Easy tips and steps to help the holidays so smoothly this year – PLUS a FREE gift for you!
They are coming! The holidays! That magical time of the year when family gather-round the table for a delicious home-cooked meal. Your children are dressed to the nines in matching outfits, and everyone is happy, smiling, and well rested….
Wait….am I dreaming???
Maybe my family is the odd family, but holidays are usually mixture of a pinch of magic, a dollop of stress and a healthy serving of crazy. Definitely nothing like the photo above. Usually we only remember the magic, which is good, but here are 5 quick tips to help level the playing field and decrease the crazy and stress this year.
Prioritize and Delegate
Just because your family has “always” made Aunt Agnes’s fruit jello pie for thanksgiving, doesn’t mean you have to kill yourself to make it happen this year. If possible, ask someone else to help and delegate the most important tasks to help ease the load from your shoulders.
Do not expect perfection
Even with all the planning in the world, something could still go wrong. Try to keep expectations realistic and know that not everything is in your control. Besides, perfection is overrated, right?
Have Alone Time
When you are constantly bombarded with plans, people and activities, it can get overwhelming. Even 5 minutes to yourself to be in your own quiet moment can help to reset your mind when stressed. Take a walk, go to the store for [insert excuse here], or find a quiet spot in the house for your alone time.
Put the Camera Down
I am the first person to tell you how important documenting the holidays and special moments are. However, being IN those special moments and making memories with your family will last far longer and is so good for your soul.
And if you want to capture the memories on film, ask someone else to take some photos. Trust me, you want to be in at least some of them!
Plan Ahead
Between gift buying, family visiting, traveling, family outings, holiday parties, food planning and preparing and keeping up with regular activities, the holidays can feel like a whirlwind.
Having a plan written out can help keep all vital info in one place and can also help organize all the information to make sure you do not forget about anything.
Enter – my gift to you!
If you didn’t already know, a while back I created a Home and Family Binder. It has SO many resources to help keep your home and family life organized. Go check it out!
Really, go now! I will wait…..
Did you get it?? GREAT! Well since I wanted it to be something anyone could use, military or not, I didn’t add everything to it all at once. So now I am releasing my first expansion pack, just in time for the holidays!
I have included a house sitter information sheet, a bucket list, a holiday budget sheet, holiday meal planner page and a gift guide. All of which are FREE to you just for being such a supportive reader! Just enter your information below and it will be sent right to you!
I hope that all this information (and the Holiday Planning Kit!) will be helpful for you and will help minimize stress this holiday season. This holiday season is sure to be the best one yet!
