Top 10 Tips For Holiday Simplicity

The holidays are a fun, magical time, especially for the littles, but the holidays can be stressful for us parents too. It may be a monetary stress, time stress or relationship/emotion stress. Here are some tips to create holiday simplicity.

Be blessed and we wish you a joyous holiday season!

Make gifts and cards: With a simple search on Pinterest or other hub site you can find easy homemade gifts and gifts that kids can make.
Donate time or do a mini-charity drive as a family to local non-profit: Nothing fills us more than the gift of a giving heart. December 3rd is also “Giving Tuesday” if you decide to give monetarily.
Set a gift budget: It’s very easy to get carried away with gift giving during the holiday season. Set a budget and stick to it!
Choose your holiday celebrations wisely and don’t overcommit: Do you have meaningful celebrations that serve as an annual tradition? A dinner at the Grandparents or attending the town Christmas parade? Whatever your tradition, celebrate with a sense of fun, and model that behavior for the kids.
Focus on one or two dishes to shine during a holiday meal: As our resident expert, Debra, of Practical Pantry has shared with us – focus on one or two dishes in the meal and make them the star.
Commit to a family activity: Spending time as a family is a wonderful way to celebrate the winter season. Some ideas are a nature scavenger hunt, play a game, put on a play/puppet show, have a dance party or read a holiday book out-loud together.
Host/Arrange work parties or other group celebrations until the New Year: January is great time to celebrate and often times, more availability, to party.
Traveling? If possible, travel during daylight hours to keep everyone on schedule, especially the littles. Pack games, snacks and take frequent leg-stretch breaks to help break-up car-fatigue.
Practice self-care: Remember to take care of yourself so you can be your best self (and stave off the cold/flu).
Enjoy and reflect: Consider journaling or keeping a gratitude memory jar. Sometimes our loved ones may not be with us at the holidays and a journal, scrapbook or is a great way to share precious memories with our children and each-other.