The busy mom's guide to surviving the holidays
The holidays are by far my favorite time of year. Holidays since having kids have seemed to become more magical. With that magic also comes the weight of making everything perfect for everyone. Let's face it, as women we take on a lot. Most of the time it's not even an expectation put on by anyone but ourselves. It's easy for the holidays to become something you dread, instead of something you look forward to and enjoy each year. Between the end of year needs, the school functions, holiday parties and shopping, it can be a LOT.
Through the years I've found a few tips and tricks to help make things a little easier for me through the holiday season.
Don’t be afraid to say no. I know this one sounds pretty basic and simple, but it is something that many women, including myself, struggle with. I think as women and mothers we have this crazy expectation that we need to do everything, which is unrealistic, and even more so during the busy bustle of the holidays. I have been working on getting better at this, and if I get an invite for something that really doesn’t fit into my schedule, but that guilt kicks in, I have a few questions I ask myself. Is this something important to my husband? My kids? Will I regret saying no a month from now? Obviously there are exceptions to this, but those are my key questions when that guilt hits.
Quality over quantity. This is one I struggle with the most. Once the holiday season starts, the advertisements for all the local holiday events begin as well. I always feel like my kids will be “missing out” if we don’t go to every single big holiday attraction each year. However, I quickly discovered that the kids have their favorite events, and that I was the only one concerned with the amount of events we attended. We sit down as a family at the beginning of the holiday season and decide which events we want to attend. This gives us a good expectation of the upcoming season, and allows me to schedule everything accordingly.
WE'RE ALSO CRUSHING THIS OTHER POST FROM CITYMOM HEATHER:
The challenges of 'mom dating' and finding your tribe
Plan a date night with your significant other. Between the school functions, shopping, holiday parties and events, it’s easy for your life to be consumed by holiday madness. Schedule a date night (or adult night out) with your significant other right smack in the middle of the holiday season. This is not a date to take care of holiday “errands”- make it an actual date. Take some time to have an adult conversation and just be together with no holiday madness. Even if you sit in your car talking together for an hour, or dinner consists of Taco Bell, make time for it. Date nights and self care seem to be the first thing we let go when life gets crazy.
Make a plan for Winter Break now. With kids out of school for an extended period of time, it’s good to have a plan. If your kids are anything like mine, too much unscheduled time at home with each other leads to more chaos. I don’t plan every second of every day of break, but I make sure we have enough planned to keep them entertained, wear them out and help me keep my sanity. Check your favorite local businesses, as a lot of them will have different deals and events during Winter Break for the kids.All of these tips vary from person to person, but one takeaway from all of them is that the holidays are a great time to create memories with your kids and family. However, this doesn’t mean stressing yourself out to make it perfect. Your kids just want to be with you. Time spent with you is what they will remember when they get older.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Heather Frankford lives in Noblesville with her husband, 2 kids and 2 dogs. She is the owner and creator of Suburban Boy Mom, a lifestyle blog, and enjoys DIY projects and decorating her home.Heather is fueled by Starbucks coffee and enjoys bad reality tv when the kids go to bed.
