By: Asma Shums,
It might be too soon to start celebrating the holidays, but it’s not too soon to give a little thought to a few small things you can do now to prepare for the best holiday season yet.
It’s not a bad idea to spend a little time in the early fall thinking about and planning ahead for the holidays. While it might be a little early to get the holiday decorations out, still there are a few things we can do now to help make the holidays less stressful and more joyful.
1. Plan ahead.
Sit down with a cup of something and a notebook or your computer and your calendar, and do a mind dump of all the things you usually do or need or want to do during the holidays, starting maybe from mid-October through the New Year’s celebrations. Include it all: family traditions, church or work or community events you need or want to participate in, people you want to give gifts to, food or gifts you want to make, meals you want to serve, parties you plan to host, or attend, etc. After you’ve captured it all, take a look and ask yourself:
How realistic is your list (keeping in mind daily commitments, stage of life you’re in, etc.)?
What can you cut from the list and still have the kind of holiday season you want to have?
What can you move around or change now to set yourself up to have the time and energy you need to do the things you actually want to do?
2. Develop a budget for the holidays.
Think about how much money you’re willing to set aside for each person you want to give a gift to. Having a budget written down now might help you resist the urge to overspend as the holidays get closer.
If the budget is an issue, take steps now to avoid uncomfortable situations during the holidays. Talk to extended family about skipping gifts, or giving gifts only to the children, or drawing names and setting a cap on the amount (so nobody feels embarrassed because somebody else gave a more extravagant gift).
3. Shop ahead.
The steps above will help make it easier for you to get your holiday shopping sooner rather than later. If you have the list of people you want to give gifts to and then brainstorm ideas for gifts for each, you’ll have it top-of-mind when you’re out and can be watching for those perfect gifts and watch for sales on the things you want to give.
4. Plan some fun events for yourself and your family.
Now might be a great time to start investigating the options for memory-making family activities during the holiday season. What does your community offer? What special sights are available near where you live?
Several members of the TPW Community use this approach. Alison said, “One thing I hope to do in the next month is plan some fun holiday activities/outings. I’m going to check all the surrounding areas and compile a list of festivals/parades, attractions we can enjoy to really get the most out of the season.
The holidays can be stressful for many reasons, including financial stress, unrealistic expectations, and packed calendars.
Implementing these tips on how to prepare your mindset for the holidays now will help you to avoid overwhelm and enjoy yourself and your friends and family this holiday
season.
Email info at: asmashums@gmail.com
