Secrets of a Sane Holiday Season
11/03/2008
Do the holidays leave you feeling low?
As a mom and designated “doer of all things,” I find that the holidays often bring more headaches than happiness. This year, I’ve resolved to change my habits so I can rest easy on Christmas Eve and avoid waking up in a panic, wondering if the right names are on the right gifts.
You can too. Start here:
• Revisit priorities. Remember what is really important to you and your family. List the things you enjoy and the things that leave you feeling stressed. Simplify to reduce the stressors. Swap the big Christmas dinner for a simple soup bar or appetizer buffet. Assign each family member a room to decorate.
• Be creative. Don’t let the tedious task of sending holiday greeting cards stall your time–enlist the creativity of young ones. Let kids sign each card with your family name. Better yet, ask them to add cute drawings. One friend prints her cards with the outline of a tree on the front and invites her kids to color them in for a personalized touch.
• Meet homemade halfway. Buying holiday cookies and frosting them at home with a tub of frosting is just as delicious and far less frantic. Still feel like you’re cheating? Support a local cookie drive and you can call it charity.
• Tie a bow. Stick with wrapping paper in all foil, brown paper, or solids this season. One simple color can be transformed with vibrant wire ribbon in creative colors. Save the stress and start a new tradition: Santa doesn’t wrap!
• Plan for next year. Before taking down her holiday decorations, my girlfriend snaps a few photos to remember how she arranged things. She prints the photos and keeps them in a plastic
bag in a buffet drawer so she can whip them out and rerun
brilliant holiday decor.
• Take time for family fun. Return to sanity by getting back to the important people in your life. Plan a December weekend dedicated to your family. Bundle up for an outdoor holiday festival, take in holiday lights with an evening drive, go sledding, or step outside for a friendly snowball fight. The warm memory will last long after the tinsel is packed away.
Planning ahead, choosing simpler options and reevaluating what makes the holidays magical might just find you enjoying this season–and that’s the greatest gift of all!