The time to simplify Christmas and other holidays is now. If you wait until later in the year, it might be too late to make meaningful changes that decrease stress and increase joy. Start today with the suggestions below.
If you take a look at the calendar (or the weather), it might feel like the wrong time to think about how to simplify Christmas or the holidays that mean most to you. A peaceful holiday season looks different for everyone. This gets tricky when you are coordinating with friends and family members (especially at the last minute). For some, this time of togetherness raises stress levels and clouds our vision of what the most important things really are.
With more time, you can consider a more thoughtful approach to simplicity throughout the holidays, and the rest of the year. What will it take to slow down enough to be present for the best parts of the holiday season? Take tiny steps to relieve pressure you have endured in the past.
How to Simplify Christmas and All Holidays
The seven suggestions below will help you identify how you want to spend the first night of Hanukkah, Christmas Day, or New Year’s Day. Unrealistic expectations can cause internal chaos so it’s best to focus on the simple things.
1. Reflect and reset with a better way to enjoy the holiday season.
What was lovely about the holiday season last year? What was stressful or annoying? Be honest about the “most wonderful time of the year.” Instead was it the most expensive time of the year, or the most time-crunched time of the year? What would it take to make it the most relaxing time of the year?
Reset with a vision of your ideal holiday season. Include time for your favorite holiday movies (mine is The Holiday), cozy time with candles, spending time in December the way you actually want to spend your time. Make the necessary adjustments and start having gentle conversations now.
2. Clear the clutter in your schedule.
Make room for the fun things that you want to enjoy during the holiday season. It shouldn’t be a month of back to back obligations on top of your regular (probably busy) schedule. You can save some things for next year. No one said you can’t watch holiday movies in January or schedule a Christmas lunch with friends and family after actual Christmas. I’d rather be flexible than overwhelmed.
3. Have clear and kind conversations about gift-giving.
Whenever I bring it up, gift-giving appears to be one of the more stressful events of the holiday season. Trying to limit gift giving appears to really get in the way when you want to simplify Christmas. If you want to skip or limit gift giving but don’t know how to express your wishes, here are several no gift scripts you can use.
4. Choose the holiday traditions that are important to you.
From gingerbread houses and the Christmas Eve menu to homemade gifts and making cinnamon rolls and cookies from scratch, note the traditions that you’ve enjoyed in the past and the ones you’d rather leave behind this year. You may decide that holiday cards aren’t in the cards this year, or going to see the Nutcracker doesn’t make the list.
If you have little kids, what Christmas tradition do you want to share with them? Which holiday traditions have turned into needless stressors because they cost too much (time, money or energy)? Give yourself permission to let go of the tradition and any associated guilt so you can show up and enjoy the magic of the holiday season.
5. Set your budgets now.
The holiday season can catch us off guard but with budgets in place for how you want to spend your time, money and energy, you can add a little peace and ease. Don’t create a mess for yourself by dismissing the truth about your own financial and energetic availability. Thinking about this now will help you make wise decisions before getting swept up in the holidays.
6. Protect your healthiest habits.
If the holidays have traditionally been a time when you skimp on sleep, drink too much or skip your workouts and meditations for more social time, pause first. Decide how you want to feel, not only through the holidays but afterwards. Can you build in time for extra social events without compromising the habits that keep you healthy?
It’s easier to avoid holiday overwhelm and to embrace holiday joy when you aren’t worn out from trying to do it all, from trying to create the perfect holiday.
7. Write a letter to future you.
Sometimes we forget what happened a year ago. To simplify Christmas in the future, write a letter to future you about what you enjoyed about this holiday season. Also include what didn’t work so well, not with regret but with the spirit of when you know better, you do better. It might be something about a family gathering or a smaller detail. For instance, my sister wrote herself a note about the lights she wanted to use.
No matter what you celebrate, when you decide to be intentional, you will enjoy it more, and create fonder memories for yourself and people around you. More importantly, you can protect your health and wellbeing with a little planning ahead.
