Making a List & Checking it Twice - How to have a Sane Holiday Season

Like us we're guessing your pumpkins are still on your porch and there's still a little trick or treat candy left in the bowl. But it turns out Halloween was sooo last month and major retailers are already decorating for the holidays, Santas are taking their posts in malls and radio stations have started cranking out holiday music. Wait! It's still the first week of November!

But as we all know there's no way to stop this train. And while Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah are still a few weeks away there's usually a great deal of things we want to do (traditions and celebrations) and things we feel we must do (decorating and baking) to fully embrace this season. So how do we fit it all in? Like everything we need to think ahead, prioritize and practice our "No".

Make a List
List out by holiday or week or some other way that makes sense to you what you want and/or feel you need to do for each holiday. Examples are ordering holiday cards, buying stamps, buying outfits for the kids, addressing envelopes, baking cookies, shopping, attending school performances, holiday parties, buying office gifts, selecting hostess gifts, decorating the house, etc., etc.

Check it Twice
Now decide (with your family in mind) which are most important and must dos, and which are things you could step back from entirely or could do less of this year and still have the holiday season you envision. Then map it all out on the calendar and assigning which week, if not which day, you're going to do that activity. Start with parties and school performances where you have no flexibility in when you do them, and then fill in the other priority activities so you can start to see how it all might fit. This will help you start to see where things might get particularly hectic and give you the opportunity ahead of time to make a choice. Decide if you want to still do that To Do or if you can shift it to a different time or even delegate the responsibility to someone else in the family.

Practice your "No"
Looking ahead can help you gain some perspective and avoid some of the craziness that often inevitably invades the season. So don't be afraid to say "No" to some things so you can fully enjoy a few things. It's your holiday too! Tis the season!

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