Guest Blog Motherhood

Finding Joy in The Holidays

The following is a guest post from Jacki of Crazy Life With Littles, enjoy!

The holidays can be a time of high stress and exhaustion. Are you already feeling like you want to take cover and wait for the storm to blow over? If so, then it’s time to take back the holidays and find joy in the season again.

This should be one of the highlights of motherhood; watching the joy on our kids’ faces as they see Christmas lights for the first time, or sit on Santa’s lap running down the long list of wish list items they made up.

There are a few simple changes I’m making this year to eliminate stress, financial burden, and anxiety.

 1. Simplify Décor

Nothing would give me more joy than having a home fit to be on the cover of a holiday magazine. But guess what that entails? Time, more money spent on holiday décor, and lots of cleaning. Just say no. Pick out a few of your favorite holiday pieces and put them on display. You’ll be grateful when you’re in the midst of the post-holiday hangover.

 2. Learn to Say “No”

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by holiday parties, gift exchanges with friends, family, coworkers or your kid’s school obligations, learn to say no! It’s OK to not attend every party you’re invited to or participate in every holiday exchange. The holidays were meant to be enjoyed.

 3. Simplify Traditions

Revert back to the simple holiday traditions that you remember as a child. What were the ones that gave you the most joy? Forget being a Pinterest-Mom and over-doing ev-er-y-thing. Some of our favorite traditions include sitting down as a family with hot chocolate while watching a holiday movie on TV.

 4. Relax

Let me paint you picture. You’ve just spent hours in a store shopping for holiday gifts with your kids. The lines are longer than normal and your toddler may or may not have chosen the checkout line to have an epic meltdown. Take a deep breath. Relax. My kids hear things like Don’t touch that! You don’t have any money to pay for it when you break it. or Look with your eyes, not your hands! as we go through a store. Once we leave that store though I like to take a moment to breathe and rejoice that nothing was destroyed at the hands of my toddlers. We’ll also stop for photo opps and have quick races down the sidewalk to burn off any excess energy before piling back into the car.

Want to avoid the in-store holiday horror scene altogether? Click on the Shop tab and find something for everyone on your holiday list!

Happy Holidays!

Jacki is a full-time working mom of two little ones currently residing in Florida and basking in the warmer weather while drowning in way too much coffee. You can find her sharing anecdotes on Instagram and her blog, Crazy Life with Littles, in her “spare” time.

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6 Comments

  • Reply
    Jacki
    November 30, 2017 at 4:21 pm

    Thank you!!! ❤️❤️ You’re the best!

  • Reply
    Maggie
    December 1, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    I completely agree. I think we all get inundated with trying to “win the holidays.” I feel like I’ve won when I have a few nights to enjoy a glass of wine and hallmark movies.

  • Reply
    Maggie
    December 1, 2017 at 3:50 pm

    I completely agree. I think we all get inundated with trying to “win the holidays.” I feel like I’ve won when I have a few nights to enjoy a glass of wine and hallmark movies. Thank you!

  • Reply
    Britney Kaufman
    December 2, 2017 at 1:54 am

    Such cute shirts!!! Definitely agree with simplify the traditions!

  • Reply
    Sarah | Dressed to Impreston
    December 2, 2017 at 12:33 pm

    This is great advice. I, too am a practicer of simplified Holidays. I put up a tree and a few decorations. We go to a couple of parties and we don’t overdo it on the gift giving. I get really overwhelmed really easily and I really have to practice a lot of self-management during the Holiday season so as not to let things get out of control. It has done wonders for my mental state!

  • Reply
    Alyssa Funk
    December 3, 2017 at 7:55 pm

    Yes yes yes to all of these! Love this post!

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