I don't want every December weeknight to end with: What on earth are we eating?!

I don't want to look around my home and see seventeen unfinished projects I suddenly decided HAD to be completed before anyone could come over.

And I don't want to spend the entire season creating magic for everyone else while completely missing it myself.

That's not hosting yourself first.

So we're doing something about it.

Before the season asks everything of us, we're going to take care of Future Us.

🍽️ This Week at the Table

So, what exactly IS Prepsgiving?

It's a FREE 31-day email challenge beginning October 1.

Every day in October, I'll send you one manageable thing we can do to prepare for the holiday season.

And we're working in three areas:

🏡 THE HOME

We're making room.

Clearing the spaces that become stressful later.

Getting the guest room functional.

Making room for decorations, gifts, serving pieces, and all the STUFF that comes with the holidays.

Not deep-cleaning our entire houses.

We're creating margin.

🍲 THE FOOD

This might be my favorite part.

We're going to start stocking our Homemade Convenience Freezers.

Soup starters.

Cookie dough.

Dinner components.

Things we can double now and freeze for December.

And yes — we're going to start preparing pieces of Thanksgiving dinner before Thanksgiving week.

Because if something freezes beautifully, WHY are we waiting until November 25 to make it?! I've got an entire breakdown on How to Make Thanksgiving Side Dishes Ahead of Time.

Future Me Approves. 👏🏻

🥂 THE HOSTING

We're going to make some decisions early.

Think through the gatherings we know are coming.

Check the serving pieces. (You should have done this about 4 times by now...)

Make lists.

Create timelines.

Handle little details while they are still little details.

Because I want us to reach November with enough capacity left to actually say: “Come over!”

🏡 Future Me Approves

Here's today's Future Me Approves assignment:

Join the Prepsgiving list.

That's the list I'll be using for the daily challenge beginning October 1.

And yes, KIT will continue!

Prepsgiving is its own little corner of the Sweetpea world for those of us who want to spend October preparing together.

Once you're on the list, I'll make sure you know exactly what we're doing and what—if anything—you need before we begin.

But I can already tell you:

You do NOT need a perfectly organized house.

You don't need an extra freezer.

You don't need a color-coded holiday binder.

You don't need to celebrate Christmas the way I do.

You don't even need to host Thanksgiving.

You just need to want an easier holiday season.

That's who Prepsgiving is for.

🤍 This Week’s Blessing

May we remember that preparation isn't the opposite of spontaneity.

Preparation creates room for it.

May the freezer have something good tucked inside.

May the calendar have white space.

May the house be ready enough.

May dinner already be handled on the night we need it most.

May we have enough margin to invite someone in at the last minute.

May we spend less time creating a “perfect holiday” and more time actually living inside it.

And when December arrives, may we look around and think:

Ohhhh. October Me took GOOD care of me.

That's the goal.

Not perfection.

Not doing everything early.

Not turning October into one giant Christmas preparation marathon.

We're going to enjoy October.

We're going to enjoy fall.

We're going to live our actual lives.

We're just going to do one thoughtful thing at a time while we do it.

For 31 days.

Together.

PREPSGIVING begins October 1. 🦃✨

Come join me.

​[YES! I'M JOINING PREPSGIVING →]​

From my table to yours,
Ashley | Chez Sweetpea 🤍