I actually had a friend once tell me that she “hated” the holidays because there was always so much to do. Is this you? Do you look forward to the holiday season and then as it gets here you end up dreading it because you feel too overwhelmed to enjoy it? Instead of enjoying the holidays you are constantly feeling guilty because you aren’t doing “all the things.”
Tip #1 – Give Yourself Permission to Say NO!
Take a look at your list of tasks and To Dos and pick at least one (or more) that you really don’t want to do (and that won’t absolutely wreck someone else’s holiday, like your kids) and then cross it off your list.
Trust me there is no Holiday Police that will call you up for “not properly observing the holiday”.
Are you stuck on what to cross off the list? Here are a few suggestions:
Tip #2 – Get some help so You too can enjoy the holidays!
Don’t try and do it all yourself! Get some help. Last I heard there are no awards given out for doing it all. In fact, I am sure your family and friends will enjoy being around you more if you are not so stressed.
With the House
Think about what you can farm out. Somebody to clean before entertaining. A professional crew to hang the Christmas lights. A landscape crew to whip your yard into shape before that big party you’re hosting. Maybe you can’t or don’t want to hire any of these activities out. You can still only choose to focus on some of them or maybe instead of getting the tree decorated by the first week of December, you don’t get it done until the 2nd week of December. No harm. No foul.
With the Meal
Do you typically host a big holiday meal? Start by getting some of the people coming to bring dishes so you don’t have to cook it all yourself. Consider paring down your menu to either fewer items or dishes that are simpler to prepare. Get really serious about getting help and consider buying a few items premade from the store. (Gasp! I promise the sky won’t fall in, Chicken Little.) We are not here to compete with Martha Stewart or even that gorgeous spread you saw on social media. Your goal should just be to provide a meal that your guests will enjoy and leaves you with enough energy to enjoy it too.
With the Gifts
Do you have a large family, and everybody gives gifts to everybody? Or maybe you have lots of friends with lots of different gift giving get togethers? Perhaps you need lots of teacher gifts? The possibilities are endless and sometimes it feels like the gift wrapping is.
That’s where gifts that come already wrapped or packaged for giving can be a life saver. Literally. Here at Susan’s Soaps I offer several different “ready to gift options” that might appeal.
Tip #3 – Keep the Joy in the Holidays
Don’t get so caught up in paring down or saying No that you leave out what brings the holiday home for you.
I hope you found a suggestion or two here that could work for you and help simplify the holidays and make them more enjoyable for you.
The goal here is reduce your never-ending list of ToDos so you can actually get into that holiday spirit and enjoy time spent with family and friends. It is not to strip away what makes the holiday season special for you. Take just a few minutes to pick and choose what you can cross off your list without too much guilt and then go enjoy the season. You can do it. I am rooting for you!!
