How To Prepare For and Actually Enjoy the Holidays

December is here and it sure feels like the holidays are hitting us out of nowhere!

We are busier than ever fulfilling your orders and trying to stay connected to our own families throughout the season. Thank you for all of your support!

We wanted to support you by offering our tips for actually enjoying the holidays instead of feeling constantly stressed out.

1. Create a holiday bucket list as a family.

Sit down with your kids or roommates and ask what would they really like to do over the holidays if they could only choose one or two things. Then take everyones ideas and write them on a piece of paper. Be realistic as you look through the calendar and add one or two ideas in per week.

2. Make time for a date night or two with your spouse, significant other or a special person in your life.

Get creative if you have to! We promise it will be worth the prep work. Use this time to discuss things you might not normally get to talk about. It doesn't need to be said but we could all use the reminder- put the phones away so you can give one another face to face time. Here are some questions that will help facilitate your conversation:

• What was your best Christmas gift you received as a kid?
• What are your wishes for this season?
• What is currently stressing you out?
• What is going well in our relationship?

3. Take a good look at your holiday prep to do list. 

As moms, heads of the household or just someone trying to care about others this season there can be A LOT on your plate. It's not necessary good or bad stuff. We tend to overfill our plate just because we want to make the most of the season. But in doing so, we stress ourselves and others out and we miss out on really being present in a few activities. From Christmas cards to matching family pajama photos we must decide what on your list is a must have and what can be put on the “would be nice if I have time” list. If it's adding to your anxiety, it's not worth it. This will help you stay present and enjoy each day.

4. Acknowledge that this year has been hard.

2020 has taken a lot from us and left us a little beat up. And in some ways it has also given us a lot too. Acknowledge this year for what it is. It's ok to have bad days. Give yourself a pass, you don't have to be Cindy Lou Who 24/7 this holiday season. Take some time to feel bad, annoyed or frustrated, just don't sit in your funk. We miss out on new revelations or new traditions this season could offer when we stay too long in our negative mindset. The greatest comfort we can have in our grief is that we have all experienced the hardship of 2020 in some way. Find a friend and talk about this. You never know what someone else is going through.

We hope you have a special holiday season with your loved ones. As always, please let us know if there is anything we can do to help!