15 Tips to Reduce Your Stress During the Holidays
I wrote this post as part of my participation in a blog tour for The Motherhood on behalf of the makers of Children’s MOTRIN® and received compensation to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
The holidays can be an “energy sucker”.
On top of your regular “mom duties” you now have the added job of :
- interior decorator (holiday style)
- baker (Christmas cookies, fudge etc)
- family scribe (because holiday cards do not fill themselves out)
- personal shopper (you need a present for how many people?!)
- master chef (let’s talk here… two major dinners are in our future)
- toy assembly person (because they will want to play with it immediately)
- gift wrapper (I won’t even admit to how many hours this has sucked out of my life)
- housekeeper (because you want the house spotless for guests)
- be prepared (colds like to sneak up on you during the doctor’s “off” hours)
and many more. I’ll stop here, though, so as to not stress you out more than need be.
After 26 years of family holidays I have a learned a few things here and there that help me remain “unstoppable”.
- Minimize your decorations. I’ve come to realize that less is more in the decoration department. Gather a few of your favorite things and leave the junk in the tub downstairs. It’s less to clean up afterwards and nobody misses it.
- Start baking at Thanksgiving… and freeze it. A batch here and there is easy to do and your back will thank you.
- Order your holiday cards online. Many places will even fill out the envelope and stamp/ship it for you! I’ve spent way too many hours of my life filling out Christmas cards that more than likely hit the landfill within a weeks time.
- Start shopping now (and if you already started shopping I’m applauding you now!). Waiting for the last minute only snowballs the other stresses on top of it. That, and you really don’t save that much more money to compensate for the added stress.
- Shop online if at all possible. Amazon has amazing toy sales and lightening deals, as well as other sites.
- Sign up for your free trial of Amazon Prime now. Snag those lightening deals and don’t worry about shipping costs or getting your $25 minimum for free shipping. That and two day shipping is incredible (and $3.99 overnight has saved me a time or two).
- Black Friday can be a true wallet sucker. Yes, you get maybe one or two amazing deals. The rest of the stuff you picked up to round off your list was probably cheaper online.
- If you insist on shopping Black Friday, try it online this year! Pajamas & a hot cup of coffee can’t be beat. Cyber Monday is right around the corner with even more amazing deals to be had.
- Open the toys! Yes, open the box, remove the twist ties, put in batteries, assemble what needs to be assembled and have the toys ready to go. Your kiddos will be happier!
- Wrap your gifts as you get them. I’ve pulled way too many late nighters trying to wrap umpteen presents. No fun.
- Enlist older children to help wrap. My oldest loves to hide away in her room and wrap the littles gifts when I get them. Perfect gift wrap only gets torn up anyway, right/
- Use gift bags when possible. They are easier/quicker to “wrap”, reusable so less goes in the landfill and they are pretty! (Snag a bunch after Christmas when they are cheap! or head to the $1 store for the ones you need now)
- If you can afford it, pay someone to clean your house a day or two before guests arrive. You have enough to worry about. Check Groupon and other sites like that. There are usually deals to be had. $50-$100 to clean your house will free your body and mind to concentrate on other things.
- Winter = sniffles, colds and the flu. Keep tissues, fever medicine, cough medicine, and nighttime meds on hand. You will most likely need them.
- Lastly… it all really doesn’t matter that much anyway. Try to relax, visit with your guests and ignore the cobweb in the corner you forgot. It all passes so quickly… try to enjoy it.
The makers of Children’s MOTRIN® are inspired by all the things Moms do, from quick family meals to keeping the kids entertained on rainy days. Moms may not always realize it, but they are amazing in so many ways. Moms are on call day and night and have so much unique knowledge that can really help other moms. That’s why the makers of Children’s MOTRIN® are asking moms to share this knowledge in the form of tips and tricks that help keep them going. These can be their own tips or those from moms they know, and can be about everything from how they create quick meals for their family to how they keep the kids entertained on a long drive.
WIN IT:
The makers of Children’s MOTRIN® are asking Moms to post their tips and tricks to the MOTRIN® Facebook page under each week’s Kelly Ripa question video and for every post, Children’s MOTRIN® will donate $1 to Safe Kids Worldwide, a global nonprofit that provides moms with the tips they need to help keep their children safe. Moms could even win weekly giveaways of $100 gift cards just for posting.*
*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY, OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES & D.C., 18 AND OLDER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Promotion ends 11:59p.m. ET 12/28/14.
Sponsor will donate $1 to Safe Kids for each approved Submission made as part of the promotion, with a minimum donation of $30,000 and a maximum donation of $50,000. For Official Rules, and complete details, visit www.unstoppablemoms.com. Sponsor: McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. To learn more about Safe Kids Worldwide visit safekids.org.
You can enter the sweepstakes with a weekly drawing for $100 gift cards by visiting https://www.facebook.com/MOTRIN
Freezing cookie dough changed my life. Seriously, the biggest time saver ever!
great suggestions.. don’t be afraid to freeze stuff… make a list and prioritize the items. Do not take on more than one item at a time.