4 tips for a stress free holiday season
The holidays are magical, but that doesn’t meant they aren’t stressful. They are! Here are some of our favorite tips to help keep stress levels down and make the focus of the holidays on what is most important. Spending time with your family to create memories.
Be honest with your kids about your Christmas budget
Just because every parent wants to give their kids a magical Christmas doesn’t mean that it’s always feasible. I grew up in a family of seven kids which meant that Christmas did a number to the family budget. My parents did a good job of letting us know what they could afford. That allowed us to be realistic in our expectations. In turn that removed a lot of the disappointment on Christmas morning. Oh, there were times when they surprised us with things that were out of the budget, but in general, we knew that if we asked for things above the budget there was a good chance we wouldn’t get them and we knew that long before Christmas morning. And I’d say Christmas’ in our house were magical.
Determine what really matters and say no to the rest
It’s easy for schedules to be full over the holidays. Between the family/work/neighborhood parties and concerts and recitals it’s easy to become overbooked. Just because everything is on your calendar doesn’t meant that you have to go. It’s ok to skip out on a party if it means an evening making sugar cookie with your children.
Stick to your schedule
The holidays throw everything off—including our schedules. Don’t let it. Skip out early on parties so your children get to bed on-time or put off Christmas activities to the weekend. A family without a schedule is just asking for increased stress levels.
Get your sleep and know your limits
Sleep is the first thing that suffers when there is too much to do. Staying up late until all hours of the night creating the perfect Elf on the Shelf scenario or making homemade gifts for everyone one on your list is not worth it if it means you’re tired and cranky the next day and yell at your kids. Know what you can do and don’t worry about the rest. You house does not need to be the most decorate house on the block.
Don’t threaten
Don’t use Santa as a way to get your children to change behavior. You’ll never be able to follow up with your threats about Santa not bringing them presents, which, in turn, actually makes their behavior worst because they know they can get away with bad behavior during the holidays.
What would you add to the list? We’d love for you to share your ideas.