My Top Tips for Making the Holidays Easy and Pain Free

Once you get married and have kids and especially if you also host the holidays, the holidays get stressful fast.  Whether it's balancing the families and in-laws or dealing with hosting while also caring for small children or just choosing between all of the events and parties, it can really take the fun out of the holidays.  So over the years, I have cultivated a holiday routine that simplifies my life, because heaven knows, the holidays are full-time mom.  Dad's contribution is the Christmas lights and then, he considers his job done (but to his credit, he does do a bang-up job).  Sorry, I digressed.  But the key here is creating a routine you can repeat each year.  Starting from scratch every year will make the holidays more overwhelming than they need to be.

Here are my tips:

1.  Outsource the meals - Seriously, if you have little kids, there is no joy in spending days cooking a meal for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Everyone is miserable during the cooking process and the kids certainly don't appreciate it.  So...don't do it.  Lots of grocery stores (like Whole Foods) and restaurants sell ready-made fantastic Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.  They don't cost that much more than if you made it yourself, and you will also save yourself that painful shopping trip the week of the holiday with other 3 million holiday shoppers.  Do not feel guilty.  Don't let your in-laws make you feel guilty.  If they do, let them cook next year.  Outsource will enable you to really enjoy the day with your kids and family, which is far more meaningful.

2.  Shop online - Given that this is 2015, it seems a little silly to be saying this.  But I still talk to so many friends who are reluctant to do this.  You can get your shopping done in an hour instead of days.  You family doesn't know the difference.  You don't get bonus points for suffering in retail stores.

3.  Dedicate one day to shopping - So for everything you can't buy online (candy, stocking stuffers, food, etc.), dedicate one day to buying these items and call it done.  Personally, I go to Christmas Affair in Austin every year.  They have 200+ booths.  I drink, enjoy, and shop.  I am determined to find everything I need that day and then, I'm done.

4.  Select 3 Events and say No to Everything Else - There are so many things to go to and attend during the holidays that you can feel overwhelmed.  You don't have to feel that way.  I also think it's important to build traditions during the holidays, so I take the approach of choosing a few things we do every year.  That way I know at the beginning of the season what we are doing, what I need to buy tickets for, and what I need to put on the calendar.  We might end up doing other things if we have time and want to, but I don't feel obligated to at all.

5.  Streamline your Christmas Cards - I know a lot of people would say just give up the tradition of the Christmas card.  But I truly like sending and receiving Christmas cards.  For my non-Facebook using friends who live far away, this may be the only time I really get an update on their family.  I don't want to lose that.  BUT Christmas cards can be very time consuming, so here's what I do:

• I have all of my addresses in an Excel spreadsheet
• I have a Word doc that automatically pulls the addresses into a 3 column document that I print on address labels (happy to share my templates if anybody wants them)
• I order stamps from USPS (that's right, I don't even go to the post office)
• I order my cards and return address labels super early.  I made my card in September.
• So all I really have to do is spend 30 minutes assembling my cards, and then, I'm done!  I have even paid the babysitter an extra $20 to stuff Christmas cards for me when I was desperate.

6.  Give photos as gifts - One of the most time consuming holiday activities is trying to figure out what to give the grandparents.  They don't need or really want anything.  So...give them photos and photo gifts.  They like them.  It's easy.  You don't have to rethink this every year.  Just go to Shutterfly and have a ball!

7.  Buy gifts when you travel - If you do have the luxury of traveling to interesting places, buy gifts then.  Everyone loves to shop when they travel, so this gives you a good excuse.  And gifts from your travel experiences are special and let loved ones know you were thinking of them while on vacation.  AND when the holidays come around, you're like, "Wow.  I already have a gift.  Check!"

8.  Make decorating a family affair - What to do with the whole family while you are trapped in the house on Thanksgiving with no where to go?  Decorate.  I make sure the tree (well, who am I kidding...trees, plural...I'm little crazy about Christmas decorating) are setup ahead of time.  Then, the family decorates the trees while we watch the Macy's parade.

9.  Spend as much time as possible doing the things you really enjoy about the holidays - I love listening to Christmas music, so I listen to it all of the time.  Shamelessly.  But it reduces the holiday stress oddly.  I also like looking at Christmas lights (which my kids do too).  We frequently subject my husband to driving around neighborhoods to just look at lights.  It's easy and requires no planning, and I really feel like we are enjoying the holidays.  And lastly, I drink hot chocolate.  This is the one time of year I feel entitled to just drink hot chocolate, because it's a part of the holiday spirit.  

Here's to hoping you survive and hopefully enjoy the holidays with minimal stress!  I know you can do it.