BOOKED your summer holiday for 2015 yet? Probably not, but you’ll start thinking about it towards the end of December, no doubt. So if you’re going away in June or July, that’s probably six months ahead of when you set foot on the plane.

The reason you do it is simple – you don’t want to miss out on the destination of your choice simply because other people have got in ahead of you. So why will people be poking fun at you if you start thinking about Christmas now? After all, you’ll just be planning ahead.

Let people scoff! You’re the one who, come December, will be relaxing in your nice warm home, chilling out with a glass of wine instead of joining the mad stampede to the shops on cold, winter nights.

You’ll be the one looking at a pile of stamped, addressed, already-written Christmas cards awaiting posting in the first week of December.

And you’ll be the one poring over the holiday brochures as you sit back and plump for the early-bird booking discounts while your mates are running from shop to shop shouting “doh” every time the assistant says: “Sorry, sold out of that weeks ago.”

There are other reasons for planning ahead for Christmas, reasons why you need to start hatching your master plan now – and putting it into action.

Eating out

If you’re looking forward to treating yourself to a few meals out during the run-up to Christmas, now is the time to book. It’s particularly important to book now if you’re planning on having Christmas Day dinner in a pub or restaurant. The places will be snapped up well ahead of December, so get in now if you want to avoid disappointment.

Office parties will also be in full swing during December, so if you’re responsible for organising that, you need to get your act together quickly, deciding your budget, getting everyone’s agreement, and then making your booking.

Party time

If you’re having a party and want toprovide entertainment such as a DJ or magician, then you can be sure that those with the best reputations will have diaries chock-a-block full of bookings, so make sure yours is one of them.

Top toys

Already there are predictions about which toy will be top of the wish-list this year, so either buy now if what you want is available or reserve your choice so that when stocks do arrive you can avoid the undignified in-store scramble of desperate parents scrabbling for the latest must-have gift.

Christmas No 1

CDs always figure largely on youngsters’ Christmas lists, and if you have a shrewd idea of what they’ll go for, then it’s worth placing an order now.