The holidays are supposed to be a time of peace and joy. It’s a time to enjoy family and friends and spread holiday cheer. However, as a mother, sometimes the season can be more stressful than anything. We tend to put too much pressure on ourselves during this best season of the year (in my personal opinion).

Instead of enjoying the season and being present in the moment, we become stressed over all the things we need to do. Buying Christmas gifts, holiday cooking, costumes for the kids’ productions, cookies for the neighbors, coins for the money jars, and seriously the list could go on and on. Focusing on all those things can easily become stressful and overwhelming. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. I want to share with you 7 tips to reduce mom-stress during the holidays.

7 Tips to Reduce Mom-Stress During the Holidays

Shopping

Shopping is definitely not the end all during this season, however, it can easily create mom-stress. So many people to shop for, so many people in the stores, so many people. Period.

Tip #1: Shop Online – seriously, shopping from the comfort of your home is my number one suggestion to take the stress out of shopping. And, don’t try to do it all at once. That probably won’t help the stress factor. Do it here and there when you have the chance or here and there as you find things on sale.

Tip #2: Shop Without the Kids – whether it’s food or gifts that you’re shopping for, if you’re not going to do it online, then leave the kids at home! A grocery trip without the kids can be like a much needed mini vacation. My mom and any of my sisters that are in town pick a Saturday every year where we go on a big Christmas shopping trip together. If something like that would stress you out, no worries, skip it. But for us, it’s something enjoyable that we look forward to each year. The key is to not put any pressure on yourself to “get all the shopping done” that day. The focus is to have a good time with your family (or friends) and get some shopping done while you’re at it!

Tip #3: Shop for Less – cutting down your shopping list can help get rid of the overwhelm. Some families choose to do 4 gifts for their kids. Something they need, something they want, something to wear, something to read. It helps keep things simple. Another option with your extended family would be to see if they would like to draw names instead of gifting for everyone. Family gift baskets are another idea.

Food

For some, food can create plenty of mom-stress. For others, baking or cooking is a stress reliever.

Tip #4: Do What Works for YOU – the key here is to not put a lot of pressure on yourself. If you love to bake, and it’s a stress reliever or favorite for you, then bake up a storm. Send goodies to the neighbors, go to that cookie exchange, bake for the kid’s school Christmas parties. If cooking or baking is not your thing and just stresses you out more than anything, then don’t! Send a bag of chips to the class party, bring the drinks to the family get together. Whatever you do, you’re still contributing, but there’s no reason to put all sorts of undo pressure on yourself.

Tip #5: Let the pre-made section help you out – Maybe you do love to cook or bake, but during the holidays it all just gets to be too much! Simplify a little by adding some pre-made items to your dishes. Use the frozen or refrigerated pie crust. Buy the dinner rolls. Use the canned green beans and cream soups instead of making your own (if that’s even a thing, definitely not a thing in my world!).

Holiday Life

Tip #6: Say No – Give yourself permission to say no. There are some things you may not be able to say no to, and hopefully there are some things you don’t want to say no to. But those optional things that tend to pop up everywhere during this season? Pick and choose what works best for your family, and kindly decline the rest. I know this one can be easier said than done for those that don’t want to “hurt anyone’s feelings”, but at times it may be necessary.

Tip #7: GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK – I would tend to say this is the most important one to reduce mom-stress during the holidays. Many times we are the ones that put undo pressure on ourselves. We want everything to be perfect, we want the kids to have a great time. Let me tell you, the kids are going to have a great time even if everything is not perfect. And another thing. Even if you stress yourself out trying to make everything perfect, there’s a good chance something will not be perfect. Guess what? It will all be okay. Just GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK!

So let’s follow up on these tips to reduce Mom-Stress during the holidays

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the main reason we experience mom-stress during the holidays is because we put so much pressure on ourselves as moms. Sure, sometimes it comes from others, or our at least our perception of others’ thoughts of us. But, many times, it is just us, plain and simple.

And, if it happens to come from other people, you can’t worry about that! I’m not saying to completely write them off, but you can’t always please everyone, and really that’s not your job. You do what you can do and most importantly, enjoy the holiday season with your kiddos and family! Don’t let the stress overwhelm this beautiful and wonderful season. And sometimes, you just need to take a break. It’s okay mama, take that break.

Mama, you’re the best, and you CAN do this and enjoy it at the same time!

Choose a Pin to Save for Later!