Let’s face it, while the movies portray images of happy families laughing around the kitchen table or in front of the fireplace during the Christmas season, often moms end up more stressed out and busier than ever. I know I fall into the trap, and each year I have to try again to stay focused on what matters and simplify Christmas.
We want this time of year to be filled with warm memories for our families and friends, and it is so easy to get wrapped up (pun intended) in the business of the season. It’s easy to want to be present and enjoy the moment, but there is often so much to do that this is difficult to accomplish. Ever feel like you’re losing your sanity around the holidays?
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
- Can We Simplify Christmas?
- Rejecting the Christmas Crisis
- Minimalism ... Can It Go with Christmas?
Simplify Christmas by Finding Your Sweet Spot+−
- Evaluate Your Favorite Christmas Traditions
- Schedule the Essentials
- Review Christmases Past for Pitfalls That Stress You Out
- Set a Budget and Number of Gifts
- Designate a “Give Back” Day or Week
- Take a Picture of Each Gift to Review (Before Buying Anything Else)
- When Things Go Wrong, Make An Act of Gratitude
There must be a better way!
Can We Simplify Christmas?
Over the years, our family (like many) has searched for ways to simplify Christmas while still giving our kids the traditions and memories that bring joy and happy memories.
I’ve written about some of the things that have worked for us, like prioritizing experiences over material gifts, limiting the number of presents per person, and focusing on a spirit of giving instead of receiving.
All that aside, it’s tough to recognize all of the outside forces that act on us despite our best intentions … and we wonder why we are again in Target on Christmas Eve at 10 P.M., when we really were going to be so intentional and simple this year!
Rejecting the Christmas Crisis
The ads, Facebook posts, and store displays seem to begin earlier every year exclaiming (I saw a store with a Christmas display in early October this year!): “There’s X number of days left until Christmas!”
Translation: “Hurry up! Only a few shopping days left!”
We all know this isn’t what the holidays should be about. It’s not what any of us wants for ourselves or our families. But somehow it just creeps in. The sense that we’re not giving enough … or doing the right things …
It’s time to take back Christmas! And yes, this may not be the year when you magically transform into the living embodiment of a Real Simple magazine article. (Wouldn’t we all love it if it was actually that easy?)
This may not be the year when you Konmari your house to perfection before placing carefully chosen (and of course eco-friendly) presents under the tree.
But this can be the year when you create enough space for you and your family to continue to shape and enjoy your traditions. The year when your picture of “the perfect Christmas” becomes a little clearer and a little more real.
And chances are it won’t take much!
Minimalism … Can It Go with Christmas?
Merriam Webster defines “minimalism” as “a style or technique that is characterized by extreme spareness and simplicity.” This buzzword has enjoyed a lot of popularity in recent years, especially since the bestselling book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up came around.
I can buy simplicity, but “spareness”? Does this really go along with our idea of Christmas?
I have to believe there’s a way to be mindful and peaceful about Christmas without going to extremes. Maybe it’s more about a shift of mindset than going bare bones. About asking yourself — and your family — what is really important and crossing the rest off the list.
Our family tries to give only one material present per person. That may seem extreme to some. But over the years we’ve realized that experiences mean more to us (and our kids) than material presents, and we’ve moved toward a kind of Christmas that emphasizes quality over quantity.
That feels like the right kind of “minimalism” for us … but what is right for you? Here are a few ideas to try if you feel like you need to hit the pause button this holiday season.
Simplify Christmas by Finding Your Sweet Spot
These are the things I’ve found most helpful in simplifying Christmas. I try to hold on to these to help me focus on my family and not everything that needs to “get done” this year.
Evaluate Your Favorite Christmas Traditions
Think back on Christmases past. What are your most cherished memories? What should Christmas really be about? These could be from when you were a child or from times with your own children.
Chances are your best memories aren’t about stuff, but about time spent with others (like making this DIY Christmas Garland together.)
Take note of everything that stands out to you as a tradition you want to recreate. Write it down. Talk to the family about it.
Schedule the Essentials
Make a list of “must-dos” using the list of favorite Christmas memories for inspiration. Keep this list short — three or maybe five items at most. Pare it down to what really matters the most (spareness and simplicity!).
These must-do traditions will of course change over the years as a family grows. That’s the beauty of it.
You may have a special circumstance to navigate (a new baby, travel plans, a sick relative, a tight budget). Reevaluate and adjust, limiting yourself to what will give the most joy this year.
Maybe cooking is really important to your family. Maybe the annual shopping trip with your sisters gives the most joy. Maybe it’s time to try a new tradition like a family Christmas movie marathon, or singing in the choir at Midnight Mass.
Give priority to traditions that help you connect with friends and family. Put them on the calendar now and schedule the downtime to do them.
Bottom line, Konmari-style, say “yes” to what brings you joy.
And that means saying “no” to what doesn’t!
Review Christmases Past for Pitfalls That Stress You Out
We all have our little habits that rob us of our joy.
It could be overspending, overeating, or overdoing. It could be online shopping in the dead of night when we can’t sleep. It could be that urge to rush out two days before Christmas and buy just a little bit more.
All this leads to additional stress. More to store, more to return, more to clean up, and more post-holiday bills to pay.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not against giving gifts. I love the feeling of giving and receiving a well-chosen gift on Christmas. But I had to learn the hard way that I needed to simplify Christmas in order to preserve the meaning of the season.
If we can identify just one or two or three things that stress us out each year and eliminate it, that seems like a good kind of minimalism. Decide what you will say “no” to this year (and tell someone to keep you accountable). Maybe ask your spouse to do this with you!
Which goes with the next step …
Set a Budget and Number of Gifts
This is pretty generic advice, I know. But I can think back to plenty of years when I didn’t do it, or at least never committed to more than a vague idea of how much was “too much.”
Gift-giving gives joy and is a worthy tradition. Just look at the Three Kings who traveled so far to give their gifts to the Christ Child. But they could only carry so much with them.
It’s a rather shocking statistic that in the U.S., only 1% of the goods we buy are still in use 6 months later. Yes… only 1%! And it makes sense, doesn’t it? New things thrill us only for a little while.
“One of the enemies of happiness is adaptation,” says Dr. Thomas Gilovich, a psychology professor at Cornell University who has been studying the question of money and happiness for over two decades. “We buy things to make us happy, and we succeed. But only for a while. New things are exciting to us at first, but then we adapt to them.”
In fact we are more likely to remember and cherish experiences rather than material things. These become the stories we tell and relive.
Setting a budget and being choosy about the kinds of gifts we give helps us learn when to say “just right.”
Designate a “Give Back” Day or Week
Making room for what we receive often pains kids especially. Mention you’re about to get rid of something, and suddenly that thing is their “favorite.”
Am I right?
Designating a “Give Back” day (or even a week if you need it) gives everyone a chance to get in the right mindset and know the expectations. Read a book or watch a movie about the generosity of St. Nicholas to set the mood. This article has some helpful tips too for helping kids get on board.
Although we can certainly give back any time of year, I find it’s best to do this before Christmas so it doesn’t get forgotten.
Take a Picture of Each Gift to Review (Before Buying Anything Else)
It’s so easy to simply lose track of what we intend to give and what we already bought when it’s hidden away in the back of the closet!
Keep a digital record by snapping a pic and keeping an album in a secure spot. You can use apps like Evernote, Remember the Milk, or a Dropbox or Google Keep folder. Keep track of even small items like stocking stuffers. You can even screenshot a website to keep track of experience gifts.
Before you buy, take a look at the album and give yourself a cooling-off period to decide if it’s the right choice.
You can even move images to a new album or folder to keep track of returns or presents that didn’t make the cut but you might consider for next year.
When Things Go Wrong, Make An Act of Gratitude
G. K. Chesterton wrote, “I would maintain that thanks is the highest form of thought.” When things don’t go according to plan, control what you can: your thoughts.
Christmas traditions develop little by little, year by year, and sometimes with no advance planning. By learning to let go and let the memories happen we make room for shared experiences with the ones we love the most.
Show gratitude for what you have and give your kids and yourself the greatest gift of all this Christmas — a contented and present parent.
How do you stay grounded during the holidays? What are the traditions you want to make room for?
That list makes me more nervous then just going with the flow.
The information is always great, but this “do-less” list is really helpful. Thank you, Mama. Happy Chanukah ? and Merry Christmas ? Have a healthy, happy new year.
You quote Chesterton! That makes my day!
Great article. Love any quote by Chesterton of course. I love also the tradition of one gift a piece and waiting until Twelfth night (the eve of Epiphany) when the Magi arrived to adore the Christ child. Many blessings to you this Advent and Merry Christmas 🙂
I love your blog and use your resources constantly. I would love to minimalize our gift giving to our young kids and follow something similar to you. However, my parents and inlaws bombard my kids with gifts. They are loving and sweet, but it stresses me out and I feel like I have to compete.
Do your parents and inlaws take on the same “experience” gift idea? If not, how do you handle that?
We’ve had the discussion with extended family about it so they know we don’t want (or need) lots of material things for Christmas. It was a challenge at first, but they’re on the same page with us now.
YES!!! This year, we used only donated and handmade decorations. It really helped us to minimize and de-stress, and our kids had a blast making memories! We had our own Ugly Christmas Sweater tree trimming party and it was so fun to see how much they got into it all, rather than me fussing over my Christmas tree to make it “just so.”
Thanks so much for this post Katie. Now that the kids are getting older, I feel that we need to transition from material-oriented holiday to “something else”. This post will really help me come up with parameters for future Christmases.
I will say (rather guiltily), we did have fun watching the kids’ eyes light up on Christmas morning, and it did make Christmas bright for us, but we also “justified” it by giving all of their old toys to charities over the years. That’s not to say it was right or wrong to do that, but we are moving towards a new stage in our lives; one that I think will become more meaningful to all of us. Your post will help us come up with parameters for this.
Thank you, as always, for sharing your ideas.
Hi! Merry Christmas to you and yours???
Could you put up your recipe for Corning beef to make corn beef and cabbage !?! I made it a few years ago from your receipt and it was great ??
Thanks so much??
I think this is recipe you’re referring to? https://wellnessmama.com/2079/corned-beef-cabbage/
Shared Christmas Dinner. We rotate who hosts. The host makes the turkey. Everyone else brings the rest. That way no one is cooking instead of visiting!
The last few years left us disappointed that we couldnt do it all. This year we decided to not have traditions. Instead we will start each season with a family meeting to decide what we will do in december. We used your experience list for inspiration this year! Then we put it all on the calendar. This way everyone knows what to expect. We also dont exchange gifts anymore. The extended family sends so many that it becomes a problem. We go through everything we own and donate all the excess in december simply to compensate. We open all the gifts on christmas eve and we dont do santa. (we’re not anti-santa) then on christmas we try to do something to help further spiritual growth. After church this year we took communion and goodies to shut-ins.
Also a note about the ads, i use the mobile site and have never seen an ad. I do have an ad blocker on my phone but it usually leaves blank space where the ad was. It doesnt do that with your site. If people have an issue with the full version, you might suggest switching to a mobile device.
Our family started with simplicity. We drew names at Christmas and set dollar value at $5.00, however with today’s cost would change. A lot of the gifts were usually handmade. Crotched vests, knitted slippers, or embroidered hankies. Sure some were bought, but they were always well thought out gifts. My grandmother was a master at crochet, I still have and cherish a filet crocheted horse picture that she made me as a child, as I was, and at 60 yrs. old, still am a horse fanatic. Christmas was always alternated at daughters houses and grandma’s so no one was stuck with doing Christmas every year. Everyone was assigned to bring a dish, which helped with all the cooking chores. At the end of the day, names were drawn, dishes decided upon, so that the following year everyone knew what was expected of them. It was simpler then, everyone conversed with each other without having to compete with smartphones & Facebook postings. Us kids, played together and not with controllers in hands and eyes fixed to the TV.
Love the article and your blog. I used to love it and read every article, couldn’t wait for the next one came out, But rarely read it anymore due to hundreds of ads. I remember a post from you asking about adding ads to your blog and that if you chose to do so it would be the odd ad tastefully placed and relevant to blog. It’s the opposite, yet another blog plastered with irrelevant annoying ads out to monetise from people.
Hi Tara, thanks for your comment. I really value the feedback on them and am still trying to find the balance of making the site super user friendly but also allowing advertising to help pay for the expenses of running a popular website. It’s a tough balancing act to be sure and I plan to reduce the number after the new year. Thanks again for reading and providing valuable feedback!
We have also pursued simplicity. Our kids get one gift from mom and dad (usually a book) and one from a cousin and grandparents. I still feel like it’s a lot. We do food in stockings not toys, treats that they don’t often get. This way they get to open a stocking but I don’t end up with piles of junk toys.
We also have changed our Christmas feast to pizza on paper plates. (Which is way out of the ordinary for us) Very little work and clean up. I love it!