Christmas Expectations

When you think of Christmas are you more excited or more stressed? Most of us feel a combination of both. Many of us love the decorating, singing the carols, sitting by the tree and watching the kids unwrap the gifts. The sheer amount of tasks that we seem to have to accomplish in a few short weeks can cause us to be overwhelmed and extremely stressed.

I've learned over the past several years, that I can actually eliminate 75% or more of my stress that comes with Christmas by planning ahead. Part of that planning actually involves make realistic decisions and expectations based on the time I have available, and what is a valuable experience to me and my family. I've eliminated sending Christmas cards to most people in most years. I've reduced the number of people we buy gifts for. And I have found tremendous joy in completing most of our holiday preparations in November, so I can really soak up the joy of the season in December. In the coming days and weeks I will share more about how I prepare in hopes that it inspires you to take the stress out of your own Christmas preparations.

Time available is different for each of us. Some of us work or volunteer full time, so our available time to focus on the gift buying and various preparations is far less than a mother who stays home, or a retired individual. We need to be honest with ourselves about how much of our free time we want to spend on Christmas preparations. We even need to prioritize self care during this busy and stressful time. We should not be martyrs hurting ourselves to please others. No one can do it all, all the time, let alone in a short span of time.

Expectations are important to consider at the beginning of each Christmas season. If you have traditions of making cookies year after year with your kids, they may likely be disappointed if you do not continue. However, it is possible the cookie tradition no longer matters to them and you can cross it off your list. Getting input from your immediate family is key as you start to prepare for this holiday season. You may find that your kids are fine skipping holiday baking, but definitely want to go to see the neighborhood Christmas lights in their pajamas. Or maybe your own expectation is that you want to spend less time moving Elf on the Shelf around and can delegate the task or find a reason he or she only moves every few days. The expectations may even included the number of gifts you give, how much money you spend or the number of people you buy for.

The key to balancing the limited time we each have with the expectations is being very clear on what your priorities are. Priorities are different for each of us.  Making homemade gifts, and even baking treats from scratch is time consuming. However, if the experience of doing these tasks is very important to your holiday experience with your kids, that may time well spent. To other families, picking up store bought cookies for the school party saves time and makes room for going to a Christmas play. The point is to prioritize what is the most important parts of the season for you and your family. Eliminate any tasks that take time away from those things that you have prioritized based on your time and expectations.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to evaluate your time, priorities and expectations:

When do I want to start Christmas preparations, October, November or December?
Which Christmas traditions are important to me and my family?
Which Christmas traditions can we let go of this year to avoid stress and disappointment?
What did I do in the past that I don't want to do this year, or maybe even future years?
Can I buy fewer gifts, buy for fewer people to eliminate stress?
Can I buy the same gift for multiple people to save time?
Who can I delegate tasks to? Which tasks might those be?
Can I be okay saying no to holiday invites (or other tasks) that do not have meaning or take away from our top priorities?
Can decorating less save me time, or is that a priority?
Do I want a more simple or a more extravagant Christmas?
Can our budget meet our Christmas expectations? If not, what can I do to achieve those expecations on less?

Consider this a mission to accomplish this week. What are my Christmas expectations and priorities? Don't forget to involved the most important people you celebrate with when making these decisions. If you aren't focusing on Christmas in October, come back November 1 and review this post!