If you’re feeling overwhelmed this holiday season, it might be time to start taking things off your list. Here’s 10 ideas I’m adding to my STOP-doing list!
The holiday season is in full swing, and chances are high that you’re starting to feel the pressure.
You’re not alone.
In fact, according to a recent study, nearly two-thirds of Americans feel more stressed than usual during the holiday season, and 49% of the moms who were surveyed confessed to trying too hard to achieve the “perfect” holiday.
And even if you don’t feel like you’re trying too hard, between the gatherings and the shopping, the cards and the decorating, the baking and the jam-packed calendar, it’s pretty easy to start feeling far more frazzled than festive.
Frankly, with all those overhyped expectations we put on ourselves, it’s no wonder we’re feeling overwhelmed!
So why don’t we stop?
A few years ago, I was invited to a dinner with a group of experienced business owners, all of whom were far more successful than me. I felt lucky just to have a seat at the table, if simply for the chance to learn.
It happened to be January, and so, to get the conversation going, the host asked everyone to go around the room and share their biggest lesson or their biggest win from the previous year.
I expected to hear tales of greatness, of all the amazing things I could only wish to accomplish.
But one by one, these successful entrepreneurs each talked about how proud they were of taking things off their plate, of taking more time for the things that mattered most, of doing less but achieving more. And by the time it came to be my turn, all I could think to say was “I learned that my STOP-doing list is far more important than my to-do list.”
It’s a lesson I’ve had to continue to remind myself of a lot over the years, especially during busy seasons and times of stress.
That’s why this year, I thought it might be a good idea to put together a new stop-doing list, specifically for the holidays. Because the truth is that there are a whole lot of things I don’t need to be doing in order to make this a Merry Christmas.
And I don’t know about you, but I think I’m ready to take some of the pressure off.
Care to join me?
Here’s the 10 holiday traditions I’m totally okay with letting go this year:
Whether or not to send out Christmas card is a battle that’s been raging in our house for many years now. I’m totally over it, my husband Chuck is not. So far, he’s always won, but only because he’s agreed to take full responsibility for the entire fiasco—from standing in line at the post office, to maintaining our address book, addressing and stamping what always ends up being more than 200 cards.
I think he’s crazy, but more power to him!
All that to say, if he decided he didn’t want to mess with cards this year, I would be totally okay with it, and you can be too.
I’m not sure what cruel sadist invented that wretched, creepy doll with its smug little face, but I’m quite certain it was someone who wanted to torture parents everywhere. It’s literally like someone said, “Hey, I have an idea—let’s find a way to make Christmas even more stressful by giving parents something to remember to do every single evening for an entire month, and if they screw up just once, they risk ruining their children’s childhoods forever.”
Can’t you just picture the evil laughter?
And don’t even get me started on the oh-so-clever idea of having “naughty” elves who create elaborate scenes of mischief every night.
Are you kidding me?
WHAT KIND OF MADNESS IS THIS?
Thankfully, a few fed-up parents have finally come up with equally creative ways of “retiring” their elves, such as sending this letter from Santa or these slightly less gentle tactics.
Yes, they’re pretty. Yes, they’re fun to look at…on other people’s houses. But oh, my goodness, the stress and the hassle of trying to make them work and figure out where they go is just one load of pressure I’m planning to take off my plate this year (and maybe for good)!
That’s not to say we won’t make any effort to decorate outside, though. This festive light projector looks pretty amazing, we’ll definitely have a wreath and a seasonal door mat, and I might even let the kids convince me to get one of those giant inflatable snow globes just for fun.
Between having to drive around the parking lot for 20 minutes until a spot opens up and fighting the crowds inside every store, then wandering around for hours lugging increasingly heavy bags trying to find the perfect gifts for everyone, only to realize that half the things you want aren’t available in the right size or color, and that you’re going to have to order it online anyways, I am complete and totally OVER IT.
And truly I have to wonder why any of us would choose to go through this madness when we can literally find everything (plus a whole lot more) online, usually with better prices? Of course, trying to find the perfect gift online can get a little overwhelming, but with resources like these 50 Perfect Gifts Under $50 to guide you, there’s really no reason not to try!
It happens almost every year. I start the season determined to keep my budget in check, but then, as life gets busy and more things come up and more people get added to my already overwhelming list, somewhere around the middle of December I realize that I’ve completely lost track and there are still 10 days until Christmas with many things left to buy.
That’s why this year it’s all about cash envelopes, baby. I’m using a Holiday Planning Spreadsheet to determine what we can spend, then actually putting the right amount of money in each envelope. (Anything spent online then gets taken out of the envelope!)
Perhaps not the most sophisticated system, but it definitely works!
This one might get more hate than my feelings about the Elf on the Shelf, but I’m sorry, I just can’t do it anymore.
Here’s the thing—we live in southwest Florida, where the weather will most likely be around 80 degrees on Christmas Day. Matching Christmas pajamas are a stupid idea that I’ve bought into for far too long.
Every time we put them on, we have to turn down the A/C a full 10 degrees just to make them tolerable (which is probably why the ones I bought last year still look brand new).
Maybe I should try matching Christmas swimsuits this year instead…
I never mean to go crazy, but inevitably (usually right at the last minute) I see just a few more things that I know would be perfect, or I start to worry that I haven’t done enough (which of course, I have!).
But not this year! This year we’re keeping gifts to a minimum, using the “Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read” idea.
I’m looking forward to the simplicity.
I made the mistake of introducing my very crafty,13-year-old daughter to all the wonders of Pinterest last year, and she’s never been the same since. And while Pinterest can be a lot of fun and the source of many wonderful ideas, it can also be a double-edged sword—the source of too many ideas and a whole lot of pressure.
And so, my goal is to avoid adding a whole bunch of new ideas this year; instead, I’m going with my tried-and-true recipes and projects and decorations. New isn’t always better.
Am I the only one who finds the process of filling stockings a little bit stressful? Maybe it’s that our stockings are just too big, but I used to spend more time shopping for the perfect stocking stuffers than I did for actual presents. And then, once I finally found enough items to fill each stocking, I’d have to wrap what was inevitably dozens of tiny gifts!
Then, a few years ago, we spent Christmas in a cabin at Mount Rainier with all my siblings and their kids. Because we had traveled by plane to get there, we couldn’t bring much along to fill our stockings, so I got creative and filled them with the (new) socks and underwear and mittens I had bought for the trip…and a $100 bill. My kids were THRILLED. And I realized I was making the whole process way too hard.
Now their stockings are always filled with practical items that I don’t wrap—socks, new underwear, a toothbrush, a book or two—and always a little cash stuffed down in the toe.
After 15 years of marriage, and many, many day-after Christmases spent scouring the sales for half-priced treasures, we have more decorations than I know what to do with. And when the boxes come out of storage, I usually feel the need to put them all out. After all, we only decorate for Christmas once a year, right?
But not this year.
Don’t get me wrong—I’ll still put up some decorations. We’ll still have a tree and plenty of festive touches around the house. Just not everything out of every box.
Sometimes less is more.
Feeling stressed, burnt out or overwhelmed? Maybe it’s time to step back and take a break!
But just in case you’re wondering here are my 5 favorite traditions that we’re totally keeping:
Every year, we bake and decorate cookies, then deliver them to the local fire station and police station on Christmas Eve to say thank you for working to keep us safe while the rest of us are home with our families. They’re always so gracious and almost always insist on showing us around the station and letting the girls get their picture taken on the truck.
It is by far our family’s favorite Christmas tradition and always leaves us all feeling so happy and grateful and filled with holiday spirit.
Each year I always buy several new games then wrap them all up as “family gifts.” On Christmas Eve—which for us always starts around noon—we have an epic game day, complete with scratch-off lottery ticket prizes for the winners. We only unwrap one game at a time, and the winner gets to pick the next game to unwrap. It’s always a lot of fun, especially for my ultra-competitive crew. There’s nothing we love more than a healthy competition!
Have you tried them yet? They’re sooooooo yummy! It just wouldn’t be Christmas without Dutch Babies!
There’s nothing that gets me more into the holiday spirit than cuddling on the couch with my girls watching all our favorite Christmas movies. Home Alone is definitely top of our list—we usually watch it at least a few times—but there are so many options to choose from that we almost never get to them all.
I can’t take any credit for this tradition—it was all my husband’s idea. Our first Christmas together, he thought it would be neat if we would always give each other special hand-blown glass ornaments to remember something significant that happened that year—a vacation, a hobby, a life event, etc. He thought it would be neat to do it for our kids as well, so that by the time they were 18, they would have a whole set of their own special ornaments to get them started.
Over the years, it’s been such a neat tradition. My kids get so excited to pull out the special ornaments every year to decorate the tree, and it usually feels like a walk down memory lane.
In the end, there’s nothing wrong with having holiday traditions. Ultimately, they’re what make the holidays special and memorable. The problem comes when we have so many traditions and expectations that instead of feeling special, they feel like a burden, like just one more thing that you have to get done.
When that happens, you know it’s probably time to cut back.
And so I ask you…what’s on YOUR stop-doing list this year?
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I agree with this list except shopping on-line. At least order on line and do store pick up. Shopping locally supports and employs local people and less package waste is good for environment.
Our list is very similar. We don't do outdoor lights, only do cards every 5 years or so. I can't remember the last time I was at the mall anytime, much less Christmas, [which is awesome!]. I quit doing stockings about 5 years ago and have never looked back. I grew up buying one new ornament a year - often from countries I was lucky enough to travel to, and my husband and I continued that until 2 years ago. Now I love a tree with tons of white lights and the gorgeous tree topper we bought together on our 5th anniversary [that is still as sparkly in the lights as the day we bought it], presents are kept to a minimum, and we do at least one family event every December with the kids, grandkid, and our parents [4 generations!]. It's so nice and relaxing so that even if we have a hectic year work-wise, the simplicity of Christmas is always calming and full of joy. We do Swedish pancakes every Christmas morning and it wouldn't be Christmas without them! Merry Christmas!
Wow you have given up almost the same things we have and also continued very similar ones. We are on the same page! The best parts of our Christmas are angel child shopping as a family (we each get an amount to spend at Walmart, split up, and reconvene with our chosen gifts - we pick a young boy with similar interests to the ones my own boys had at that age), family cookie baking and building a puzzle and or gingerbread house, and homemade Christmas morning cinnamon rolls. And I gave up cards, a Christmas photo, outside lights, matching outfits and other stressful unnecessary (to us) traditions years ago. I poll them each October to make sure we hit the right highlights. Me melting down does not a good Christmas make! Merry Christmas, Ruth and company!
Ruth, what I enjoyed so much when I first subscribed to LWSL, is to read your posts. You are so practical & sound like the girl next door. Your description about the Elf on the Shelf & the matching PJ's on this post still has me rolling on the floor laughing. Humor wins. Wishing you & your family a Merry Christmas & happy holidays !
Merry Christmas. What is a Dutch Baby?
Ohhh the Elf!! I only have two boys at home still. One is 12 and autistic, the other is the baby of the family at 11. Last year the then 10 year old was initiated as one of Santa’s Elves. He volunteered cheerfully to be in charge of moving the elf around every night. Yesterday he set up our tree (mostly) by himself, and hid the elf after we went to bed. The sheer excitement from our autistic son “finding” the elf was enough to keep him on our “list of keeps”. We don’t do much outdoor decorating, last year was the first year out of many, that we put up lights, and some inherited lit topiaries. Nothing special or over the top. Our indoor tree is simple. No ribbon or picks added in. Just a curation of gifted and collected single ornaments. Several handmade. The stockings are a mix of homemade, and storebought. I usually give each person a whole bag of their personal favorite candy, an M&M candy cane tube, new toothbrush, and whatever small things I come up with. I have a special gift box that has a hinged lid and is stenciled with Christmas wording that I put pjs for the boys (it gets cold here haha), a Christmas storybook (for our collection) and a family game or movie. That’s the gift they get to open Christmas Eve.
It's taken several years, as we figure out what works for our daughter, but my husband and I come from very different Christmas traditions and have spent a lot of time identifying what we want to do and not do. Our decorations consist of lights on the house and yard, and a decorated tree; we go for a hike part way through the day; we keep presents to a minimum. Our daughter didn't have much interest in Christmas for a long time, but in the past couple of years she's let us know what matters to her. Fortunately, shopping isn't one of those things!