Dylan and I were picking up a few things at Dollar General, when this cute little lady came up to me, and said hi. She asked how old the baby was, and commented on all of the Christmas decorations already in the store. She then said, “I love to see all of the Christmas decorations, but that time of year always makes me so sad.”  I had to admit it, and I told her “me too…”

I love Halloween, and all of the fun that Thanksgiving brings, but the very next day my happy mood turns to sour stresses. It has been this way ever since I can remember, I just don’t do well with the stress of the holiday season. I love the meaning of Christmas and spending time with my loved ones, but I don’t love the endless shopping, the blatant commercialism, and the never ending stress of gotta have more. I constantly question every purchase that I have made, and stress over every little mundane detail of the big day, and I just wonder how can I get through the holidays without suffering from an ulcer…

I am determined to change, and do my best to get through the holiday season with my sanity intact. This year I’m doing things differently, and we’ll see if it helps any.

• I love to bake, and baking homemade goodies really makes me happy. I’ll be baking more cookies, and giving them as gifts.  The kids and I will also be taking cookies to our Church, hospital, and to many of our friends and family.
• I will keep the Christmas decorating simple. I will be putting up less and therefore there will be less to take down when the holidays are over.
• I will be making my own Christmas cards. I love to make paper crafts along with jewelry, and spending a little more time creating these crafts might take away a little stress.
• I will be skipping the “Package Christmas Pictures”! The kids hate to go, and it is never an enjoyable experience for any of us, not to mention those pictures cost way too much! I’ll be taking pictures when the kiddos are in happy moods, and printing them locally. Eliminating the “Package Christmas Pictures” will also save a lot of  time and gas. Before I would have to drive 30 minutes with the kiddos to take the pictures, and then drive 30 minutes home, then it is another 30 minute trip (usually in bad weather) with the kiddos to pick the pictures up, and pay way too much, and then 30 minutes home. Yeah, I’m so done with that.
• I’m also skipping the big holiday meal. This one might scare the family. I’m going to cook a smaller meal, and take a little time out of the kitchen, so I can spend a little more time being the full-time hostess.
• Last year we instituted that the Christmas festivities would be starting in the afternoon. This really helped a lot. We could spend plenty of time with the kids on Christmas day, and the kids were a little calmer too. I know this was tough on the Grandmas, but it was really great for our family. We spent the morning together hanging out stress free in our jammies!

Do you have any tips or traditions that keep you calm during the holidays?