Have a Stress Free Holiday Season with these Tips

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to infuse every moment of the holiday season with memory-making magic for your preschool aged child. However, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the to-do lists, the rushing, and trying to be Pinterest-perfect. That stress can quickly take all the fun and magic out of the holiday season, for both you and your family.

Get ahead of the holiday season stress with these tips to create a stress-free holiday with your preschooler so everyone can enjoy the moments and create long lasting joy-filled memories.

Trim Back on Tasks

In order to make room for all the holiday festivities you want to do, it’s okay to trim back on other tasks.

• Order groceries online (while you’re sitting in a waiting room or the pickup line at your Raleigh preschool!) and schedule delivery or pickup
• Hire a cleaning service to help around the house – consider it an early Christmas gift to yourself!
• Batch cook meals by doubling or tripling a recipe, then putting them in aluminum pans and freezing them. Then on a night you know you’ll be busy, just take a meal out and pop it in the oven. Or just order a pizza!

Ditch Perfection

There is so much pressure to create a perfect holiday – whether it’s lovely pictures with Santa, beautifully decorated cookies, or making sure your tree looks “just so.” Sometimes our need for perfect stands in the way of what’s good. We stress so much that it takes the joy out of the moment. Instead of worrying about beautifully posed pictures, snap some candid shots while your kids decorate the tree. Swap out made-from-scratch gingerbread for slice-and-bake, and let the kids have fun icing and decorating – They may not be pretty, but the memories will be beautiful!

Simplify Activities

There are so many amazing activities that you can do with your child and the whole family during the holidays. Whether you are staying at home or venturing out there an endless amount of things you can do. However, activities that sound fun in theory may be more be overwhelming or frustrating to a tired, cold, crabby child while other activities are more stressful than fun.

If the activity doesn’t feel meaningful to your family, don’t feel obligated to do it. Feel free to say no to invitations to events if you don’t think it will work for your family or will add to your stress. The holidays are about spending quality time with your loved ones, and that may mean relaxing at home watching a movie instead of keeping the kids out late in the cold for a tree-lighting event.

Start Your Own Traditions

Having a preschool aged child gives you an amazing opportunity to choose what traditions you want to carry on with your family. You can also use this as an opportunity to make new ones! Hold on to what you love and let go of what you don’t and replace it with traditions that really matter.

When you let go of the stress surrounding the holidays, you are able to truly enjoy the moment. Instead of thinking about what you have to do next or how you’re going to make time for a task, you can be fully present with your family, and that’s the key to a happy holiday season!

Don’t Ignore Self Care

When you add holiday tasks like baking cookies and wrapping gifts to an already lengthy to-do list of errands, child care, and household chores, it’s easy to ignore your own needs. Staying up too late to finish up chores or skipping nourishing meals and grazing on cookies will leave you exhausted, burned out, and at a higher risk of getting sick, which is the LAST thing you need!

Set boundaries with yourself and others to make sure you’re getting enough sleep, take time to eat decent meals, and give yourself a time-out when you need it. You’ll be more focused and happier, which leads to a happier holiday for everyone!