Managing Holiday Stress

As mentioned in my previous post, this time of year can be overwhelming. Today I'm sharing with you how I beat holiday stress and leave some time to actually soak in and enjoy the holidays. After all, we are celebrating the greatest gift when Jesus Christ was born and came to die on the cross for our sins. A triumphant victory!

I am a good old-fashioned paper planner type of girl. There is something about starting that new planner each year that is so refreshing. Come December, I have a planner full of should-haves and could-haves but it's also great to reflect upon all that I did accomplish in the last year.

Each month I have a list of the top 5 things I would like to get done. In November my top 5 were:

1. Christmas gift shopping

2. Christmas decor

3. Christmas cards

4. Thanksgiving meal prep

5. Update dining room light

My top 3 were Christmas-related. I was anticipating having a busy Christmas now that Levi is here...my time is very limited to be worrying about all the details that go along with planning for the holidays. Like I said in my previous post, I could seriously just do without the Christmas gifts. It's nice to have something to look forward to opening and trust me, I love giving and receiving gifts just as much as the next person but the shopping can be such a daunting task. I like to keep it simple and come up with one or two ideas for each person, set a budget and write down when I plan to start purchasing. I spent one Saturday this year purchasing everything and as I purchased items or each gift arrived in the mail, I wrapped them and they went under the tree. One thing I like to do is jot down ideas throughout the year for people. I do this in the "notes" section on my iPhone so if I'm out and about and I think of an idea, I have all of my thoughts in one convenient location. This came in handy with my husbands gifts this year because I would jot ideas down as we were out shopping and he would say "I could use a _____." This year he is getting 5 or 6 gifts that will be staple pieces for him for years to come! I was done with purchasing gifts by the end of November. I saw it written as a task in my planner - even down to a specific day and I found I was much more apt to complete the task. For my planner people or list-makers...how good does it feel to check that box near the task once it's complete? Or if you are me...I like to put a nice thick line through the item...so satisfying! Because I planned ahead this year, I have not worried about purchasing a single gift all of December and I'm slightly obsessed...I think this will be a new tradition for me!

On the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving we decorate for Christmas. I think this is a popular time for a lot of people to get out the Christmas decorations and start cracking. I have a few focal points in our home that I rotate seasonal decor. I have a tub in the garage that is labeled "seasonal" and this is where I house summer, spring, and fall decor. Then we have two tubs labeled "Christmas" and this is where we house our Christmas decor. I simply swap and rotate as the seasons change which makes it so easy...and it was no different for Christmas decorating this year. We had the tree up and decorated as well as the house done it a matter of a few hours. Everything has it's place and I know exactly where to find it when I'm ready to make my seasonal swaps. Below is my dining table centerpiece that I switch out with the seasons. I wanted something that was "wintery" and not too "Christmasy" so that it could last beyond the holidays.

This advent calendar was something I walked passed during many of my Target trips until finally I caved! My inner child loves a good countdown...it keeps it fun and it matches our home decor perfectly!

The back of the "Baby it's cold outside pillow" is striped. With a simple flip of the pillow, I have something that will work in fall and winter but for Christmas, it will stay on this side. So practical!

I love the wood-look of these candles so I keep them out year round. I just garnished them with a little extra from my dining room centerpiece and there you have it...Christmas!

All of our Christmas cards go up on the burlap piece. It looks so pretty at night when the under mount lights on our cabinet are on.

I'm a sucker for neutrals...all the gifts are being wrapped with tans/whites/golds this year. Say hello to Bagheera who is helping me place presents under the tree.

The tree is up! I found most of the pieces from Target, Hobby Lobby, and World Market. the completed look makes me so happy! I don't foresee wanting to change much in the years to come.

Simple, comfy, and casual!

I have a thing for all white lights :)

I don't love the front porch decor but it's what I had to work with this year and I wanted to avoid going out shopping for new stuff so this is what I came up with. I'm thinking about painting the teal on the table a copper and adding some copper/metallic pieces on top of the table for next year. Maybe I will go out after Christmas and get some things on clearance this year?

We usually don't send custom Christmas cards out. I end up finding something generic from Target and it is really easy. This year I sent these custom cards from minted. It was an easy one because we are celebrating the birth of our newborn son. Our cards doubled as birth announcements and a Christmas Card. Josh and I were off the hook for being in the picture this year because we wanted it to be all about our little man, so it was perfect! We didn't have to fuss over coordinating outfits and trying to get a good snap of the three of us. I always send the cards out sometime after Thanksgiving. This year I planned to have them ordered on Black Friday (to take advantage of the minted sale) and have them out by the weekend after Thanksgiving. Minted allows you to upload an address book to your profile so that the envelopes can be customized with the reciepient's addresses at no extra cost. A huge time saver for writing out all of those envelopes! I still hand wrote the return-address on the back of the envelopes. I need to invest in one of those customized stamps someday. Where do you guys get your customized return-address stamps?

Basically, I write specific tasks down to compete ahead of time to have done by specific days. I do this about 1.5-2 months in advance of Christmas. Then, I can dump the rest of the mental stress that comes along with holiday tasks and focus on one thing at a time.

It is now mid-December and I feel like I have actually avoided a lot of the holiday stress. We are having company this year (yay!) and so this weekend I will be putting out Christmas-scented wall plug-ins and deep cleaning the house. I have pinned my ideas for Christmas brunch meal prep so I know what to plan for. The cooking won't happen until Christmas Eve and Christmas Eve Eve but everything else is set. I am genuinely excited for the moments we will share as a family this holiday season, especially with it being Levi's first Christmas.

How do you beat holiday stress? What are some traditions that you and your family have that gets you excited for the holidays?

Courtney

#Holidays #Christmas #stress #organize #plan #planner #Gifts #lifestyle