Mom Tip Monday: 5 Holiday Preparation Tips

Welcome to the holidays. With Halloween behind us, now the rush begins toward a plethora of holidays focused on family, giving and celebrating. For some of us, it’s a thrilling time of the year while others need a Valium just to think about it. Here are some tricks to help reduce the stress and increase the enjoyment of whatever family traditions you prefer.

1. Sit down as a family and identify what you want to do for all the holidays. What is the most important aspect for each of you? Do you prefer to make the holiday meal? Is it tradition to spend Hanukkah with your parents? Is it your spouses’ parents’ turn to have the kids visit for Christmas? Laying it all out now (as well as identifying the unknowns) helps you focus on what to expect or plan for in the coming weeks. By sitting down as a family, it also assures everyone’s expectations and wishes are also being considered.
2. If you’re a list person, make a list of what you need or need to do for each holiday. This includes gift lists, shopping lists, to-do lists and the like. It’s even better if you do it as a family with the calendar handy so you can identify times to get things done around busy schedules, holiday parties, parent-teacher meetings and all the rest life throws our way.
3. Make a schedule and chore plan. If you have a calendar that is on the wall in the kitchen or other public area, don’t hesitate to put things on it. A free Saturday can be scheduled for gift shopping, or a Sunday afternoon for cleaning and decorating. What date do you want to get holiday cards in the mail? So many aspects of the holidays are little things, but they all soon pile up so fast that we quickly become overwhelmed. Scheduling time now helps you plug through it.
4. Budget. Things have been hard on so many this year that a budget may be a very real issue. This might even include discussions with family members about dollar figure limits on gifts, or even an agreement to just purchase gifts for kids. Money is a massive stress producer around the holidays, so be sure to identify any concerns and then address them well beforehand.
5. Reevaluate your expectations. After doing all of the above, are you feeling the need to lie down? Maybe it’s time to readjust expectations. As moms, we put ourselves under so much pressure to make the perfect holidays for our families and to please everyone. The truth is, your family is happy to be with you. The tree doesn’t have to be a 6-foot blue pine ($$$) for Christmas, you don’t have to serve a three course meal on the china for Hanukkah (simple traditional fare together as a family is just as valuable), each holiday card doesn’t need to include a hand written letter, and you certainly don’t have to be sure to visit every single living relative on a specific holiday. Make it easy on yourself and focus on just a couple of things. You’ll find yourself far less stressed and much more fun to be around.

Good luck and God’s speed.

Tagged as: holidays, Mom Tip Monday