The Holiday season is one of the busiest and most stressful for anybody who celebrates during this time. Throw in the responsibilities of parenthood and hosting family, and you’ve got a whole lot of stress. So how do you go about surviving the Holidays without a complete breakdown?
Well, you could cancel the Holidays altogether.
But that wouldn’t be much fun. Bah Humbug!
If you’re religious, you can at least go to church services to mark the birth of Christ.
However, if you’re not willing to give up on the festivities, I have a list of simple tips on how to survive the Holidays like a pro… with as little stress as possible.
Tips On How To Survive The Holidays
Whatever your situation, surviving the Holiday season means you need to be prepared for them, physically and mentally… and with the right provisions.
1 // Online Shop Till You Drop
Tap into the glory of online e-tail sites and shop from the comfort of your own home.
No fighting for a parking spot.
No early wake-ups to be the first to get through the store doors.
And while you’re at it, take advantage of any gift-wrapping services provided by the retailer.
The best thing is that you can online shop earlier in the year and avoid the mall altogether.
2 // Keep Celebrations At Home To A Minimum
It’s much easier to be a guest than the host.
If you’re stuck hosting the family or friends this time around, set the tone and decide on how it will all go.
Surviving the Holidays by bypassing the fancy table setting for a minimalist approach is the best.
Doing a casual pot-luck with favourite foods is much easier as well.
We’ve started doing hybrid potluck Christmas Eve and Christmas Day get-togethers with our respective families. It reduces the load on our parents and us to act as hosts.
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3 // Only Kids Get Gifts
Minimizing your gift list is one of the easiest ways to have stress-free Holiday celebrations.
People love to do this. And it works, trust me! As long as everybody is on board and doesn’t sneak in a gift to a mother-in-law…
Talk about an easy way to save money, the time spent gift-wrapping and stress!
Opt for gift bags for the presents. They can be reused and recycled, saving you hundreds of dollars spent on wrapping and tape.
4 // Minimal Christmas Decorations
I know this is a hard one for those who love DIY and decorating their home.
We still decorate ours because our son deserves some fun during a gloomy time of the year.
However, if you’re getting overwhelmed by too much stuff in your home, it may be time to switch things up.
Consider decorating with only the tree, and a few simple DIY crafts such as snowflakes, popcorn chains and candy canes.
Here’s what we’ve done to make it super easy to decorate our home: use pre-lit outdoor mini trees for added light in darker corners.
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5 // Prepare In Advance For Stress-Free Holiday Celebrations
I never was much of a planner until I had a kid. And now I plan everything including my Christmas activities.
Pre-cook and pre-bake as many things you’ll be serving on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as possible. Do this in early to mid-November.
Plan your meals out, get organized with grocery lists, and stock up on snacking items for unexpected drop-in guests.
It’s also a good idea to get a whole bunch of Christmas chocolates in case you have to gift somebody who wasn’t on your original list.
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6 // Stock Up In November
You don’t want to be running to the store at the last minute before guests arrive.
Surviving the Holidays means getting everything you need well before the celebrations begin.
Stock up on essentials, alcoholic beverages and everything else before the store madness begins. You can easily do this starting in November.
7 // Reconnect By Phone
Instead of writing out Christmas cards, give your friends a call in late November.
Ask them how they’re doing. Chances are they need to chat before the craziness begins and you may not have talked with them for a while (hello Facebook! or Zoom!).
8 // Make Plans In Advance & Reconfirm
Inevitably there’s going to be some miscommunication. Luckily, I have parents and in-laws who are pretty relaxed about things.
For stress-free Holiday celebrations, get everybody on board well in advance.
Make sure the family is aware of plans a few weeks out, and reconfirm several days before celebrations so that there are no misunderstandings, drama, sulky kids, spouses or in-laws.
TIP: In situations where there’s a bad cold or ‘flu bug going around, make sure there’s a plan for what happens when somebody is sick. This way nobody is annoyed if you back out due to a cold.
9 // Enjoy A Favourite Drink… In Moderation
Keep a couple of good bottles of wine or your favourite tipple in a secret spot. Enjoy, in moderation, to take the edge off.
Although, I like to always keep this to a minimum when I’m a hostess.
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10 // Make Time For Quiet Down Time
Plan for quiet and fun times.
Whether it be to attend Church services, a walk in the woods, a family activity like skating at a community ice rink, or a drive to look at Christmas lights in your city.
Enjoy a day where everybody in your family is permitted a “do nothing day” or a “stay in your PJs all day” day.
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Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff
There you go, the top 10 tips for surviving the Holidays.
I deliberately made this post short and sweet, because I know you’re probably looking at the calendar and thinking, OMG… I don’t have time!
So take a deep breath. Relax for a moment. And then realize that like every other Holiday in the past, you can’t escape the crazy, but you can manage it.
And the most important thing: don’t let the small stuff get to you!
I’m notoriously bad at making sure everything is perfect. It drives me nuts when my husband takes a different approach to prepping food, setting the table, etc.
So to combat this, I’ve decided that as a gift to my family, I’ll park my Mrs. Perfection routine over the Holidays.
Have wonderful Holidays, however, you celebrate them!
For anybody who deals with anxiety around the Holiday season, there are more great tips for you to read up on to enjoy the season!
QUESTION: What are your recommendations for surviving the Holidays? What do you do to have stress-free Holiday celebrations?
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17 Comments
This is great I love this checklist. I will need to pin this for a future resource. I also have a article about preparing for holiday guests .https://citytoast2southerntea.com/how-to-prepare-home-for-holiday-guests/
Thank you Kelly! :) Sent you an email.
“Only kids get gifts”….this will be the biggest stress reliever and money saver! Great write up!
We’ve started doing this in the past few years and it’s really been a time saver and stress reliever.
OMG, these tips A R E L I F E! Online shopping is definitely the way to go, its much easier and you’re more likely to find great deal +promo codes.
Yes – definitely a better way to find deals! I love using the Honey chrome extension to find deals.
This makes me even MORE excited for the Holidays! And the stocking up in November is already done lol hahaha
Eventhough I am not big fan of online shopping, the holiday stress drag me to do that. As online shopping is best to avoid long queues and mostly a treasure hunt event at shopping malls😃
My husband and I have been talking about just doing kid gifts this year, and possibly asking others to do the same. I definitely am going to use your tip on stocking up on essentials this month. Hitting up Costco later so will start that today!
Online shopping is a must! I agree about the “just kids get presents” rule! It has been a lonely couple holiday seasons for me. My fiance should be with me this year. He’s medically retiring from the navy. I am so excited to spend it with him. It’s just been me and my children alone the last 2 years. I just hope everyone appreciates their families! Unfortunately, the only way I survive the holidays is to just stay away from mine. Thanks for the read!
It sounds like it’s going to be a wonderful Christmas for you. It can be tough, dealing with some family members. :)
Yes to all this!! I always try to overdo it during the holidays and have such big goals for how we’re going to celebrate, what traditions we’re going to start, etc. We’re always happiest when we keep it simple and low key. Great tips!
Us too! All the big plans get put to the side when we actually get to Christmas. We end up using the KISS method. (Keep it simple, stupid!). :)
I love this list! We can get so caught up in the holidays, it becomes more stressful than anything else. I’m going to try to remember this list this holiday season!
I keep going back to my list to see how I can reduce my stress levels without skimping on the festivities!
Online shop till you drop! YES! I will NOT get out into the craziness to shop when I can do it in my pjs. So much less stress!
Me too. I can’t stand trying to find a spot in the parking lot!