Gina Rae Mitchell

12 Tips for a Calmer Holiday! Enjoy the Season

Everyone gets stressed as the holiday season gets close. Why not try to reduce that stress with my 12 tips for a calmer holiday?

My holiday season starts the weekend before Thanksgiving and careens crazily along until after the New Year. It steamrolls me every year, so I created a plan to help me enjoy it more and stress less.

Let’s get started with the tips to save your sanity and make this an enjoyable holiday season this year.

12 Tips for a Calmer Holiday

1. You can never start too early. Start making that list. If you are a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type of person, you especially need a list. (Where did that saying originate?) Without a schedule, you will forget something, which will cause you varying amounts of stress, guilt, and trouble. When you make your list, make it comprehensive. It is much better to decide you can drop something off than at the last minute to add all sorts of things that you can not possibly get done.

2. Label your list. Go through your list and decide what can be done ahead of time without repeating. Look at your cleaning chores, cooking preparations, gift buying, decorating,  etc., early and often. Prioritize the items on this list. Review and re-prioritize to help you stay on top of everything, keeping you calmer. Go through the list and number or mark it so you know what you should be doing and when.

Make use of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday

3. Shop early. Early shopping is not just for holiday gifts, which we will address soon. But for now, you need to have complete lists of cleaning supplies, paper goods, household items, etc. Check the towels & linens for wear. I don’t mind using everyday things for myself, but I like to have a good set of linens and bath items on hand for company.

Remember that Black Friday is a great time to stock up on household necessities, not just gifts. After the Black Friday rush, I usually treat myself to a new set of sheets, glassware, or a few other needed household items. Mid-afternoon works well, the mad rush is over, and they never sell out of the essentials that were part of the shopping extravaganza.

4. Holiday Communications. Do you send cards, emails, or letters to friends and family for the holidays? Don’t wait! Review your list, making sure you have the correct addresses. Take an evening or two to get this out of the way. You don’t have to mail or hit send yet, but get them all filled out and ready to go. Make it enjoyable in whatever way works for you. Put on your favorite music, have a cup of tea, a glass of wine, or your preferred beverage, and knock this chore out.

Be sure to mark on your calendar what day you want to drop the cards and letters in the mailbox or pull up that group email and hit send.

Save stress with early preparations for a Calmer Holiday

5. Early food prep. You probably have a good idea of what foods you will be making for your holiday events. Most of us stick to a similar menu every year. I always provide the homemade egg noodles for all our family dinners. I take a full day and make noodles, oodles & oodles of noodles. Noodle Day comes long before Thanksgiving, and I make enough to cover Thanksgiving, multiple Christmas dinners, and hopefully have some left to last into the new year.

I set up several folding tables, let the noodles dry, and then place them in Ziplock freezer bags. The bags are proportioned and labeled according to the dinner they will be served at, then stored in the freezer. Are you the family pie, candy, cookie, or casserole maker? Prepare absolutely everything you can early and freeze it. Early food preparations save you stress when the holidays get closer.

Now that you’ve wrecked your kitchen, it’s time to clean.

6. Deep clean. Since your big, messy jobs are out of the way, deep clean your house. Pick up and put away all your clutter. Don’t just shuffle it. Put it in its place! A few times, I  have been behind and stuffed everything from my desk into a box and shoved it in the closet. I can never find everything after that mistake. Mop, shampoo, clean all the nooks and crannies. After this chore, it’s easier to spot clean and do a little light maintenance to stay on top of the house.

The next section of 12 Tips for a Calmer Holiday is much more fun!

7. Decorate! Now that your home is clean and orderly, it’s time to decorate. Do this before you go holiday shopping so if you need to pick up any replacement items or new pretties, you can do this while you are out and about. There is no need to make last minute trips to find bulbs, cords, or other decorative items. Be proactive, so you aren’t searching for a new tree topper in a snowstorm because you forgot yours quit working last year. Can you tell I have a bit of experience with this?

8. Holiday shopping.  If you are the type of person who has all your shopping done and wrapped by August, I probably lost you on this post a long time ago. But, for those of you like me who wait for the cooler weather to motivate you, your time is up. It’s time to shop! Hopefully, you have your list in hand and know what you are looking for and where to find it.

I do admit to being an online shopper, so I have typically been watching for online deals and picking up a few things. I highly recommend signing into Ibotta or Ebates before you start shopping. Both companies pay you cash back for buying online and in stores. There is nothing like a nice bonus of cash in January when you are wondering how you possibly spent that much in December. If you need a code to sign up, here are two. If you use them, we both get a bonus! Ibotta $10 Bonus Cash Link    Ebates $10 Bonus Cash Link

9. Review your lists. Now is the time to go over all your lists again. Make sure you haven’t forgotten a card or gift. Consolidate any shopping for meals, trips, party items, supplies, etc., that you need for last-minute plans. There is no shame in deleting items from the list you didn’t get to this year. It probably wasn’t that important if you didn’t get around to doing a chore. Delete — Don’t Stress!

10. Last-minute preparations. It’s time to take care of your list of last-minute items. Put on fresh linens for guests. If you aren’t having guests, decorate your room just like you are the guest. It will make you happy. Do all food prep ahead when possible, whether it’s drying your bread for stuffing, thawing cookies, chopping vegetables, or merely getting out your ingredients along with the proper pans and dishes. This way, you can double-check that you have everything you need to avoid the insanity of the grocery store where others are frantically searching for cranberry sauce.

11. Stick to your plan. Review your list and plans frequently. Do your best to remain on schedule and stick to your plan. If you fall behind, keep working on it or adjust the items on the list. Be honest with yourself on whether it’s a legitimate need or if you are being unrealistic in trying to create a “perfect” holiday. The point of making this plan is to help you remain calm, not create added stress.

And finally, the most important part of your plan for a Calmer Holiday.

12. Make time for you! Throughout the entire season, make time for yourself. You can’t have a calm, enjoyable holiday if you are overwhelmed and stressed. There are meditation apps to help you through the most stressful times, or take a few quiet minutes to focus on your breathing and calm your thoughts. Don’t push yourself into a meltdown. It’s better if your house is a little messy, you have to skip a party, or you don’t get Aunt Betty’s pumpkin cookie recipe made than to collapse in a heap of tears and regrets. The most important thing about the holidays is spending time with family and friends and creating memories to cherish for a lifetime.

I hope these tips help you have a more peaceful, calmer holiday this year. I plan to follow along with you as I try to remain calm and relaxed. Let’s keep in touch through this blog or social media to keep each other motivated and peaceful.

Click here to read my thoughts on creating a Holiday Budget Guide!

Best wishes,

Gina