We all know what it’s like. Even before December begins the pressure starts to mount up to pack in every experience, new tradition, hand crafted cards, perfectly constructed gingerbread houses, home cooked food and picture perfect moments with family for the memory books. So what do we do to stay strong and keep going through the busyness of the Christmas season?
Well, if anyone knows how stressful Christmas can be it’s Santa, surely?!
You absolutely HAVE to watch this (genuinely hilarious) Actimel video of Santa at bootcamp preparing for the rigours of Christmas so he can stay strong through it all! It cracked me and the kids up so much that we had to watch it on repeat 🙂
As busy parents there is an endless list of chores to get all done and dusted for the big day itself, including (but not anywhere limited to) choosing and wrapping presents, food shopping, decorating the house, attending kids plays and carol concerts, baking endlessly, cleaning and tidying for guests, entertaining family and on and on!
With all the build up and excessive sugar consumption the kids often ramp up the crazy and put on a wonderful show of Oscar worthy mood swings, testing the already delicate nerves of everyone nearby. Relationships are tricky to balance and some families have their worst disagreements on the days that are supposed to be focused on togetherness and peace.
So what can we do to slow down the crazy and stay strong, retain our sanity and actually reclaim the loveliness of Christmas so that we can enjoy it properly? In the mad blur of preparations it can be so easy to miss the moments altogether, but this has got to change as it’s not what it’s all about!
I am no expert, but in my slightly chaotic life with 4 young kids and running my own business from home these are my 10 favourite tips for restoring some calm and staying strong through it all!
They’re all ever-so-slightly random, which I think fits nicely with the stress we are trying to conquer!
- Just let the kids decorate the tree. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, and yes an eclectic look truly IS the most lovely and authentic. Catalogue worthy Christmas trees are boring anyway plus, you can always rearrange ornaments when they’re asleep, avoiding stressful meltdown moments at the time! Win win.
- Simply say NO to the never-ending list of new ideas for family Christmas traditions and must-visit places. You do not need to do what everyone else is doing and it’s so much more enjoyable to choose just one or two special places to visit or things to adopt to become your own family favourites. For example, a christmas eve tradition of a Christmas movie and popcorn paired with a visit to see some lights or for a christmas show is plenty. No you don’t have to re-mortgage your house to buy tickets to a winter wonderland extravaganza where everyone just cries because they’re cold anyway. Focus on one and it will be more fun!
- Unless you desperately want to, forget sending individual christmas cards to distant relatives and the nice couple you met on that holiday that one time. Simply upload a picture to social media or send one to group email and encourage them to do the same back. It is enough and we all understand that we are surviving through this!
- Buy ready made and feel absolutely no guilt about it. My big brother is really good at reminding me of this! A ready made gingerbread house kit is so much easier than making it from scratch. Do the kids care where it came from? Nope. Do they just want to smother it in loads of icing and sweeties then lick it all off? Absolutely. You can get such good food these days and it leaves you with more time to actually spend having fun with the kids instead of slaving away in the kitchen missing it all. This goes for entrees, desserts, cookies, fudge and anything else that was on the end of the massive to-make list! Unless you really do get pleasure from cooking it, just buy it.
- Order your grocery shopping online, way ahead of time. Most places let you pre-book your delivery slot over a month in advance now and you can get the christmas food shop completely sorted without going anywhere near the crush at the shops!
- Actually, just do ALL your shopping online. This year I have just about managed to get all the kids presents online by shopping here and there from my phone. I haven’t been to the shopping centre once yet which is a marvel.
- Plan in the visits to all the family and friends but make sure to space it out a little and leave at least one or two days completely for you and the immediate family. For us this is Boxing day and it is wonderful. We stay in our pyjamas, don’t go anywhere and the kids finally get to play with their new toys and games. Best day ever!
- When wrapping for multiple kids, use a different print wrapping paper for each one, that way they know whose is whose without needing to write a million labels. Simple!
- Take a little time for yourself and go into a space where no-one else is to have a drink or sneak one of the kids’ chocolates from their enormous stash. It’s likely the kids will hunt you down in 5 minutes flat, but those 5 minutes might be all you need for a quick re-charge!
- Take a deep breath, remember the reason for the season, adjust your expectations for perfection and recognise that not everyone will be happy all of the time and that’s ok. And throw in a great big dose of good humour as that really is the best way to get through the stressful times!
Stay strong Mamas, you GOT THIS! Now go and scoff a mince pie while doing your online shopping in your PJs on the sofa
Ok, now this part is over to YOU. I implore you, please share with me YOUR top tips and simple ideas for cutting down on the crazy and surviving the Christmas period with enjoyment and fun!
Can’t wait to hear from you in the comments below. Thanks!
This post is sponsored by Actimel
Disclaimer; Actimel contains Vitamin B6 that contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. It also contains Vitamins B6 & D that contribute to the normal function of the im
Rachel Douglas says
Great tips! Thank you, Anna! We let the kids decorate our tree… I made some slight changes whilst they were in bed, but got called out the next day for moving a certain bauble that needed to be in a certain place!
Wishing you and your lovely family a wonderful Christmas!
WildCityMum says
We have started adding new family traditions that make life easier and more fun for everyone. For example we always have sausages and chips for dinner the day we decorate the Christmas tree (to save me trying to take photos, cook and decorate a tree which went very wrong several years in a row and just left me a stressy grumpy mess).
We also now only have Christmas day at home alone after church. Even though we have oodles of family wanting to see us. Our son is autistic and we quickly realised none of us were having any fun on Christmas day, it was just too much. Family have taken time to adjust to the idea but it has been a great decision. We spend a day with each family but without the big meal and pressures of other people’s traditions.
Santa only wraps any gifts in newspaper in our house. We’ve explained that he’s very environmentally concious. Saves money, hours of snipping and means all those charity shop books are wrapped one evening in advance.
Finally we now do a big charity shop scout together to see what we can get as presents first before we spend a fortune on Amazon. It’s quite fun for the kids, we’ve been really fortunate on a few occasions and it saves bucket loads. Christmas is never worth getting in debt over!
Susanna says
This year I am trying to get my wrapping done early… Nothing kills the Christmas day feeling than a stupudly late night the day before. I love making my cake and pudding etc but I have lowered my standards when it comes to dcoration. Also considering having our main meal on the 24th to leave more time on 25th…. Although we have now been invited for lunch on the 24th and 26th so we can take it easy on 25th. Defo something I will consider in future though when I am catering. And simply realise that the children will have fun regardless. Being very pregnant this year we are not doing any special trips…..but a christmas tea with friends on the 23rd, christmas eve box on 24th, and then knowing rough plans for the next few days ( nanny and grandad and cousins visiting) is more than enough to have my boys looking forward to it all x Happy Christmas everyone. Remember it is a season, not a race to fit it all into 2 days.
Clare's Little Tots says
Such great ideas. I always let mine loose on the tree and don’t even bother to rearrange it. I’ve also said no to a LOT of christmas activities especially outings and it feels good to take a step back 🙂
Carla says
I love #1 so much…I do this, but I second guess myself every. single. time. It’s their Christmas too! <3
Jackie Currie says
Great tips, Anna! We are taking a tropical vacation this year for Christmas, and I have to say, it’s a lot less work preparing for that than a regular Christmas at home. I will definitely be using some of your tips next December when it’s crazy-ville around here again!
Emma V says
I’ve been wrestling with the ready made gingerbread house kit idea myself. I feel like I should make it, but actually the kids get the most fun from putting it together, so I think I’ll have to go with the easier option this year.