A Stress-Free Holiday
It’s the most wonderful time of year - my favorite time + the busiest time!
We fill our days with shopping and cooking, decorating and holiday festivities, friends and family. All the good stuff but all of it and the other commitments that come along often make this time of year a difficult one due to added stress.
But, what if the holiday season didn’t have to be stressful?
This is a time to be joyful + cheerful. Let’s make this season one we can enjoy.
It’s time to sit down, with pen and paper or laptop, and start planning.
Think about how you would like for this holiday season to look for you and your family. Write it down. Set the expectations and start to see how you can work what you want and how you envision the holiday will go. It will not be perfect and it may not go the way you thought or wanted it to but when you set expectations for you want it sets the groundwork for your planning and implementing.
Something that adds extra stress during the holiday season is money. If you start getting stressed about your money during this time of year consider setting yourself a budget. Setup a budget - one that’s simple and will be reasonable for you - and stay with it. This can be something that goes into the new year with you. There are many tools out there to help you with a budget but it’s also okay to just write it on some notebook or printer paper. Some may even have enough tech-savyness to do one on their computers.
As busy mamas we often forget to take care of ourselves. We push real hard to make all the things perfect for everyone else. But what about us? If you have a self care routine that you already implement in your life - I’m so proud of you. While this time of year adds more activities to our schedules, let’s not forget to keep our self care habits in our forefront. Let’s not loose sight of those habits. Keep them going. Make time for you. Remember, sometimes we need to say no. I get it - it’s hard for me to say no too!
During the hustle and bustle let us not forget to connect with others. We started gifting our children experiences a few years ago. Being present with them is far more important to me (and them) than a toy or other material item. Those are the things that will be remembered by you all. Enjoy your family and friends. Give them your presence.
I’m a planner girl. I like the pen to paper. That’s why I have a paper planner but I also have a digital planner. Both make me excited to prioritize and plan. After you’ve set your expectations for the holidays you can use your planner to map out your priorities. Break them down into to-dos. If you like a deadline, give yourself one!
It’s time! Time to get those plans mapped out. What food will you take? What beverages are needed? Do you need arts and craft supplies? Do you need to purchase tickets somewhere? Put a note on your calendar or wherever works best for you and start your planning at least six to eight weeks in advance of the holiday.
