holiday planning

What kind of holidays do you want to have?

Low-Stress? Maybe some time for you to “take a breath”?

Lots of Entertaining? One event after another, or space in between?

Lots of “eating”? What kind of eating would you like to have?

Lots of “spending”? Really, how much do you want to spend… or not?

When do you want to know, what kind of holiday you’d like to have?

Hint… it’s Time. It’s time right now to decide if you want a peaceful, enjoyable holiday season, or a stressful one. You can decide. And you can decide right now.

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Fill your calendar up as soon as you know of something you want to do. That way, when something new comes up, you can see what you have, and you can decide what to cross off.

Or you can decide if you want to subject yourself to double-duty and let your body and mind pay the price.

(It’s truly okay if we don't get to “do all the things”.) You’ll enjoy the events you do include, and you’ll also enjoy your whole holiday season more—if you do this step. If you skip it, and try to enjoy them all:

You’ll eat more (Standard American Diet) food that you wouldn’t ordinarily eat, and you’ll be eating it more times than you want to;

You’ll be tired from not giving your mind and body time to re-charge—you may not feel the effects immediately, but be assured, your body’s keeping the score;

You’ll be tired from giving your body that extra sweet and “not nourishing” food;

Some of those events you’ll probably be eating late in the evening, which will interfere with your night’s sleep (your body will be working hard to recover in the night, but won’t have long enough to digest and do its restorative work);

You will begin your “next day after” tired and not with your standard alertness for the day—meaning probably you’ll be less productive.

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Just think through your priorities.

Then Choose…

If you feel it’s worth the stress to “do it all”, go with it. Just don’t expect to enjoy the peace of your holiday season to the fullest. There is so much more that’s possible.

These are some of the things that so easily happen to us during the holidays. We squeeze in time to do all the extra cooking, extra buying, extra wrapping, making those extra foods that family loves during the holidays.

So let’s think… What would need to be done for you to be able to enjoy it all peacefully, without rushing?

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1. Think of what kind of FUN you want to have during the holidays.

Plan it. Decide what you’d like to do. Like, What Kind of Fun?

And How much fun do you want to have… can you have a rest in between your fun things? Plan it. Space it out. Give yourself space to breathe a little in between.

Before you set dates, make sure all the things you want to experience will actually fit in your calendar and yet, there will be space “for you” that should fit between your fun things.

If you ever consider hiring help with cleaning your home or helping with menu, now may be the time that would help you the most.

2. If you will be the host,

Decide on your tentative menu. Decide now; get recipes together.

a. Buy any ingredients that are shelf-stable, so that much will be done. That will help with last minute expense, plus the last-minute effort.

b. Think if you can pre-prepare any of the foods, or partially prepare; Write in your calendar:

i. what ingredients you need

ii. when to buy the ingredients so they’ll be on-hand;

iii. when you can mix up partial ingredients ahead of time

This way, you can see in your calendar just what you’ll ACTUALLY have time to physically get done. If it won’t fit in your calendar, there’s no possible way it will all get done, so believe it…

And decide what to leave off.

3. WHO will enjoy that with you? (Make the lists NOW).

Family? Friends? …Start by setting a good time that works for you (if you’re the one planning it).

Then ask someone else in that group if that works for them… Sometimes it won’t work for 100%, and it’s ok to go with it that way if most can come. After a few agree on the date, set it and let everyone else know early. Like, NOW.

4. If you’re NOT hosting the event, and the date and times are set, put the date in your calendar and see how it goes with the rest of your events. If it crowds your time, or leaves out any RELAX-time at all, it’s time to prioritize.

Decide which event you want to skip. You may be reluctant to skip events, but if you want to have a peaceful holiday season, you just need to make this step.

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5. How many of these events will have gift exchange? Write in your calendar what gifts you will need by certain dates. Make your list of what types of gifts, and possibly buy several (or all) at the same time and Be Done with the gift buying.

If you know you’re going to be short of time, or energy, have them wrapped. It’s usually inexpensive. And saves you a LOT of energy.

If you’re overwhelmed with “gift buying” think of ways your family could pare down “the list” of people to buy gifts for. Suggest it. The rest of the family may be waiting for it to come up. Just be the one to do it.

Watch yourself and don’t allow yourself to feel “false guilt” for not buying gifts for people that “you’d like to buy for if you had a lot more energy and money”. We truly don’t have to out-give people. Just don’t even think about going there. It’s not worth it.

Buy the gifts early. Like, now. Craft shows are good places for some unusual ideas. Or small shops of unusual things. The gifts don’t have to be expensive. Truly. And if you get that done now, it won’t be a last-minute RUSH. And gift bags and colored wrapping tissue are cheap at dollar stores.

If you are giving home-made goodies, prepare as much as you can, now.

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1. If you don’t have several things that will be fighting for your attention, and you would like to add some fun to your holidays:

Think of something that would be EXCITING to do, that the family or friends could enjoy with you. Who would be excited to join in? Which week would work best? What day of the week would be best? What time?

Plan all the details. Be sure to plan on the expenses and things you will need to purchase. And Write it all Down…

Put all the events you know of in your calendar with reminders, so you won’t be surprised by them.

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My Holidays:

I went to a craft fair over the weekend, and got lots of ideas, and a couple of items. I’ve also bought a couple of other “dirty-Santa-type gifts” for a couple of groups I’m in.

Thanksgiving is semi-planned, and my grocery list is almost done.

House-cleaning day is planned. Yard-cleaning day is planned.

For several years now, instead of each of us “buying for everyone”, we draw names. I did not come up with this idea; my children did. I WAS THE ONE WHO DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS. I couldn’t bear the thought of buying for one child that I drew their name, and not buy for the others.

But I’ve adjusted. And it is absolutely the best holiday decision we ever made. Financially, and time and worry-wise. I do something for the family of each—something insignificant but something that will satisfy my thinking. I think last year I got each of them a personalized ornament; the year before, I gave each of the families a nice domino set.

Then we also have, for the larger family gathering, a game we call “Dirty Santa”, where each person brings a gift, and we number the people there; the first person opens a gift; the second person can “steal” their gift, or open a new one. It’s lots of fun for everyone. No other gifts are exchanged at this event.

Summary:

How can you feel better during all this busy time?

Always think about your Stress Level, your Nutritious Food, and making time for Exercising your body. You also need to be able to have time to actually truly think about others, and what needs they may have. Then…

What about your sleep? Put special emphasis on following a good “bedtime routine” all during the holidays, like going to bed at the same time, as much as possible. It will absolutely help you get rest you need.

Exercise: So you need to have time in your schedule to keep up your exercise or walking. It will absolutely help you get through the season with less stress and more energy. It works better than any pill you can find.

When my daughters come, we all walk together with the grandchildren, and everyone enjoys it.

Food I: Plan your food as much ahead as you can, doing pre-prep the day before you’re going to be cooking, if possible.Meal planning during this time, or cooking extra so you can have left-overs (I call that “pre-prepared food”) saves a lot of stress and energy.

Food II: Think of the things you will be tempted to eat, if you don’t usually eat them. Decide what those things are—or decide the TYPE of food that you know you will be around, and be tempted by.

Decide you will take that time, to fully enjoy some of the food (that is if medically, you can). Decide not to feel guilty about it. Decide to savor every bite. Now, you can’t do this a whole lot of times, but give yourself some grace to enjoy some of these wonderful, festive foods at these special times.

Then Relax about it.

Relax: Give yourself time to meditate, or to just be still and concentrate on your breathing (daily).

If you can ever catch a few minutes here or there, determine to use it to rest (not specifically sit down or lay down—unless you want to—but a peaceful change of scenery may do the trick), and eat the very best food you can.

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How to plan for your Holidays...

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