Are you tired of the overspending, the over-stressing, the over-indulgence of the holiday season? If so, then come and join me for a much more peaceful Christmas holiday season that when you try it for the first time, you may decide to never go back to the old way ever again.
Growing up, the holiday season was a tornado of chaos. I enjoyed it, because I was home from school and all the adults were running around like chickens with their heads cut off and I just watched from the sidelines, content in their busyness, and because they were busy, they weren't bothering me. I was like that as a kid. I loved when there was a bustle around me, and I was just an invisible little kid, doing whatever she liked. I could eat in the living room or my bedroom, because nobody noticed. I could watch TV all hours of the day and night, because nobody noticed. I could play outside with my dog for hours in the snow or have sleepovers every night of the week with my friend, and nobody cared. I loved it.
But instead of spending time with me, my parents were busy, busy, busy! Shopping, and preparing, and cooking, and decorating, and everything else that comes along with having twenty or more people in your house for a huge dinner. So, my question for you is, is that's what's going on in your house, too? Are you too busy with Christmas parties and shopping and stressing out over money and cooking and everything else to just be with your kids or yourself during the month of December? And come January, are you paying off credit cards and trying to play catch up with your bills? And is your kids room overrun with toys they probably won't be playing with in a few months?
If so, then you sound like you need a peaceful holiday season instead.
Your kids can still have fun with their friends and do the fun stuff they like without you having to be a ball of stress at the same time. And if you don't have kids, then you can just enjoy the season without being a ball of stress.
Here are the sections of the season we are going to tackle as part of the "Peaceful Christmas" procedure. We're going to use the word PEACE as an acronym, which stands for:
- Presents
- Eating (and cooking)
- Adorning
- Cleaning
- Extracurricular Activities
Presents
Gifting does not need to be expensive, or time-consuming. If you've always made a huge deal out of the gift-opening ceremony on Christmas day (or whatever else you celebrate on whatever day you celebrate it on), the maybe this year make it be about other traditions instead. Don't have any? Then create some! Watch some favorite holiday movies or sing holiday songs together or listen to a story on audio. Go outside and do something exciting if you can, like play a sport or go for a hike! Put on a play! Have a silly hat fashion show! Play a communal video game together! Play a board game! Make up your own games! Or find some online! Make the day's festivities be about being together (or, if you're alone, make it be about something awesome you do every single year), rather than just about opening gifts. And make sure it's something that the entire family loves doing, not just you.
Then, when it comes to the gift-giving part of the day, it can take a backseat to the rest of it.
Here are some easy, and peaceful, less wasteful things to give as gifts:
- Gift cards to their favorite stores
- If you're a maker, then make your signature item for everyone (like something they can use or look at every day--though don't stress yourself out about making them, just start in January, so everything is leisurely done by December)
- Money
- Something meaningful, yet easy (like, ordering something personalized from Etsy, like a cup or a sign)
- Movie Bucks for the movie theater
- Consumable items, such as gourmet snacks that everyone can eat together while watching a holiday flick
- Matching PJs (or anything matching)
- A candle (like from Getaway Candle Co. or Yankee or Frostbeard Studio or one from Craft + Foster)
- A treasure box (collect books--or whatever they like--throughout the year that your loved ones will love and put them all together in a big box, filled with books and favorite snacks)
- Are you artsy? Draw something or paint something, and then have prints made to give framed as gifts. Try your hand at doing a family portrait or maybe their pet?
- Knit, crochet, or sew something they'd love. Make it more meaningful by using fabric or colors they'd love or appreciate. Maybe they love Harry Potter? If so, knit them an HP scarf!
- Create or buy something based on their favorite movie.
- A trip. Purchase or plan an experience for your family instead of giving material items. It's something you all will remember forever.
- Subscriptions and classes. Pay for someone's Netflix or Kobo subscription or give them an online or real-life class to take. Or get them a subscription box to their favorite brands!
- Art supplies. I once bought an art bag filled with watercolor paper, a sketchbook, watercolors, alcohol markers, colored pencils, drawing pencils, and a ton of other stuff for both my kids. They loved it! And they were older teenagers/adults.
Eating (and cooking)
Oh the food! We stopped doing the big, gigantic meals for Christmas years ago. Instead, we started the tradition of doing lasagna. And now I don't even do that! Well, I do make it, but not with noodles. That's way too time consuming. And the holidays are supposed to be about being peaceful, right? So make life easier and take shortcuts. But this is a yummy shortcut! I use cheese tortellini (though the other day I made it with the dried shelf-stable tortellini and ravioli from Aldi and it was amazing!) instead of lasagna noodles. And I just put in a container of cottage cheese, a little bit of mozzarella mixed in, a bottle of sauce, and the tortellini. I also add in a package of frozen peppers and onions that I saute while the tortellini is boiling. Then I mix it all together, top it with mozzarella, bake at 350 for around 20-30 min and bam! Lasagna that's so easy and tastes so much better than the original. You should find a meal that your family loves and make it every year, and ditch all the traditional food that's such a pain to make. We make traditional food on Thanksgiving, which is fine, because we also don't have gifts and everything else to do, too. So make Christmas easy and fun by doing something only your family does. Here are some ideas:
- Fire up the grill and have a cookout! Hamburgers and hotdogs for everyone! Make it easy and simple. But also make it special. Like, make a special Christmas Burger, or have red and green toppings for the hotdogs!
- Make a taco bar! Who doesn't love tacos? Don't forget these taco shapers so you have deliciously deep-fried corn tortillas! (Yes, a taco bar is a lot of work, but if your whole family helps, it can be a fun activity).
- Is your family Italian? Yes? No? Who cares! Everyone loves Italian food! Don't forget the garlic bread! Also, you can order vats of this stuff from your local Italian restaurant the day before (or a couple days before) and just bake it the day of Christmas. No cooking!!
- Have something completely non-traditional, like corned beef and cabbage! Yum!! Don't forget to boil the carrot and potatoes in the same pot for extra flavor!
- Get a big pork roast and make some pulled pork!
- Make a quick roast chicken (or two)! Try it this way.
It doesn't matter if you're making a dinner for 1, 4, or 24, you can take any of these ideas and upscale them in an easy and quick way. Just pick the easiest meal you can, one that is special to you and your family, and do that. The food you make isn't as important as how the day goes. And the easier it goes, the better the holiday will be.
Another thing we do a little of is Christmas cookies (though made before Christmas). But instead of a 1,000 types that my mother used to make, I only make around 3-4. We make these chocolate Italian cookies topped with frosting, almond bars, and pumpkin bars. But we don't usually make them all at once, which also helps us not feel rushed (or overeat cookies). Here are some recipes below:
Adorning (decorating)
There is nothing like a beautifully decorated house for the holidays. But at what cost? Instead of putting everything up (and then eventually taking everything down), downgrade your decor to just the essentials. Or, only put up the items you truly cherish and leave all the rest (just because something is tradition, doesn't mean you love it). Also, consider getting a smaller tree. I got this one from Michaels last year, which is a huge space saver, and so easy to store (and put up). Remember, the holiday season is about feeling peaceful and enjoying your family, not about having the perfect house. If you want a more peaceful, relaxing Christmas, then consider only putting up the items that make you feel special and happy. This goes for ornaments on the tree, too.
Cleaning
If you're having family over for the holidays and you need to do a deep clean, consider taking this time to also purge all the items you no longer need. That way, after the holidays are over, it will stay cleaner than it was before. But instead of busting your hump cleaning until you're stressed out, try a more relaxed and peaceful pace to get it all done. Here is a step-by-step plan:
- Grab a pen and a notebook and some highlighters.
- Go around your house and take note of everything you need to organize, clean, or put away.
- After you're done, dedicate a color to each type of task or to each room or even to how important it is to get that particular task done. Whatever works for you. Then highlight each item in the appropriate color.
- Then delegate these tasks to your household members. If you live alone, then ask some friends to come help out.
- Organizing your tasks helps you to break them down into bite-sized bits so they are easier to accomplish. Also, it helps you not to feel overwhelmed by it all. Organizing them by color also helps you to see them more clearly and is just more fun than a plain black-and-white page.
This is how I handle any big task that is in my house and it works! I have ADHD so I get overwhelmed very easily. But this style helps me to stay focused and helps me to actually finish the task at hand.
Extracurricular Activities (aka FUN!)
Make it easy, make it fun! Planning fun activities does not need to add to your stress levels. I created a fun little 57 page activity book to help you get started, which you can download below. It contains stuff to keep the kids busy, as well as family activities such as writing holiday stories, decorating ornaments, trees, and holiday sweaters, and so much more! Just print and go!
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| Download your free book here! |
Also, here are some great links to fun activities to do on your holiday!
Extra Stuff
Don't forget this holiday season to:
- take lots of breaks
- make time for yourself and self-care
- meditate
- relax
- exercise
- drink your H2O
- laugh
- enjoy nature
- immerse yourself in the season (not the holiday season, I mean winter, learn how to appreciate winter)
I hope these will help you this holiday season to find more peace and less stress. And remember: nothing has to be perfect, no matter what other people say. Happy Holidays!!
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