Yes, Christmas can be a joyous time. But it’s also stressful and can cause anxiety for many people. Not everyone is excited about the added stresses that the holidays can bring. Extra spending and crazy family dynamics can be overwhelming.
The key to having a stress-free Christmas is all about preparing and setting boundaries. Stick to a plan that allows for the fun parts of the season without being too overwhelming is the best way to ensure that everyone has the best Christmas possible. (Even if everything isn’t perfect.)
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Prepare for the Christmas Season Stress
The single best thing you can do to prepare for Christmas stress is to acknowledge that it’s just a part of the reason for the season. It’s directly tied to the expectations placed on your family that are more than the usual expectations of every day life.
Just because the holidays are here, doesn’t mean there is an obligation to overextend yourself.
It’s a good idea to plan ahead. Prepare to deal with an overwhelming Christmas season by taking care of some regular life stuff first.
If you have unresolved chores, bills, family relationships that are strained or projects that are unfinished, do everything you can to get them managed before the holiday season sets in.
Clean your house or hire a service come in and get things on track. Clear out your clutter and donate to your local thrift store. Get rid of old toys that are just sitting at the bottom of the toy box to make room for new ones. Clean your garage, your gutters and your closets.
Refill your prescriptions. Pre-write your holiday newsletter (if you bother to do one at all.) Clear out space for the Christmas decorations to come out of the closet and make space for what you need.
Start picking up baking items or other staples that you know you are going to need when you bake Christmas cookies and other food.
Touch base with friends and family now and plan out your calendar of when you’ll see them or if you can’t make it.
Set Boundaries to Reduce Christmas Stress
Setting boundaries during the holidays allows you to keep yourself from being overwhelmed.
Prepare a budget and stick to it. You don’t want to create more financial stress than you can handle after the Christmas season is over.
Decide who you’re going to visit for the holidays and figure out which activities you’re going to do and which ones you’re going to skip.
As early as you can, talk about the expectations, finances, and opportunities available with your spouse or significant other. Then make clear decisions. Once the decisions are made, stick to the plan.
Slow Down This Year
To deal with overwhelming Christmas stress, you’ve got to slow down.
It’s hard to enjoy everything and be merry when your calendar is so full that you’re basically rushing from one event to the next.
Instead of aiming to fit it all in, do it all, and go all out on everything from decorating the house and yard to hosting various Christmas parties, slow down.
Take a breath and look around you. Enjoy this time with your family. Snuggle up on the couch and watch a favorite Christmas movie. Make some macaroni or paper ornaments with your kids. Take a nap or enjoy a cup of peppermint mocha.
Slow down and soak it all in. If you take the time to make meaningful memories rather than ALL THE MEMORIES, you have something that will last a lifetime.
Simplify Everything by Scaling Back
The biggest problem with doing too much and having too much is that it all loses meaning. “Go big or go home” doesn’t really work well for Christmas if you hate being overwhelmed, stressed out, and anxious.
A few well-chosen gifts are much more memorable than a big pile of 20 to 30 things. That pile only looks impressive at first glance. Instead of buying more and more gifts, set a limit and spent both time and money on quality instead of quantity.
Don’t worry about stuffing a stocking with tiny gifts. Just put candy in it.
Shop online and have Amazon bring the gifts to your door so you don’t have to deal with crowds.
Instead of going all out with the decorations, do a few things well and pick things that have meaning to you and your family.
Don’t decorate inside your house if you want to do a big outside display. Or vice versa. I don’t decorate inside at all for holidays because I don’t want to deal with the stress of picking it all up.
Simplify your outside Christmas display by just buying a light projector. Don’t worry about stringing lights. These just stick in your yard and project onto your house.
Instead of hosting huge Christmas dinners, fix something nice for the people that mean the most to you. Or take the family out to a buffet or nice restaurant where you don’t have to cook or clean.
Take Time for Yourself
Make sure that self-care is a part of your whole family’s life. Everyone needs to get sleep, exercise and down time. The Christmas season is all about hustle but you need energy to be able to hustle.
We try to only plan one activity per day since our daughter is only three. That’s about all we can handle.
If you have multiple Christmas parties, try to schedule them for different days. That way you aren’t going from one party to the next, and you have downtime to recharge. As an introvert, I need downtime to recharge, and my 3-year-old still needs a nap.
Try to schedule at least a few hours a day where you don’t have to do anything. No Christmas prep, no laundry, nothing. Let yourself have some time to relax.
If you just need to rest, but the dishes are piled up in the sink, let them sit. You need time to yourself. They can wait.
Just Say No
Do not feel obligated to say yes to every invitation. You don’t need to go to every party, give all the gifts, or be involved in every activity. It’s perfectly acceptable to say no thanks to the things that cause more stress than joy.
It can be hard to say no. But if you don’t want to get overwhelmed, there are things you’re going to have to say no to.
You won’t have time to bake a pie for Grandma’s Christmas because you’ll be taking the kids to a holiday play. So just buy a pie at the store instead.
Play date invitation on the day you plan to decorate for Christmas? It’s okay to say no.
No one can possibly do all the things during the Christmas season. You’ll have to say no to some invitations and obligations. Otherwise it’s all too overwhelming.
Focus On The Important Stuff
What do you want to remember about this Christmas season? Who are the people you want to spend it with? What holiday events and gatherings are most important to you and your family? Focus on the truly important stuff and enjoy this holiday season.
How do you deal with Overwhelming Christmas Stress?
Let me know in the comments below!
Kira | A Better Life Lived says
I used to be the “go big” kind of person as I love planning, organizing and decorating, but as life got busier it just started to become more stressful than enjoyable. So we scaled back in every way; less gifts, less shopping, less decorating, less over extending in general. It helps immensely, even though I do get that urge to do more and disappointment of not doing it sometimes, I have to remind myself my life just doesn’t have that kind of time anymore. Maybe someday I’ll be able to go big again but for now, small is best!
Niki at Toot's Mom is Tired says
Yes! It can be disappointing to not do it all. But less stress is much better.