It's not even December and the hum of Christmas-related activity is almost deafening. As if the combination of Christmas shopping, cookie baking, party planning, picture taking, house cleaning, Santa seeking and card sending isn't enough the send you into a frenzy, the holidays always bring forth an array of emotions, both positive and negative, that can send even the sanest among us right over the proverbial edge.
So what can we do to keep it all together while still making the season special for our little ones, and a little special for ourselves as well?
A short little story to illustrate a point: I used to be a teacher. The day before Christmas break was guaranteed to be the most frenectic day of the year. (We used to joke - how could it be both the shortest day of the year and the longest day of the year?) Anyway, one year we had a snow day on that day, the day before break. Parties were cancelled, gifts were left unopened, cookies uneaten and cards unsent. When we came back to school in January, it was business as usual. The box of undelivered cards and gifts on my desk reminded me of how crazy things had been before break. Everything that seemed so important at the time - getting just the right gift, writing just the right thing in the cards, what to wear, what to bake and which of the various parties to attend after school on that last day - seemed both far away and trivial.
From this experience comes my sanity-saver. When things get a little too crazy around here, I remind myself that Christmas is one day. Though it is special and magical, especially as seen through the eyes of a child, it is still only one day out of a 365 special and magical days. In January, it's still business as usual. This little thought helps not overspend and stress out too much.
So, here's the question: What do you do or think about to keep all the holiday craziness in perspective?
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2 comments:
Well, last year was beyond insanity for us. Between family parties, family visits, friends visiting, etc., it was about 8 or 9 days straight of company, activities, etc. It was far too much for me, for my kids, for my sanity!! I remember commenting that I was learning to hate Christmas. I have always loved Christmas, so this realization was very sad for me. I decided about a month ago ,as the emails rolled in about when so and so would be in town, etc., that we would be more in control of our holidays. We are hosting the family Christmas party for my husband's side of the family, we will also have my mom visiting for a day, and beyond that, we are entertaining no one. We will visit other family members at their homes if they want to see us, so we can limit our visiting time as well as the amount of time we spend cleaning, cooking, etc. I want to enjoy Christmas with my children as much as possible.
I totally agree with Katie -the fewer presents I have to buy the saner I am both because of the time element and the money I don't spend on stuff people don't need. My husband is 1 of 8 children so we obviously pick names but the adults all pick an adult and the kids all pick a kid. None of the adults buy for any of the kids (except their own, of course) and my two kids each buy for one of their cousins. Buying four gifts for a family of 32 isn't bad at all.
The internet has been great too. My goal is to do all my shopping in local stores or online and not once set foot in a mall. We'll see how I do.
The last thing I've done the last few years that has worked for me is to wrap presents as soon as I get them. I leave a roll of wrapping paper and tape handy so when the cute UPS guy comes, I am ready to wrap and label the same day. I know it sounds a little uptight but for me it is less stressful than seeing the unwrapped gift pile get bigger and bigger.
Happy Holidays everyone!
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