11 Easy Tips for a Stress Free Christmas

When the holiday season approaches, we all tend to get a little stressed out about how to get everything done in time, without losing our sanity and our focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Here are 11 easy tips for keeping things in balance, and creating a more harmonious holiday season. Enjoy! (And really…isn’t that the point?)

1. Simplify then Schedule

Make a list of those activities or events that are most important to you, during the holiday season. If you have more than 5, move the lower-priority items into November and/or January, or (perhaps even better) consider removing them altogether from your Christmas To-Do List. The idea is to simplify and prioritize first, then schedule. Deciding ahead of time which things you value the most, and scheduling those things first, is the goal. When those things are already in place, other requests can be inserted around them (time-permitting), or not. This philosophy has always worked well for me.

2. Schedule Protected Down Time

During this busy season, it is critical to set aside (that is, schedule and protect) some down time each week to relax and unwind. I would suggest that you include this item in your Top 5 (see Simplify then Schedule). This sounds like a simple thing to do but it is often very hard to execute. Scheduling down time means nothing, if you don’t protect that down time. Be prepared to politely say ‘no’ to last-minute invitations, if they infringe upon your scheduled protected down time. Your holiday sanity is worth it.

3. Decorate Early

If decorations are important to you (and no judgement if they aren’t), consider putting them up in early November. If you delay the decoration process too long, you won’t have the opportunity to really enjoy them, and the task will just become another stressor in December. Plus, the weather tends to be a little nicer in November for any outdoor decorating that you might want to do.

4. Give Gifts of Time

There seems to be so much stress and pressure associated with choosing the perfect gift, made even trickier when color, sizing, and personal style is involved. Consider an outing, movie, dinner, play, or other activity as your gift. And, by the way, it doesn’t have to happen in the month of December. Getting together within the first few months of the New Year may be even more enjoyable and may help to eliminate some of the post-holiday winter blahs.

As I get older, I realize that while gifts can be lovely, spending time with loved ones is precious and fleeting. Kids get older. Parents age. Friends come and go. Spend quality time with those you love, for as long as you can. You will never regret it.

5. Give Themed Gifts

Although challenging to implement with younger children who may have very specific wish lists, I’ve found that having a gift ‘theme’ is a great way to simplify the shopping process. Some of my favorite themed ideas are pajamas, robes, slippers, or gloves & scarf. Think cozy (warmth=love). Beauty products for ladies, and personal hygiene products for men, are popular gift themes I’ve used over the years, as they are non-size-specific. Gift certificates are also a good choice, easy to buy in multiples, and a snap to include within a card or gift bag.

The point is, if you decide on a common theme, shopping is faster and easier, and also tends to be more budget-friendly. And if you’re lucky, you might even get one of those treasured holiday pics with everyone in their matching jammies.

6. Shop Weekdays, not Weekends

Having worked in the retail industry, I can state the following with absolute conviction: Avoid going to the mall on weekends! Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are perhaps the least busy shopping days, in terms of customer traffic. If you absolutely must do your shopping on a Saturday or Sunday, I highly recommend hiring a babysitter (if your children are young), taking full advantage of early store hours, and leaving the mall before noon. Taking advantage of online shopping is another way to avoid the crowds, although one must carefully consider potential shipping delays and tricky return policies.

7. Wrap with Discipline

For those gifts that are purchased, consider wrapping them immediately. In fact, many shopping malls have charitable gift-wrapping stations, with proceeds going directly to local charities. The task is done even before you get back into your car. The only thing you need to consistently remember is the discrete labelling of packages, with recipient name and contents, once wrapped.

It takes a little organization but prevents the dreaded exercise of wrapping until all hours on Christmas Eve. Let’s face it. We’ve all been there.

8. Host a Holiday Open House

If entertaining is important to you, consider a Holiday Open House during the afternoon, within an established timeframe. Family and friends can come and go casually at their convenience. You only need to prepare your house once, you don’t need to serve a formal meal, and given the time of day, you generally won’t need to worry about guests overindulging in alcoholic beverages. But if you happen to have a glass or two of wine yourself, you are conveniently already at home and won’t need to drive anywhere. It’s all good.

A Holiday Open House gives you the opportunity to see family and friends and extend good tidings and cheer, without a major time or financial investment.

9. Create a Hostess Gift Cabinet

There will always be those last-minute invites (which hopefully don’t infringe upon your protected down time) that may require a hostess gift. Throughout the year, I purchase several reasonably-priced items that function well as hostess gifts, or in a pinch, birthday presents. The point is, I regularly have a collection of 6-9 items that I store in my ‘hostess gift cabinet’ that I can quickly access and throw into a gift bag when the need arises. Some good options are: white wine, red wine, chocolates, gourmet treats, flavoured coffees and teas, scented liquid soaps and lotions, candles, stationary, frames. I think you get the picture. (Yes, that pun was intended.)

10. Skip the Holiday Cards (well, sort of)

If sending personalized cards is important to you, consider sending Happy New Year Cards. Because I have two daughters with December birthdays, the holiday season is even busier for our family. Their birthday celebrations are high on my list of prioritized activities. Sending cards, while still important, is further down that list.

I’ve found that once the dust settles in January, it is therapeutic to reflect on accomplishments and memories from the past year. I also enjoy a more relaxed opportunity to peruse holiday (and other) photos and incorporate them within my card designs. I often hear from family and friends that they look forward to receiving my HNY Cards, during a slower time of the year; and the cards themselves don’t get ‘lost in the shuffle’ during the busy holiday season. Win. Win.

11. Minimize Financial Stress

Without going into a litany of reasons why one should budget and stay within that budget for Christmas expenses, I will offer one simple suggestion: Consider establishing a separate bank account in January, to save for Christmas activities and purchases at the end of the calendar year. If you put aside a small amount each month ($100-$200), through automatic transfers, you will hardly notice the reduction in income and will be pleasantly surprised by a healthy account balance from which to draw during the busy holiday months. Fewer holiday bills = less stress!

In Closing…

If you have any other time-saving, stress-reducing ideas for Christmas, I would certainly love to hear about them. Connect with me and let me know!

sincerelykayparent