Planning for the Holidays

Everyone says, “Remember the reason for the season,” but truthfully, that can be hard to live out if it’s not already engrained as part of your daily habit. But no better time to start then now right? ;)

For me, I first start with prayer. I pray going into the season that God stays closer than ever and helps me to not get overwhelmed, but to enjoy it. To see the opportunities to give, take the opportunities to have fun and refresh, and I ask for his favor for the finances for work and health for the team as we trust and rely on Him rather than trying to do it all on our own.

Then I plan for the season the best that I can since I once heard, “Failing to plan, is planning to fail!

If the holidays stress you out, maybe take some time before all the hustle and bustle to figure out what stressed you out, and see if you can plan differently this year.

You see, the holiday season is truly my favorite time of the year! So much so that I always overcommit this time of the year and get stressed because it becomes the busiest times of the year. Three times the demand in retail so overtime on work, so many get-togethers, cooking and baking to do, gifts to buy, deliveries to make, activities we want to participate in, places we want to go, things we want to see and do, no time off, and kids off from school, plus the cold weather brings about colds.

Knowing this year after year, my best plan is to really plan it out, stay focused on my priorities, and allow some margin so I can go with the flow.

Here’s what I planned for this year in hopes it may bring you some peace too:

I save $ every month and put away for the Christmas budget so I know what I can spend per person. I also bought Christmas gifts throughout the year and save it in my “gift drawer” so am ready with a few specific things for others. I also get the majority of everyone the same thing (eg: chocolates…for real this is what I do) and it takes off a lot of the stress!

We plan to do the stuff we can only do this time of the year (eg: Christmas trolly rides, parades, Christmas shows & driving around to look at lights) and save other fun outings for another time. We schedule in the rest and refreshment needed because I also don’t want to miss just sitting on the couch to watch Christmas movies I wait all year for. I’ve learned not to fill my calendar whenever there is a blank hour or two here or there even if it is with a fun activity because sometimes, I just need it to stay blank so I have the breathing room to decide how I feel that day.

Other great planning advice someone recently gave me is a reminder to stick with the foods my body is familiar with and knows it can handle, keep my exercising routine, and stock up on that vitamin C and D.

Plan out your work, fun, rest, the childcare and everything as best as possible. Lock it in. Then everything else is just “penciled in.” No commitment if it’s not an absolute “hell yes” so you have margin and wiggle room. I even let the kids take a break from their activities if possible this time of the year so they have more wiggle room too.

Do what YOU need and want to do.

Don’t worry about what someone else is doing. Comparison steals our joy. Do what works for you!

For years, I would watch as many of my friends go on vacation during their winter break and as someone in retail, I never could and it always made me sad. So, I’ve learned over the years to make sure that our family had fun and little vacation breaks at other times of the year. We always plan something just before the holidays and then something fun to look forward to just after the holidays! Even if it’s not a trip or long vacation, it’s time for fun together spread out throughout the year.

Make it as merry as you can this holiday season. Whatever merry feels like for YOU.

erin’s tip

Jesus is the reason or the season and that’s more than an expression. If we pray and stay in devotion daily, we will always be reminded that He is the reason we have the work, the activities, the kids, the choices to have so much on our plate. When we focus on Him, we may be reminded how blessed we are and how much we can give to others who don’t know Him this holiday season.

I love wife, mama, and entrepreneur Emily Ley’s approach to life to keep it simple. Check out her line of Simplified planners, books, and organizers that I myself enjoy using to plan. (Tip: Wait for Black Friday!)