This Time-Saving Hacks For The Holiday Season post is sponsored.

‘Tis the season for running out of time. There are only 24 hours in the day and it feels like you need at least 36 to get everything done.

It’s impossible to freeze time and squeeze in a couple loads of laundry. And even though it’s tempting to throw all your clothes away so you don’t actually have to watch that, that’s expensive and irrational. Instead, you just have to follow my time-saving hacks for the holiday season.

Time-Saving Hacks For The Holiday Season

Shop online.

I really like going to the mall, wandering aimlessly from store to store, smelling every candle and lotion that has a tester. It’s a fun way to spend a lazy afternoon, but it’s not the best use of your time. Especially this time of year. The mall is crowded, checkout lines are long, and it just takes a lot longer than you anticipate.

So instead, shop online. Go to a store’s website, add exactly what you need (and nothing more) to your cart, and checkout. Many stores lower their free shipping minimums this time of year, so being able to get it shipped to your door for free saves you the hassle of going to the store to pick up your order.

Pay to get your gifts wrapped.

If you do find yourself in the mall, there’s a good chance you’ll stumble across a gift wrapping station. For a small fee (which is usually a donation to a local charity), you can get your purchases wrapped. I’ve seen this service offered at some individual stores too.

Sure, you’re going to have to wait a couple minutes while they do it, but it will still save you time overall. In this case, you don’t have to go buy the wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, or gift tags. And you don’t have to use any of your valuable time to sit and wrap the gifts.

Get your cards pre-printed.

I’m a huge fan of handwritten cards. So, during the first weekend in December, I spend hours handwriting everyone’s names, my name (Pete signs his own), and a small personalized note to everyone. And then I have to hand write addresses on the envelopes. We have a return address stand, thank goodness. All that takes up so much of my time. Not to mention the hand cramps.

A huge time saver is ordering holiday cards online. You can use ones that are pre-made or upload your own photos to personalize them. You can add text to them too, including signing your names. Depending on where you order from, some stores will even address your envelopes. That will save you hours of time.

Order delivery.

I love cooking. For the most part, I cook every meal at home. But some nights, I just can’t do it. Sometimes, you’re running errands, baking for holiday parties, cleaning for company … and you just don’t have time to prepare dinner. That’s okay. You can still feed your family a great meal with DoorDash. If you haven’t heard of it, DoorDash is a prepared food delivery service. You can order from local restaurants or national chains in over 850 cities.

Use the app or DoorDash’s website, and find restaurants in your city. You’ll see the estimated wait time next to each one, so that definitely helps. Place your order, and wait for it to arrive — spending that time relaxing and watching holiday movies instead of watching a pot on the stove. Right now, our local hot dog joint will take 46 minutes to get to us via DoorDash. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has a running time of 47 minutes. Just as the credits start to roll, dinner will be at your door. Coincidence? I think not.

Have your tree shipped.

I love going out to one of our local stores and picking out our Christmas tree. I stand there for a while, examining each one, before finally deciding on which tree to strap to the car to take home. It does take a while because I’m so picky.

If you’re not picky, you can save yourself some time this season by buying your tree online and having it shipped to you directly. And yes, I’m talking about real, live trees. If you’d prefer to use an artificial tree, you can order one of those online too. That artificial tree will end up saving you a lot of time and money because you won’t be buying a new live one year after year.

Buy your gifts early.

We have a gift closet in our house that I swore I blogged about before, but I guess not. I buy gifts throughout the year when I see them and store them away for the holiday season. That way, I’m not wasting so much time in December, driving around for gifts and looking for stocking stuffers. When you shop early, you can save so much time and money.

I say you should start Christmas shopping in July, but honestly, you can start on December 26, Head out when Christmas items are 50% and start stocking up for next year.

What other time-saving hacks for the holidays do you have? Let us know in the comments.