In today’s blog post I am focusing on getting you through the holiday season. Making sure that you come through the other side with a sense of happiness and pride in how you handled the extra demands that naturally come up during this time of year.
I, myself, am determined to be different this year. I am ashamed to admit it but as much as I love Thanksgiving and Christmas, I usually dread this time of year and am relieved when it’s over, mostly because of the extra stress and demands that I add on myself.
Looking back on how I have handled the holiday season in the past makes me feel ashamed. I don’t handle stress well and usually spend the majority of the time feeling rushed trying to make sure to fit in all the precious memories of the season. The thing is, yelling at the kids because I am stressed doesn’t make for good memories. Pictures of everyone smiling except mom doesn’t make for good memories.
If you’re like me, your ordinary day-to-day life is probably stressful already. As a stay-at-home mom of four (who also works full time), my days are packed full of homeschooling, cleaning, organizing, meal prep, meal planning, cooking, spending one on one time with the kids, spending one on one time with the husband, and the list goes on and on.
You get it, as moms, we are super busy.
Whether you are a stay at home mom, or work full time away from the home you still feel the pressure to make sure your kids are happy, healthy, and educated living in a clean home. Moms in general are amazing.
So what’s a mom to do. I have come up with a list of things that I am implementing this season to reduce stress, streamline some areas of my life and help me to really enjoy the season with my family. It is possible to do stressful things and still feel a sense of calm and control. Let me show you what I’m talking about.
What I am suggesting is that if you do not already have a planner and routine for your regular weekly responsibilities, you will want to set that up first and then you can sprinkle in the extras that come up during the holiday season.
Use a Planner:
This one seems simple enough and it really is the way people who appear so organized get things done. However, this hits me the same way as the advice to create a budget in order to get ahold of your finances. I know it’s good advice but for some reason I just can’t seem to do it. I’m sure I’m not the only one. Sometimes the simplest things seem to feel so daunting and overwhelming which means you will do whatever it takes to put off actually doing it.
It doesn’t help that there are a million different types of planners out there and it really depends on your situation and needs as to what type of planner will work best. Try to keep things as simple as possible. Think about what you want to organize in your life and then go from there. I don’t keep appointments in my planner. Those are on my phone calendar. I have done this for so long, and I don’t mind having to look at my calendar because honestly, I’m usually on my phone some every day. Even though I use my phone calendar for appointments, I am actually the pen and paper type. I prefer to write things down in notebooks or notepads when I am making a list or trying to organize my thoughts. Pro tip, label the notebook and use color coding to make it easier on your brain. The less you have to think about something the easier your life will be. This is why routines are so helpful. Once you start implementing using your planner I promise it will become a routine.
Being told to use a planner is like being told to budget for financial health, we all hate to hear it, but it works. It’s also work, I know, but it really does make all the difference in the world. If you are one that gets overwhelmed easily, a planner is your best friend.
Plan events:
Whether you prefer to write events and appointments in a planner or on some kind of app these will be helpful to you when life gets hectic with parades, Santa sightings and many holiday meals and parties.
Plan your meals:
Having a weekly meal plan makes life so much easier. I write down everything we are going to eat for the week in my planner. I do designate a specific meal for each day, but it’s no big deal to just switch days if we don’t feel like a certain meal or we want tacos on Tuesday when I actually put them down for Friday. When I meal plan, I will write down the meals on my planner first then use that to create my shopping list.
A positive outcome of this is that we rarely go out to eat now. This is where I have seen the most savings in our budget. I will also mention since we homeschool and I don’t work outside the home, I cook three meals a day and I write down what we will eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner each day.
Another good thing about this is once you start writing this in your planner you can look back at the meals you prepared and just easily write the ones that were a hit to put in for the new week. This makes meal planner easier.
I buy a week at a time so by the end of the week our pantry looks pretty empty but this also ensures we eat what I buy and we throw a lot less food away.
Along with your family’s regular meals, designate some space in your planner for holiday meals. Whether you are taking a dish to a family meal or you are hosting the whole thing, write down everything you plan to make for the season.
Include those Christmas cookies with the kids. Last year I waited until Christmas Eve at 8:30 (bedtime) to make and decorate Santa’s cookies. I will not be doing that again this year. The kids seemed to enjoy it but again I was unpleasant as I was rushing around. I have a designated day in my
Create a cleaning schedule:
I have created a cleaning schedule for our home. I do all the cleaning. For those wondering, yes, the kids have chores they do as well, but for the most part cleaning the house is my responsibility. I am home much of the time and I like cleaning done a certain way so instead of fighting my type A personality I found a way to make it work. That way is with a cleaning schedule. Once I had my schedule lined out, I put that in my planner by coloring coding. I plan to have a blog post designated on how I created my cleaning schedule and how it works for me.
Create a gift giving guide:
I do this every year to keep me on track with our Christmas budget. Again, I have a Christmas notebook and write down ideas for each person I plan to buy for. Once I have purchased a gift from my list, I check it off and write the amount of the gift beside it. I usually have the kids make their Santa list early so I can get a jump start on planning.
The Christmas decorations come out and Santa lists are made during the first week of November. Yes, I am that person!
Use a brain dump journal:
This is where everything starts. When an idea, something you need to do, something you need to buy, pops into your head, quickly jot it down in a notebook or on your phone. Then later you can go back and organize those into the proper category. Add the item to your grocery list or call about scheduling your hair cut. Basically in order to cut down on the feeling of overwhelm that can be debilitating and keep you in bed all day, you need to get it out of your head.
The idea is to get everything out of your head and organize it into manageable chunks of time.
Don’t forget your down time:
It can be easy to ignore yourself during this season. The things that bring you joy, calm you, and give you peace need to be continued as well. When you are feeling pressure to fit everything in it is natural for moms to put their needs aside for the moment, but this actually can do more harm than good. Continue making time for yourself. If you really don’t have the time, consider cutting back but not completely eliminating your time. I recharge by waking up before everyone else and reading the bible or listening to a bible study podcast.
If you are like me, don’t forget your morning fuel. I have this coffee nearly every morning to get going.
I used to resent the advice to “wake up before the kids are awake”, because no matter how early I woke up the kids would wake up too and I wouldn’t get this time. They’re a little older now and if they do wake up when I do they can occupy themselves quietly while I still get this time. This helps me to feel good and makes the day run smoothly. It sets my mood for the day which then trickles down to everyone else in the house. “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy,” as the saying goes. If I skip this part of my day, I notice my mood isn’t as good and the day seems to be a struggle. Put this time, whatever it may be for you, in your planner.
This Christmas you will find me on the couch fully focused on my kids opening their long awaited presents from Santa. I have put these tips into practice to make sure that happens.
Thanks for spending this time with me! I’m wishing you a smooth and stress-free holiday season!