Ok, so here are some real questions for you! Does the thought of the holidays stress you out? Do you find yourself worrying about finding the right gift for family members as you lay in bed at night? Do you stress about all the to-do’s on your list while continuing to find ways just to get through your regular, day to day to-do list? Do you feel overwhelmed by having too many things do to that can only be squeezed into such a limited amount of time?
If you answered yes to even one of these questions, then stay tuned! I have some tips for YOU, that you can use today that will help you destress and enjoy the holidays that are quickly approaching.
There’s no doubt about it, the holidays can definitely add much-unneeded stress to our lives and learning a way to navigate the stress while staying positive is the key.
Christmas is meant to bring us closer to one another. Find magic in small things, explore the innocence of our children and all that they experience. Give to those in need and be grateful for all that we have.
Often times busyness can take pull us in so many directions adding to our feelings of stress, overwhelm, and irritability. It is important to find a way that works for you to incorporate balance and purposefully experience the joy and magic of the Christmas season.
I’d love to share 5 of my favorite tips with you that will shift your mindset and improve your organization to unlock a happier, healthier holiday season for you!
1. Write it all down
Start by making a list or consider getting organized with a planner. The more you can forward think and plan the better organized you will be. What I’m talking about getting organized with your day to day life events in addition to your holiday planning. Staying organized often is the stress that keeps us up at night worried that we’ve forgotten something or don’t have everything finished. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed can lead to irritability, paralyzes us from making any progress, and can be difficult to figure out how to wrap your brain around everything you have to get done.
Set aside some time, to create the bones of everything that you need to accomplish. I’ve just recently found the Productivity Planner and find it to be super helpful to get organized with prioritizing what I need to accomplish each day while keeping the entire week’s goals in mind. What I’ve found to be most helpful with this planner is that it gives you a space to rate yourself and be reflective on your productivity which I think is the key to better understanding yourself and finding new ways to improve.
2. Think about who you are buying for
Think about all of the people that you are going to buy gifts for. Often times, we have huge lists to buy for outside of our immediate families (your children’s teachers, daycare providers, coaches, neighbors, colleagues, your child’s bus driver, your boss, etc.). Once you’ve brainstormed everyone that you feel the need to buy a gift for, write them all down on a list. Once you’ve got your list of everyone that you feel the need to buy a gift for, start to write a little note about why you appreciate these people and why you are happy to be giving them a gift this season. Doing this will remove the feelings of obligation and support the feelings of giving with gratitude and love. You might even begin to feel that you want to give certain individuals a more special gift than you had initially intended.
Think about those bus drivers that get your kids to school safely everyday- I’m sure you might not think about them every day and how you truly appreciate the work that they do transporting your child-but examples like this would be a perfect example for sending a thoughtful Christmas card to express your gratitude (maybe alongside a yummy tin of cookies).
I think that this tip can also be beneficial to potentially reduce the number of gifts you are purchasing by eliminating people from your list that you still feel the obligatory reason to buy for, or gives you more freedom to just send them a note of gratitude or make them something homemade to express the feelings you have for them. Not everything has to be store bought, and not everything has to have a specific value attached to it. The gifts that come from the heart are the ones that we get most excited to give, and are most happily received.
3. Set limits
Don’t try to do it all. You can’t make everyone happy, and starting to realize that you probably won’t is half the work. Think about what you want to do and and what is realistic to do. Incorporate those things into the planning that you do for your family. It is ok, not to make it to every party, or celebrate with every single family member ON the day of the holiday. Rember; there are 365 days in a year, save yourself some sanity and schedule another time to catch up and celebrate. Often times, scheduling out celebrating the holidays can be more personal and offer more time for genuine connections.
4. Do some game day self-coaching
Prep yourself on the day of the holiday and think about what you want from the day. Do you want to spend more time talking and catching up with a certain someone? Or do you want to make sure that your kids feel the magic of Christmas and you are apart of that magic with them? Or are you looking to laugh, and play games with the guests you are with?
However; you want to spend your time on the day of the holiday-that is ok! To make that happen and stay true to what would make you most happy, it’s useful to do what I call a little game day coaching. To do this, I think it’s important to predict any obstacles that might come up and prevent you from spending your time how you’d like. Use your time while getting ready in the morning or driving to the party; to think about those obstacles and what plan you can consider to work through them.
Maybe you could come up with a phrase if someone pulls you off course to equip yourself with to get back to the activity you had in mind like; “Hey Uncle so and so…. I really want to stay catch up with you but I noticed the kids are over by the window “looking” for Santa. I’m going to go hang with them for a little bit, do you want to join me?
I think it is important that you make the party what you want it to be, still be respectful, while even inviting others to join in with you. Not prioritizing your needs on the holidays will only lead to feeling that the day is an obligatory task, which will lead to feelings of frustration, emptiness, or loneliness.
It’s important to think about your game day plan and coach yourself on how you will execute it. If it is your goal to spend time with a certain someone think about that. Think about what you might like to talk with them about, or what you’d like to share with them. Make the most of your time, and plan ahead to fully engage and participate in the day.
5. Be Present
Each moment that you are apart of as you embrace Christmas, truly be present. You must rid yourself of any stress for the future and worries from the past. Breathe in the smell of your Christmas tree (or Christmas scented candle burning 😉 Take in all the sites of winter out of your window, and cuddle with those you love. To be fully present in each moment, and be mindful of all around you is simple. Use your senses as your guide and they will ground you in what you are currently apart of.
6. Bonus Tip
Give to a worthy cause. Celebrating the true meaning of Christmas means that we celebrate the birth of Jesus and all that he gave us. Think about all that you are grateful for and then decide how and what you can give to others. Giving to others allows you to experience a sense of joy and pride in doing something for others that can’t be duplicated. Consider making a donation to an organization that you believe in and want to support. You can choose the organization as a family and make it part of your holiday traditions. Or spend your time together as a family and give together. There are plenty of organizations that allow kids to participate in service. Engaging in these experiences as a family allows you to share quality time with one another, reinforce your values, and offer rich traditions to be passed down.
May you find this Christmas season to be one of hope and prosperity!
With Love,
Kelly
I’d love to know which tip gets you most excited for this holiday season, and how you plan to incorporate it! I’d love to hear from you and what tips you already use to make your holiday’s amazing while decreasing any feelings of stress that you might experience! Shoot me a quick email 😉