What’s on YOUR Holiday Calendar?

10 November 2008 No Comment

A little planning and preparation can go a long when it comes to simplifying and de-stressing your holidays. It may take some up front time now, but in the end planning will save you enormous amounts of stress and countless wasted hours rushing around last minute.

To make the holiday celebration fun and meaningful, be sure to focus on the activities and events that are truly important to your family, and avoid getting bogged down with too many obligatory to-dos. One way to help accomplish this is by using a family holiday calendar.

First, create a blank calendar in your Word program, or even by drawing your own grid in a notebook. Start the calendar today (to get a jump start on those mandatory tasks) and have it extend until at least January 14 (to include any late activities and, of course, all your clean-up).

Next, using a pencil only, fill in all the required holiday events that you having coming up over the next two months: school and church programs, parties at work, etc.

Now, fill in all the activities you consider to be a high priority, and schedule a specific date to accomplish them. For example, if cutting down a fresh evergreen is a beloved family tradition, pencil in a day now to head out to the woods and pick your perfect tree. If baking homemade cookies is something you would never consider giving up, schedule it now so that something less important doesn't push your baking aside.

Next, have a meeting with your family to see what holiday activities they deem important, and which ones they are fine with giving up completely. (Maybe sitting on Santa's lap in the mall for that annual picture is not all that important to your 12-year-old anymore!) Go ahead and erase any activities that you do year after year out of guilt, habit, or obligation. If they don't add value and meaning to your holiday season, why bother?

Finally, don't forget to schedule all the additional household chores that come along with the holidays: extra cleaning, cooking, shopping and decorating. Again, only do those that are necessary, don't bother trying to create the "perfect" holiday experience, and whatever you do, don't over-book yourself activities or chores!

If you have room in your calendar for more, by all means include some additional tasks and outings. But, if just looking at this full calendar is making a sense of overwhelming chaos creep up on you, start erasing NOW before it's too late to back out.

So, I want to know: What is one activity you are definitely including on your holiday calendar, and what is one thing you are eliminating all together?

I'll start things off. For me, our annual evening car ride to check out all the local lighting displays is a high priority (the girls wear snuggle pj's, take along mugs of hot cocoa, and we blast Christmas music all through the town. Even our lab Gordie comes along for the ride.) What willl we give up? Last minute trips to the mall (all my gifts are bought or in transit from online shopping) and standing in long lines waiting for Santa pics (my girls have made it clear they are done with that!)

Now it's your turn . . .

Simply yours,