It seems like a cruel joke that as we get older and better able to actually appreciate things, the more quickly time seems to pass leaving you less time to enjoy them. Take the holidays for example. When I was a kid it seemed like the year draaggggeeeddd by and Christmas could not get here soon enough. Then I got a little older. A little busier. I had kids. Responsibilities. Commitments. Now all of a sudden the year flies by at top speed leaving me sitting in the aftermath of the holidays with a bewildered look on my face wondering, “what just happened?!”
No matter how much I plan ahead for the holidays (and I am most definitely a planner!) it always seems like things are too rushed and I run out of time to do some of the things that I would really like to be doing, or even should be doing. I wouldn’t say the holidays are a source of stress, per se, but there is a slight sigh of relief once they’re over.
Slight, I said slight!!
Don’t hate me.
Well, apparently I’m not alone. I polled some of my readers and fellow bloggers on how they felt about the holidays and here’s what they had to say. Don’t worry, it’s not all negative—in fact, I was really happy to see how most people feel about the holiday season!
As cute as those family pictures are, any mom can tell you how stressful getting that one perfect photo can be. Family fun during the holidays is wonderful (it’s one of my favorite parts of the holiday too!), but a lot of preparation goes into family gatherings. Not budgeting or even knowing how much you’re spending can be a serious strain on family life, which is pretty much the last thing you want around the holidays. And being someone that starts buying and planning for Christmas the year before, the idea that the majority of respondents don’t start planning until a few months before (if that!) makes me want to break out in stress hives. There’s late nights, cleaning, organizing, meal planning… With some of these answers I’m surprised that only 15% of people used the word busy to describe the holiday season. Roughly half of those polled already feel the holidays are stressful, so why are we adding more self-inflicted stress?
Y’all, I have an idea. This year, let’s simplify a little bit. Let’s refocus. Let’s think about what’s really important. Let’s slow down. Let’s stress less.
Several months ago I had an idea for my holiday festivities and I want to share it with all of you. It’s called Simplifying the Season, and my hope is that it will help you all in some way as you enjoy your holidays this year. I’ve called upon some of my favorite bloggers to help me spread the word and I am so excited about the coming weeks!
I would love for you to take part in any way you can! This holiday season I want to know how you are going to simplify and refocus. Share it on your blog, share it on your social media, just share it! Maybe you have some tips about how to stay calm with holiday guests; maybe you have a family tradition you want to share that helps you focus on family time; whatever it is I want to know how it helps you with simplifying the season! This should not be something that adds yet another thing to your holidays, just something to help enhance them, helps to refocus them on what truly matters to you and your family this season.
Be sure to use the hashtag #SimplifyingTheSeason and then link-up the week after Christmas. I will be picking my favorite posts that I think best exemplify the spirit of simplifying this holiday season to send a special gift to!
And be sure to join us once you awaken out of your turkey coma on November 29 for The Great Christmas Roundup, your one-stop spot for all things holly jolly.
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