My feeds on Facebook are filled with dread. Moms and Dads are stressed out over the holidays. We’ve talked about having more meaningful time with the family on the blog earlier this month. It seems that people DREAD the holidays more than the dentist sometimes.
WHY is this??!
It got so bad for me that I had to get OFF social media – I just needed a break from the stuff that I was reading every, single, day…
It’s supposed to be a HAPPY time of the year… time with family, meaningful traditions…so why the stress?
Why the frustration?
If that sounds familiar, changes are needed – first things first, try to get OFF social media for a while – it will help tremendously.
Put the phone away, and try to do something new with the family. Here are some additional suggestions that MAY help ~
Eliminate the Holiday Greeting Cards
Unless you got some for free, most folks stopped sending these out a couple years ago. You can pick up a box of 10 at the 99 Cent Store for the older relatives but everyone else will be really happy with an email, electronic card, Facebook post or anything else you want to do. Save the money on the cards, the stamps and the hassle of mailing them out this year.
Stop Shipping Gifts Yourself
Nothing is more stressful it seems than lugging boxes and boxes of gifts to the post office and paying their high rates. I don’t know about you but I try to stay FAR AWAY from the post office.
I had to go last week to pick up a Certified Letter, and that took me TWO days! Why two? Because the parking lot was SO FULL on Monday, after waiting 10-15 minutes for a SPOT to open up to haul in 4 kids, I decided I was NOT DOING IT (so I left!) WHO still ships from the post office?!
Take advantage of Amazon’s gift receipt option — seriously! Folks won’t mind their box. If you must send out gifts, print at home and opt for pick up from the mail man. Go to the UPS store instead – you may pay a bit more, but you will NOT deal with a LINE!
You can pick up nice presents for your out of town family members and usually snag free or cheap shipping online if you shop with enough time.
Embrace the Gift Card
If you have a friend that loves hunting, grab them a Cabela’s card. Starbucks fan? Starbucks card. Amazon gift cards are a PERFECT fit. Don’t stress out about finding the perfect fit, or color or fret if you got the right size. If you have a few gifts to buy and you are not sure, yes cop out and buy a gift card. Its OK. Most times personally I love the flexibility of getting gift card to Target and can use it for stuff I really need even if it’s not fancy. If I need a new hair dryer …well gosh darn it — I’ll use it to go buy one.
Gift Cards are practical, and people need practical more than “stuff”.
Lose the Tree
Haul the Tree home from the lot or drag the box down from the attic. Get angry if your kids mess up the decorations that took 3 hours to perfect.
Worry about fire danger if your fresh tree dries out.
Worry if Fido or Whiskers ate something they shouldn’t from the Tree.
Lots of folks now opt for a nice planted small tree that they can put virtually anywhere they want in their home.
Some just forego the tree altogether because it’s not about the Tree.
Some make or buy those nice felt trees so the littles can have fun decorating and taking it apart. Find what works for you even if it’s not traditional.
Also if you money is tight, save on the tree that will die in a week.
Guess what? We SKIPPED a tree for 2 years and it worked out JUST fine. The kids were not upset, we didn’t have to pick up Ornaments from the small kids 15 times a day from all over the house, and it was a cost savings for us.
You do what you have to do, and for 2 years, we did not have it in the budget, so we did NOT worry about it. Christmas still went on, and the kids were not upset ONE BIT..
Get out of Town
If money is tight, the kids are stressed your are stressed and life is just getting to be too much….get out of town! A weekend in the snow in Flagstaff making S’mores, making snowmen, sledding, drinking hot chocolate or skiing sounds so much better. Use the time off to reconnect…. not get upset about how Aunt Bertha picked on the kids or how your mother-in-law gave you the same scented soaps this year …..that stuff is irrelevant. Trivial. Really, you’re an adult, who cares about that stuff.
Be content with what you have. Be satisfied with your current situation. Enjoy your time with the kids. Spend time with the family. Get OFF social media – who cares if you miss something, most of that stuff is not important anyways.
You’ll be surprised how much better you will feel, and the stress that comes along with the holidays will be a faded memory.
well said. if you want to do something, do it, if not, don’t.