The holiday season can be very busy and stressful, but it doesn’t have to be!
Here are 5 quick and easy actions you can take this month to simplify Christmas time for you and your family:
Add a theme to your gift-giving.
You don’t have to figure out what everyone wants for Christmas, it’s more about the gift-giving than the gift itself. Be known as the person who buys everyone a book, or who always gives movie tickets, or who always brings a tin of shortbread. Choose one thing to give to everyone and your shopping will be taken care of easily in no time. One shop, one order, done!
Limit your social calendar.
Decide how many social events each week are your limit and make it your new normal. In my house, it’s 2 per week. Any more than 2 events and we’re tired and crabby trying to keep up. So in December, once 2 social things are booked into the same week, I default to “I can’t make this one, but have a great time!”.
Turn off your notifications.
Ah, the bliss of not being on call 24/7. We all know that on-edge feeling we get when we’re hanging out with friends or family and our phone dings or vibrates - immediately, you’re mentally committed to whatever is happening on your phone (whether you check it or not) and distracted from the lovely moment you are having. Turn off your Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and email notifications, even text messages if you want to! You can still check them once or twice a day, you won’t miss out on anything, and you’ll feel so much more relaxed.
Schedule chill time.
This is my favourite hack for a simpler holiday season. Mandatory, booked in time to do absolutely nothing but whatever I feel like in the moment. Take a nap, read a book, watch “While you were sleeping” again, do a puzzle, take a bubble bath. If you don’t book it in, it will never happen, so block the time out in your calendar as if it’s a party you agreed to go to and enjoy your rest & recharge time. And don’t cancel on yourself. You’re the most important person in your life!
Take shortcuts.
Have super simple dinners. Get your gifts wrapped at the shops, or don’t wrap them at all - pop them all in a huge stocking or Santa sack and be done with it. Get a cleaner in once a week in December. Outsource your Christmas decorating. Hire a local teen to walk your dogs for you. Curate a capsule wardrobe so you have less washing and less time thinking about what to wear. There are so many different shortcuts you can take, and this is the perfect time to do it!
I hope you found these tips helpful! If you’re ready for next steps on simplifying Christmas, you might like to check out my Make Christmas Easy planner. It’s a set of simple prints that help you get organised for Christmas without stress or overwhelm, so you can relax and enjoy the holiday season too!
Check out the Make Christmas Easy planner here >>
Merry Christmas!
x Marissa
