5 Simple & Effective Tips For Stress-Free Holidays
- 5 Simple & Effective Tips For Stress-Free Holidays
Inside: The fifth post of our Homeschooling Through The Holidays series, guest author Kathie from The Character Corner is helping you enjoy a stress-free Christmas with 5 simple yet effective tips.
The holidays are often busy, and maybe you wonder if it is even possible to have a stress-free holiday season. Over the years of raising our eight children, I found that if I wanted to really enjoy the holidays, I had to be intentional about planning or things would spiral out of control.
This not only caused me to be stressed but also a bit grumpy! What was supposed to be a joyful season turned out to be rather chaotic, taking away some of that joy.
5 Tips For Stress-Free Holidays
1. Don’t overschedule.
Remember that it is perfectly okay not to do everything! In fact, you will be more relaxed doing less, and your kids would prefer to have a happy mom, versus doing too much and everyone being overwhelmed.
Look at your list of activities for the holiday season, and choose which ones you should do this year, and which ones it would be better to skip for this holiday season.
Pick and choose your activities between Thanksgiving and the New Year, and don’t allow yourself to feel guilty about the choices you have made.
Often, less is better.
2. Get your rest, and take care of yourself.
Make sure you are getting the sleep you need, eating well, and taking care of yourself physically and mentally.
When you are fatigued as a mom, everything seems more overwhelming, and your patience easily wears thin. You don’t want your kids to remember you as a tired, crabby mom when they think of the holidays, so slow down a little and make self-care and sleep a priority.
3. Remember to keep Christ in Christmas
In all of your activities and holiday fun, make sure to be intentional about teaching your kids the true meaning of Christmas.
While we know that’s important and we want it to be the focus of our holiday season, it’s easy to get busy with the gifts, decorating, etc, and neglect focusing on the birth of Christ – the reason we celebrate.
A fun way to remember the true meaning of Christmas is by using an Advent Countdown with the names of Jesus. It is a great way to focus on the birth of Christ, and make Advent unforgettable for your kids. This will become a tradition that your kids will love! Another fun activity is our 25 Christmas Bible Trivia Questions for Kids!
4. Make a Christmas budget.
How often have you been stressed in the new year when all the bills from the holidays start coming in?
It’s so easy to overspend and buy impulsively, then have buyer’s regret later. You can avoid that part of the holiday stress by setting realistic boundaries for how much you will spend for Christmas.
This will help you avoid impulse purchases and keep you from spending more than you can afford, putting yourself into debt (which leads to stress!).
I found I did much better at staying on budget when buying for our 8 kids when I shopped online. This helped me stick to buying what was on my list and included in the allowed budget. It also saved me hours of driving to various stores looking for what I wanted and standing in long lines.
When our kids were real young, I often saved money by getting toys at garage sales in the summer. Gifts don’t have to be expensive! Our kids were always thrilled with the treasures I found as their gifts for Christmas. Another idea I have seen some parents use is the 3 Gift Christmas Tradition: something they want, something they need, and something to read.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
- Give the kids extra cleaning jobs to do when family or friends are coming to visit, rather than stressing about getting it all done at the last minute.
- Have relatives pitch in with side dishes, picking up paper plates, or bringing desserts.
- Ask your husband to run to the store while he’s out to pick up items you may need.
The holidays are about family, so get them involved in the planning and preparation. By delegating, you will have more time to do fun family activities together.
Which of these tips will be most helpful to you as you seek to have a stress-free holiday season?
Want More Stree-Free Holiday Tips?
Be sure to check out these harmonizing holiday posts!
- 25 Christmas Traditions For A Wonderful Holiday Season
- Remembering Christ In A Modern Day Christmas
- How Many Gifts Per Kid For Christmas Is Right?
Thank you so much to Kathie from The Character for this fabulous Homeschooling Through The Holidays guest post!
Kathie Morrissey
Kathie Morrissey is the mother of 8 children,19 grandchildren, and a wife to Alan for 40+ years. She was a committed homeschooling mom of 31 years. As the founder of The Character Corner, she loves to blog about character building, parenting, family life, and homeschooling.
Kathie is the author of two popular character curriculums, as well as several other books to encourage homeschooling parents. She is a well-known speaker at homeschool conventions and support groups, as well as ladies' retreats.
