Get Rid of Holiday Stress and Mom Guilt

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I don’t know about you, but I’d like to get rid of holiday stress. Christmas and the general “holiday” time is great. What’s not great is holiday stress. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? Well, as someone who has a Type A personality and a dislike for change, the holidays can bring an added level of stress to my life. And I’ve discovered that being a mom during the holidays can add even more stress to the mix. For me, there’s the stress of having tons of presents come into the house with no place to put them, the stress of hosting my family for brunch on Christmas morning, and the stress of cleaning up once Christmas is over.

I’m looking forward to focusing more on myself and trying to be less overwhelmed this year. So, to help myself and hopefully help other people, I’ve created this plan to get rid of stress during and after the holidays. And honestly, these suggestions can be used all year-long, not just around holiday time.

When in doubt, list it out.

Whenever I have a lot of things to do, I try to manage my time by creating a list. And not just any list. I organize the list by priority. I’ve toyed with several different ways of doing this. I like to do a brain dump and write a list of everything I need to get done. Then, I take a look at that list and assign the letter A, B, C, or D to each item. A’s are for things that have to get done first. B’s are for things that need to get done once I finish the A’s. C’s are for things that should get done when the I complete the B’s. And D’s are for things that I can give to other people or eliminate completely. This process really helps me figure out my priorities and that always makes me feel less overwhelmed with holiday stress.

Quiet time is your friend.

It’s hard to make quiet time a priority when your to-do list is a mile long. You’ve got presents to wrap, cookies to bake, decorations to hang, etc. But, I know more than anyone that adding in even a few minutes of quiet time can help your holiday stress level immensely. I like to add my quiet time in after the kids are asleep and before I start tackling my to-do list for the evening. Sitting and being still for a 10-20 minutes gives me so much peace of mind. It’s amazing and I definitely suggest trying it. You need quiet even more when you have a million things to do and a million things weighing on your mind.

Admit that you can’t do everything.

This one is hard for me, especially during the holidays. I want to give my kids the perfect Christmas experience every year. But, I have to admit and accept that I’m not “perfect.” I can’t be the perfect mom 24/7, it’s just not possible. As much as I want to do everything, I just physically and emotionally can’t do that. No one can. To help ease my holiday stress levels, I try to routinely remind myself that I can’t do everything. This is where my lists come in handy. Looking at the list and the priorities helps me accept that there are only so many things that I need to focus on or let go.

Remember to find joy despite the holiday stress.

It is my belief that the holidays are about joy and fun and family time. The holidays aren’t about presents or decorations or even cookies. I try to avoid being overwhelmed with holiday stress by remembering to find joy during the holidays. Remind yourself what you love about this time of the year and why it’s important. Thinking about the smiles on my kids faces helps me to remember what’s really important. My kids don’t care if they get big toys or trays of cookies. They care about me spending time with them and carrying on fun traditions with them. I have to keep reminding myself that hat’s where my focus needs to be during the holidays.

I truly struggle with holiday stress and it’s something that I’m always working on. Some of these tips have helped me when I’m feeling overwhelmed and I hope they can help you too! Comment down below and let me know what helps you avoid holiday stress or stress in general.