Last year I finished my Christmas Shopping in August.
That year, 2020, was (as you know) one of the most stressful and uncertain in modern history, at least for Americans, with shutdowns, riots, toilet paper shortages, and a contentious election (as always). With all of that going on, I just had a feeling it would be a good idea to get my shopping done early. Who knew if we were going to shut down again, or if tensions would be so high after the election that I wouldn't want to go into stores? Best to be prepared.
Ironically, I am still working on Christmas shopping as I write this in October, and this happens to be the year when I probably should have finished my shopping early. Fox Business has been warning since July that we might encounter shipping problems leading up to Christmas, and even the VP warned Americans to start Christmas shopping in August.
Rats. My instincts are clearly off, and I kind of wish now that I had followed my habits from last year.
Thankfully, Derek and I finished our family's Christmas shopping last weekend, and now it's just a matter of waiting for packages to get here. They are indeed taking longer than normal, but nothing has gotten lost in the mail yet, so that's a good sign.
Nevertheless, all these warnings about Christmas have reminded me that my Christmases always tend to go better when I start crossing things off my list early. If I can have most of my to-do list accomplished by the beginning of December, then I can take some time to relax and remember what the season is truly about - celebrating the birth of Jesus. So I thought I'd re-share a few of my ideas for how to have a less stressful Christmas season.
Start Early
As I already explained above, if you can finish some of the Christmas prep now, do it. This isn't just because things may get crazy this year, but because every Christmas tends to be a little crazy, especially for us moms. I don't know how many times I have been so frazzled and stressed during December that I very nearly missed the joy of the season. Here are a few things to consider starting to prepare early, some of them even as early as August or September (though if you start them now, you'll still be ahead):
-Buying Christmas presents. Start any time of year. My sister actually does her shopping for Christmas all year long, and this gives her the chance to get some great deals!
-Wrapping presents. Ironically, the one thing I actually do think I may have trouble finding this year is wrapping paper - usually by October Hobby Lobby has a full aisle of paper, but my local Hobby Lobby still has relatively bare Christmas shelves. This concerns me probably more than it should!
-Taking your Christmas card picture and/or writing your newsletter. Doing this now will eliminate that down-to-the-wire stress you might feel if you wait until December.
-Addressing Christmas cards. This is a tedious chore, and one that I like getting done early.
-Request Christmas books from the library. You want to do this sometime in November before Thanksgiving, and with any luck, the timing of your library holds will last you into December!
-Christmas baking. A lot of Christmas cookies freeze well.
-Cleaning out old toys. I told my kids the other day that they should start clearing out toys they no longer play with to make room for Christmas presents. They did surprisingly well at choosing things to get rid of.
Decorate Gradually
Decorating day can get a little tense around here, especially when I try to accomplish it all in one day. Last year I tried something new and started putting out our decorations gradually, decorating one room at a time. I did miss a little bit of the festivity of transforming the house all in one day, but the Christmas tree was still a big event, with wassail and Christmas carols playing. Decorating more gradually allowed me to be less frazzled about the mess, which in turn was good for my family, so I'll probably deck the halls this way again this year.
Say No To Non-Essentials
One thing that has been a hard lesson for me as an adult is that as much as I might want to do it all, I can't. Or I should say, I can't do every possible Christmas activity and not find myself running around like a maniac and crying at dumb things because of all the stress. I've had to learn to let some things go. Sure, we loved that Christmas parade when they kids were little, but maybe we want some of our weekends to be unrushed in December, and so I have to say no. Gingerbread houses are fun, but if we don't get to building one every year, that's okay. If I find myself with so many holiday events on the calendar that I'm wearing myself out, it's okay (and good) to only choose a few and let the rest go.
One thing that I think is helpful for deciding what should stay and what should go is to have a family meeting, especially with older kids. Tell them that you can't do every Christmas activity every December, and ask them to list their top three Christmas traditions. Then go through everyone's lists, and see what things are favorites that you want to do yearly, and what things you can make a semi-annual occurrence. It may even surprise you what traditions are treasured by your family, and what things they could do without.
Protect Your Time
Christmas is a time to be together with family and friends, and because of that, the invitations tend to pile up in December. Being together with those we love is a really good thing, but there has to be a balance. I am the type of person who doesn't like to miss any party or event, but when I say yes to so many things that I don't have any significant periods of time to refresh and rest, my family suffers. I've learned to plan out certain days or weekends in December where I don't have anything scheduled - this lets us have time to recover from the busyness, so we can enjoy and look forward Christmas gatherings instead of dreading leaving the house again. Does blocking off a certain number of days mean I have to say no to some things? Yes, it often does, but I found it's a good trade-off.
Consider Christmastide
Did you know Christmastide is a thing? I read about it in a book called Loving My Actual Christmas, and it was a revelation to me when I realized it's okay to save some Christmas-y activities until after Christmas. This site does a great job of explaining it, but Christmastide is a celebration and honoring of Jesus's birth from Christmas Eve until January 5th, and it is a traditional part of the liturgical calendar. Traditionally, you are not even supposed to take down your Christmas decorations until January 6th, the official ending of the celebration of Jesus's birth. Christmastide is where the idea of 12 days of Christmas comes from! So if you need a little more time to enjoy the Christmas season, you have a long tradition to back you up.
Make Time To Celebrate Advent
One of the most memorable traditions for my kids is our advent calendar, which is filled by their aunt and uncle each year. Not only do my kids enjoy the chocolate and presents during the month of December, but it's a daily way to point them to the One we are celebrating. Celebrating advent doesn't have to complicated - if you don't have relatives that plan advent out for you, just grab some advent readings online (this post has a bunch of options), and buy a couple bags of chocolates to pass out as you do the reading each day. A little chocolate goes a long way in memory making.
Slow Down
I struggled for years with constantly running to catch up every December, to the point where I dreaded all the work and planning of the holiday season. This makes me sad now, because in the midst of all the chaos of December, I found myself missing what it is really about.
This is our season to celebrate that we have a Savior, Jesus Christ, God made into flesh so He could take our sin upon Himself and die in our place. He came to die so we could live, a gift of eternal life with Him when we believe and put our trust for our eternity in Christ alone. Is there anything more beautiful about Christmas than that? If I am too busy during December to take time to ponder on that, to find joy in it, to spend time in prayer and Bible study with the One who left Heaven for me - well, then I am too busy.
It took me a while to learn that, but now that I have learned it the hard way, I have found myself enjoying December more than I ever have over the last couple years. Remembering that it's truly about Jesus - that my first priority needs to be slowing down and praising my Savior during the Christmas season - that has been what has helped me to prioritize, protect my time in December, and let some things go. Because if I miss celebrating the gift of Jesus in December, then I've missed the whole thing.
Do you ever find yourself stressed during the Christmas season, as I have, or missing the true meaning of it all because you are too busy?
Have you started getting ready for Christmas yet?
What do you think about the Hobby Lobby wrapping paper situation, should I be worried?
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