Three Things to Do NOW to Create a Relaxed Christmas Season

Does the idea of having a relaxed and peaceful Christmas make you scoff? Do you think that in order to ensure your children have fond memories of the holidays you have to drive yourself into the ground? I have good news for you! You CAN make the holidays special for your family, create wonderful memories for your kids, AND still enjoy it and get refreshed yourself!

This does take being organized and planning ahead. November is a great time to get started! Here are three things you can work on now that will make December a wonderful time of year for you and your kids!

1. Buy presents early.

I try to finish my Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. I know many people like to shop after Thanksgiving sales—if that is the case for you, I think December 1st is a reasonable goal for finishing your shopping. Be sure you have a list of what you want to get for each person and where you will get it if you don’t find it on sale (you might want to also make note of the regular price so you know when you find a great price and can jump on it). Keep gift giving simple: consider giving homemade gifts, limiting the number of gifts your children get, and limiting gifts to extended family members. Don’t let the gift giving take the focus off of what is really important during this time, and, definitely, don’t let it ruin your budget.

2. Plan Advent activities!

I like to plan a combination of fun activities for my kids and service projects and acts of kindness we can do as a family to bless someone else. I print off a December calendar and write in all of our commitments and planned activities throughout the month and then add in service projects and fun activities. I put something on almost every day, I just make sure I balance simple activities with things that take more time and effort. Some examples from our calendar are attending a Christmas party, picking out something from the Samaritan’s Purse gift catalog, baking cookies, or going out to dinner and leaving our server an extra-large tip, just to give you a few ideas.

3. Adjust your school plans.

We normally do very little school between Thanksgiving and New Year. This year we will be doing some because we took other breaks, but we will be changing up what we do and reducing the workload significantly. There are some great Advent-themed unit studies that are a wonderful option for this time of year if you don’t want to stop school all together. Or maybe you just reduce it down to two or three of the most important subjects. Whatever you do, make sure there is a lot of time to just enjoy the season and have fun as a family.

Bonus Tip: KEEP IT SIMPLE!

We all tend to overdo it during the holidays. Our culture seems to encourage focusing on what you DO and not just being together. Make sure you remember the reason we are celebrating and keep that front and center. Gifts can be simple, homemade, and minimal. You don’t have to attend every function you are invited to, especially if a particular event causes you stress. School can be on a reduced schedule or even taken off completely depending on how you plan out your year. Do the things that REALLY mean a lot to your kids and drop everything else. Resist the urge to try every new idea you see on Pinterest. Your kids will have more meaningful memories if you do a few really awesome things rather than running like crazy from activity to activity (they will also remember a few meaningful presents more than piles and piles of stuff).

Start planning now and have an amazing Christmas!

Sabrina Scheerer is a homeschooling mother of five high-spirited children and an Army wife. Prior to motherhood, she worked in childcare and early education including roles as a daycare inspector, daycare center and home daycare director, preschool teacher, and trainer for childcare providers and directors. She has been involved with early childhood education for over 15 years. Sabrina earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Maryland and has graduate hours in human development plus countless hours of continuing education in early childhood and education. Sabrina has served as a Classical Conversations Director and tutor for her local communities and has taught classes for a local homeschool coop. She has extensive, personal experience using many different homeschool curricula. She is also actively involved in her church and community, volunteering with Operation Christmas Child, International Student Ministries, and AWANA as well as working as a local coordinator for an international exchange student program. In her free time, she enjoys crafts, reading, and raising critters on her small homestead. Sabrina blogs on parenting, faith, marriage, homeschooling, homesteading, and natural living at www.kidscrunchandchrist.com where her hope is to inspire and encourage mothers to live joyfully.