The holiday season is here! I am pretty excited because I love all things Christmas. The events, parties, giving and receiving presents, time with family and friends and of course let’s not forget the festive clothes! I love it all and can’t wait to be draped in velvet, fur and sequins! Although I will be honest, lately I don’t need the holidays to do that! Anyone else obsessed with these luxury fabric fashion trends?!
What I am noticing now though as my kids are starting to get bigger is that I am feeling like I am being pulled in 10 different directions! I want to do it all and give them the best holiday season ever but at the same time, I don’t want to wake up on Christmas morning feeling exhausted and depleted emotionally, physically and financially.
I will be honest, it’s hard for me to say no and I tend to do things to make other people happy, even if it makes me feel stressed or annoyed.
Does A Full Calendar Equal A Full Heart?
With that said, I like to be busy. I like to feel like I have a full calendar and I like to feel connected and loved. It’s important to me and I am noticing as I get older it’s becoming even more important. I am not sure if it’s because I am more aware of the distance from my family or what, but I enjoy being included and attending fun things and feeling like part of something!
So again, given that strong desire, I don’t ever want to say no.
But what I really want is to make sure that I set myself and my family up for success this holiday season. I want to say yes to the events, people and activities that will bring us joy. I want to say no to the things and people that will drain me.
Sounds pretty easy right? But we all know, sometimes it’s just not that simple.
How Do We Stay Sane?
I wanted to explore a bit what I could do to make sure that I don’t let stress or anxiety overtake my holiday season. I did some digging and found these great tips on how to manage the most wonderful time of the year!
Stick to a healthy routine. How many of us tend to throw caution to the wind when it comes to mindful eating from Halloween through NYE? It can be SO hard to not over indulge on all the yummy treats, fun cocktails and decadent meals that the holidays bring. And I am not advocating that we don’t enjoy ourselves. But there is power in maintaining a normal exercise and healthy eating routine as much as we can throughout the holiday season. The exercise will help burn off any stress as well as any additional calories!
Keeping your diet clean and normal can also keep your spirits high. When I overdose on carbs and sugary foods I feel sluggish, irritated and bloated. Not exactly the picture of fabulosity. We can’t be killing it in our sequin joggers if we feel like we should be wearing a potato sack instead. Confidence is what makes clothing fabulous!
Set Boundaries and Expectations. THIS. This is probably where I will struggle the most this holiday season. I tend to build things up in my head and when they don’t go exactly as planned I end up feeling disappointed. I do it a lot. Anyone else? This year I am going to try and be much more intentional with my emotions. I am going to allow myself to say no if I feel overwhelmed or stressed. Boundaries can be good! They help protect us and ensure that we don’t end up feeling completely depleted and drained. We must give ourselves permission to say No if it doesn’t serve us.
I will also try to recognize that perfect doesn’t always mean happy or fun. In our Instagram worlds of gorgeously trimmed trees and amazing holiday home decor, it can be hard to not compare our trimmings, our parties and our gifts to others. But I will try to remind myself that just because I don’t yet have a gorgeous great room deck out in rose gold and white trimmings that my stuff sucks. Because it doesn’t. It’s beautiful because it is what my family has made. I will try very hard to not get caught up in creating the perfect holiday but rather strive to make it one filled with joy.
Create a Budget. Honestly, I wish I had thought about this one sooner. Finances have been a huge pain point in my house since we dropped down to a one income household and the holiday season is only making it more pronounced. If you haven’t already made a plan for how much you can and will spend this year, do it! It will help you manage what you buy, decide what events you really want to attend and keep your marriage from imploding when your hubs starts questioning the credit card bill. Trust me, I speak from experience. LOL
Keep Perspective. The holidays are meant to be a season of joy and it can be incredibly challenging to not get caught up in drama, stress and keeping up with the jones when it comes to gift giving and holiday hosting. But what we all need to remember, myself included, is that at the end of the day the best holidays are ones that are filled with love and laughter with our family and friends.
Want To Make A Pact?
It’s the simple moments – decorating the tree, driving around to look at Christmas lights, wrapping presents late at night, baking cookies that get burned…..those moments of connection with our kids and loved ones. That’s what the holidays is all about and that’s all our kids really want from us at the end of the day. Our love and our attention. And this year, my goal is to make sure I give as much of that as I can!
I am making a pact with myself to strive to do these things for the next month. What to join me? Even if we are not perfect with it, but we make an attempt at being intentional, I bet we see a huge difference!
If you have any great tips for how you manage the holiday season, please share them with us! Have any fabulous holiday outfits planned? Share those too! I’ve never met a sequin I didn’t like!
And remember ladies, you’re not fully dressed until you sparkle!
