The holiday season is quickly approaching! That means there are so many things to do, but it doesn’t mean that the thought of Christmas has to be stressful! In fact, there are a lot of ways to have a stress-free Christmas Day!
When you have multiple kids, it gets harder and harder to plan out everything.
I think every year we all ask ourselves why the Christmas season is so stressful, and the only thing I can come up with is that as parents we want Christmas to be absolutely perfect for our children!
There are definitely ways to stop stressing at Christmas, especially when you have multiple kids, and we’re going to dive into those reasons right now!
1. Buy Gifts Early
This has honestly been the best time-saver when it comes to planning for a great Christmas. My husband is a planner. He finds things on sale, and grabs them in advance, sometimes even years in advance!
We buy them and store them and one of the best feelings during Christmas is knowing you have all of the gifts already. There is absolutely NO last-minute shopping…because it was being done all year long!
2. Communicate With Your Spouse
Being open and honest with your spouse about your expectations for Christmas is only going to make it go smoother. You can’t read your spouse’s mind any more than they can read yours.
My husband and I talk about each child individually, what gift they’re getting, where all of the decorations are going, all the way up to the entire plan for Christmas Day. It’s important to be on the same page with your spouse and this shows that you both are doing the best you can to make Christmas great for the kids. AND for yourselves!
3. Write Everything Down
It took me a few years to get this down, but writing things down is so helpful. Can you imagine, talking to your spouse about Christmas and the different gifts going to each of your kids and then coming back to that same conversation months later and not remembering who is going to get what gift?!
Yep, that has been me multiple times. And it’s frustrating when someone can’t remember something important. So, this just saves that headache. Talk it out, and write it down.
We write down everything about Christmas Day. The gifts, the wrapping paper, what we’re doing in the morning, what movies we’re watching, what we’re having to eat that day…just to name a few!
4. Stay Prepared
It’s really easy to say stay prepared, but it’s the truth. If you know you need to wrap presents in a good amount of time and you need tape, go buy the tape. Don’t wait till the last minute. If you know that there is something that you do need to buy online, or if you’re not the parent that buys gifts all year do it in the proper amount of time!
Whatever it is, just stay prepared. Don’t let it get too out of hand or get too behind! I am definitely a last-minute type of person and it is not fun at all each and every time. Stay on top of it and just do it! You’ll thank yourself!
5. Wrap Gifts Early
Wrapping gifts is something I am terrible at doing, and I usually wait until the last minute. However, when I wrap them early it’s such a great feeling. To have that feeling of it already being done is amazing. I don’t have to stress about it.
My husband I wrap gifts anywhere from a month to a few weeks before Christmas. It’s just one less thing we have to do the days before.
6. Plan Out Christmas Day
This has been so much fun to do the past few years. From our very first Christmas together, my husband and I have always planned out our Christmas Day. We’ll plan our breakfast, gift time, family worship time, movie time, dinner time.
It just helps the day go so much smoother. There’s always a lot going on so it’s easy to get sidetracked. So, having somewhat of a schedule definitely helps.
And it’s not that we go by a clock or are strict about it at all, it’s just knowing what we need to do, and doing it. It helps see everything on paper!
7. Remember To Breathe
In all of this holiday chaos, remember to breathe. It’s okay to step away. It’s okay to be overwhelmed. But just remember two things.
- You’re doing it for God’s glory
- You’re doing it for your kids, so they have an amazing Chirstmas
It’s important to remember WHY we’re going to so much trouble over the holiday season and remembering WHO we’re doing it for.
It’s so easy to get sidetracked and lose focus of what really matters. Christmas is a great opportunity for a lot of things, but the one thing I look forward to every year is talking about Christmas with our kids and about the true meaning of Christmas.
That’s something we started when all of our kids were very little and it’s amazing to see how they’ve grown to really understand the meaning of Christmas.
8. Remember The True Meaning Of Christmas
When it seems to be too much, just remember the true meaning of Christmas and what it means to you. My husband and I dug deep into this into the Bible and wrote down what it means for our family. Dig deep and remember the true meaning of Christmas.
Christmas is not about gifts. It is not about showing off. It’s about Jesus and the gift that God brought to us.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to get into the holiday craze. It’s hard to avoid holiday stress. But it is easy to have a stress-free Christmas day if you prepare, breathe, and remember what Christmas is all about!
When we avoid the holiday expectations of this world we can avoid the stress. Of course, it’s easier said than done. But taking it step by step, and doing things as early as possible can really help us to slow down, actually enjoy the season, and have a stress-free Christmas day.
Related Post: 8 Empowering Ways To Deal With Being Overwhelmed As A Busy Mom
