The time between Thanksgiving and the the arrival of the new year can be busy. It is common to have additional responsibilities and activities, which perhaps means having less time to read blogs. This year, I’ve decided to spend the month of December sharing simple thoughts for the holiday season. They are short and sweet, and hopefully will make you feel a bit less stressed and more joyful.
If you are looking for more tips and thoughts on holiday organizing, I have many posts which you can access here.
I’m starting with a reminder that a bit of chaos at this time of year is normal. In a way, the holiday season can feel like a part time job. Gifts, parties, faith gatherings, traditions, greeting cards, and a number of other things can crowd our schedule and task list. Additionally, for a variety of reasons, we may be feeling a bit blue. If you are looking at the next six weeks and feeling overwhelmed, remind yourself that most people are experiencing similar emotions. It’s perfectly acceptable. If you need help, ask for it (or hire it), but don’t berate yourself. Make it a priority to care for yourself as well as others. The holidays are all about love, so don’t forget to show yourself some.
I wish you a holiday season overflowing with moments of joy, significance, and peace!
Do you think your holiday season might be a bit chaotic? How are you feeling as you look ahead?
Leaving a little room emotionally and physically for a little chaos helps! Taming your expectations that holidays are perfect helps you enjoy the season.
That’s really it, Ellen. Expectations can play a large role in how we experience our lives. If we expect perfection, and think everyone else is achieving it, we may undermine the positives that are truly before us.
I’m wishing you the same! I’m working on some posts about managing chaos right now. It’s.. a lot.
Tamara recently posted…Amazing Steps to Easily Write an Essay in College
Good luck with your posts! One day at a time in December, but also, remember to have some fun. 🙂
Thanks for the reminders. The older I get the more I ask for help. I find even when others are busy they are glad to lend a hand when it is needed.
Jonda Beattie recently posted…Make Space to Showcase Your Holiday Decor
I’m in the same place, Jonda! If someone wants to help me these days, I give a cheer!
Great advice, Seana. Expectations are tricky – especially at this time of year. Sometimes we plan things out in our head and expect that everything and everyone will do (and feel) as we expect. You know it rarely works out that way. Giving ourselves (and everyone else) grace during this 6 week frenzy is key. I like to thing we can find joy and happiness in the small things around us. The beautiful lights, the scent of pine and blooming paperwhites, the crisp air, and the music. Appreciate the moments and try not to crowd too much into each day.
Diane N Quintana recently posted…How To Organize Your Bathroom Closet
Exactly, Diane. And don’t think that everyone else around you is having a smooth, perfectly organized holiday season. It’s normal for things to fall off the rails a bit. In fact, that is part of the fun, right? If we can let go a bit and enjoy the moment, we’ll enjoy the month more.
Love that you’re doing a series of short posts. While I always enjoy reading what you write, the short one feels like a gift. It IS such a busy, hectic time of year. So getting a single nugget of inspiration is so useful, especially now.
Appreciate the reminder about normalizing the chaos. Wishing you and your beautiful family a happy, healthy, joy-filled holiday season!
The funny thing is, many of our “best” memories are from moments where things did not go according to plan. The holiday season has so much to offer if we can just ride along with it and be less concerned about making sure everything goes exactly as planned or expected.
Wishing the same back to you and yours – much love and joy to all the Samuels!
I was thinking the same thing about stepping back from the craziness of the season. December is not only a busy time for my blog but also the start of my small business clients’ end-of-year paperwork season. So, to keep myself from getting overwhelmed, I will be cutting back on my normal tasks and adding in some quiet time for planning for the new year. It’s a great time to self-care and enjoy the holidays. Happy holidays to you and your family.
Sabrina Quairoli recently posted…How to get your home ready for the holidays in 14 Days
Terrific point about planning in some self-care time. I find that people who work in service professions can be particularly stressed at this time of year, trying to help their clients with end of year and holiday needs. This is all well and good, but we need to remember to treat ourselves as well as we treat others!
I have taken lessons from the Covid lockdown Christmas and look at how having fewer people, gifts and entertaining can be OK. Instead of making up for the lost time, I am considering what I enjoy doing and doing more of that and doing less of what I think I must do. Feeling blue happens to me and I found that adding fun events throughout December takes the pressure off doing everything on one special day and then it is over.
Julie Stobbe recently posted…Organize a celebration full of thanks
We find that we tend to carry through more on “fun” when we buy tickets. They can be to a movie or a show, but if we have invested in tickets, we are less likely to bag out at the last minute. We don’t need to be doing something every day either. One or two special events during the season is really enough for us.
All my non-family groups got together in November and we’ve nearly finished our shopping, so I’m hoping for a chaos-free Christmas this year. :
Janet Barclay recently posted…How I Combined Five Interests for an Awesome Experience
That’s getting ahead of the game, Janet! Now all you have to do is relax and have fun. 🙂
When I was a kid, I always felt a little left out of the hubbub of the holidays; contrary to what many uninformed folks think, Hanukkah is not any sort of Jewish Christmas. It’s a holiday mostly observed by families with little kids; we singletons may light candles, but there’s no massive cooking or entertaining or decorating. As an adult, though, I am so freaking relieved because I’d be EXHAUSTED if I had to do even a quarter of what the typical Christmas-observing homeowner and parent (or grandparent) does. I do try to help my clients focus on rituals they love and let go of the chaos, but any childhood envy I had is gone because there’s so MUCH of a sense of obligation to do it all, and on your own. You’re so right that chaos is the norm, and while you’re welcome to walk away from the chaos, understanding that it’s chaotic for everyone (well, except those of us who don’t observe Christmas) takes some of the pressure off! Great reminder!
Julie Bestry recently posted…Calm Cooking Chaos (Part 3): Organize With Recipe Apps
As you point out, not everyone is carrying the same amount of “holiday weight.” Also, people of a variety of faiths have differing levels of familial, religious, and societal demands to balance. It’s so great that now you see a blessing in the calm of your December experience, in contrast to the feelings you had as a child. Admittedly, even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, there may still be a measure of extra activity to consider (corporate functions, office parties, tips for the service people, etc.). The whole point being, seasons in which we are facing a lot of extra responsibilities are probably going to feel a bit chaotic, and this is both normal and ok. We shouldn’t restrict ourselves from being joyful just because everything isn’t exactly as we might like.
What a great reminder that it’s a busy time of year and important that we are all gentle with ourselves and each other in what can be a very overwhelming time. Thank you for the reminder.
Janet Schiesl recently posted…The Target Principle
Love that, Janet. Be gentle with ourselves – exactly!