Inside: Are you tired of feeling stressed out and overwhelmed during the holidays? Do you just want to relax, spend time with your loved ones and actually savor the season? Check out this post for 10 tips to prepare for a slow holiday season this year. It is possible to enjoy holiday traditions and still keep your sanity!

Are you tired of feeling stressed out and overwhelmed during the holidays?  Do you just want to relax, spend time with your loved ones and actually savor the season?  Check out this post for 10 tips to prepare for a slow holiday season this year.  It is possible to enjoy holiday traditions and still keep your sanity!

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links.  Click here to read what that means.

Ahh, the holidays. They are the most wonderful time of the year, right?

Well, maybe not for some of us.

Instead, the holidays have turned into a time for trying to do more, spend more, bake more, see more, be more.

It’s really exhausting and takes my attention away from the true meaning of the holidays for me. Don’t worry, I’ll talk about how to figure out what it means to you too, if you’ve forgotten in all the hustle and bustle.

The last few years I have chosen to simplify my holiday season and enjoy a much slower season. I opted for choosing activities that light up me and my family, instead of doing something just because the media says I should or it’s on someone else’s priority list.

This post will walk you through 10 ways that you can simplify and prepare your family for a slow holiday season this year.

I can’t wait to share these ideas with you!

But first, make sure to download your free Simplify the Holidays Trello board here! Plus, you’ll receive two bonus boards as well!

Free Trello Boards to simplify the holidays

Are you tired of feeling stressed out and overwhelmed during the holidays?  Do you just want to relax, spend time with your loved ones and actually savor the season?  Check out this post for 10 tips to prepare for a slow holiday season this year.  It is possible to enjoy holiday traditions and still keep your sanity!

10 Tips To Prepare For A Slow Holiday Season

1. Set your intention for a slow holiday season.
2. Learn to say no.
3. Simplify gift-giving.
4. Create Gift Wish Lists For Your Kids.
5. Create a holiday bucket list that includes everyone.
6. Plan ahead, even just a little bit.
7. Set a Realistic Budget.
8. Simplify Your Schedule.
9. Create a cozy environment in your home.
10. Focus on what you already have.


1. Set your intention for a slow holiday season.

The very first thing I encourage you to do does not involve decluttering or organizing or making a to do list.

I am encouraging you to, first, think about what you want the season to look and feel like for you and your family. If you are the journaling type, this would be a good time to grab a pen and paper and jot down the answers to these questions below. If you’d rather just think about them in your head that is fine too!

  • What does the season mean to you and your family?
    • Does the season represent lots of family time?
    • Is your faith a major component?
  • What are your/your family’s favorite holiday memories?
  • Think of 3 things we can do to help OTHERS this season?
  • Think of 5 things we can do as a FAMILY this year?
  • What is 1 thing you do NOT want to do this year?
  • What is MOST important for you and your family this year? And, what is the LEAST important?

This exercise will give you a baseline or barometer to come back to when deciding what to do and more importantly, what NOT to do. This is probably the most important tip in this whole post if you are trying to simplify and slow down this holiday season.

If you don’t decide what is important to you, then someone else will decide for you.

“How we spend our days is of course how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and that one is what we are doing.”

Annie Dillard

2. Learn to say no.

It can be so easy to get caught up in trying to do all the things and saying yes to all the things this time of year. Most of the things on their own are probably good things and fun things and worth while. But when added all up they can be a recipe for overwhelm and stress.

You are allowed to do what feels right to you and your family.

During an already stressful time, I encourage you to find ways to relieve stress, and sometimes that means not doing something. And that is perfectly ok!

As Laura Vanderkam states:

“The question isn’t would I rather do this thing or nothing, it’s would I rather do this thing or everything else in my already packed life that I’m currently living.”

Laura Vanderkam

If something doesn’t align with your priorities from item 1 above, then it’s ok to say “NO” so you can make room for the things that do align with your values and priorities for the season.

If you need some help with saying no, Erin Zammett Ruddy breaks it down for you in the book, THE LITTLE BOOK OF LIFE SKILLS: Deal with Dinner, Manage Your Email, Make a Graceful Exit, and 152 Other Expert Tricks:

  1. Remind yourself that time is valuable and once it’s spent you absolutely can’t get it back.
  2. Ask yourself: “Would I be willing to do this thing tomorrow?”
  3. Respond quickly.
  4. Own your “no” if it’s not a priority (because something else actively is).
  5. Reframe your “no” to assuage your guilt (if it’s something you genuinely wish you had time for). 

Remember, YOU get to decide what’s best for you and your family.

3. Simplify gift-giving.

I saw a statistic recently that blew me away. It is estimated that US households spend an average of $1,536 during the holiday season. This dollar value includes everything, not just the presents, but I would guess that gifts make up a good chunk of that figure.

When I think back to my answers for the first tip above, I don’t mention anywhere that the reason for the season is to buy lots of presents! While I do enjoy giving gifts to my children and seeing their excitement on Christmas morning, I don’t want the gifts to take away from the true meaning of the holidays.

There are several ways to simplify gift-giving, all the way from not doing gifts on one extreme, to going on a big family trip on the other end. I think it’s important to find what works best for you and your family. I will share what we did last year and it worked for us! But I am not married to the idea so if it starts to not feel right anymore I am more than willing to change it up and try something else.

Last year we tried the four-gift rule for our kids and it worked great! Essentially you give each child something to read, something to wear, something they want, and something they need. I was able to talk to my older son about this and he was excited to think of something for each category.

This helped me to shop early and also gave me ideas that I could share with relatives. By sharing gift ideas with grandparents I am helping them out but I also know it will be something that my child actually wants or needs. It’s a win-win!

4. Create Gift Wish Lists For Your Kids.

This tip goes along with the previous one, but I think it’s super helpful to simplify gift-giving and shopping. After you have thought about how you want to handle gifts, to begin with, start asking your kids for wish lists. Whatever comes out of your kids right away – that’s probably what they are most excited about!

One of the biggest benefits of having a list in November is that you can shop early and take advantage of holiday sales. Another benefit, as I mentioned above, is that you can share these lists with family members. While they don’t HAVE to shop from the list, many will be grateful they don’t have to think of something on their own! Either way, it’s so important to respond to gifts from others with gratitude and grace.

Are you tired of feeling stressed out and overwhelmed during the holidays?  Do you just want to relax, spend time with your loved ones and actually savor the season?  Check out this post for 10 tips to prepare for a slow holiday season this year.  It is possible to enjoy holiday traditions and still keep your sanity!

5. Create a holiday bucket list that includes everyone.

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard about simplifying the holidays is to focus on creating memories throughout the season, rather than just focusing on the one big memory of Christmas morning.

When I think back to my own childhood what I remember are the little things we did during the season like lighting our Advent wreath, reading Christmas stories, and attending local parades. All of these things build anticipation for the coming of Christmas and the birth of Jesus.

Before I provide some tips on how to create a bucket list, please PLEASE don’t try to cram every little thing into your calendar or to-do list. That is not the point. The point is to find a few things that your whole family will love to do together as a family, and then LET THE REST GO!

Here are a few tips to create a Holiday Bucket List:

  • Revisit your priorities and thoughts from tip 1!
  • Reevaluate the traditions and things you normally do or have done in the past. It’s ok to skip some things this year if they don’t fit with your intent for the year. Questions to consider:
    • Do I want to go?
    • Is it out of obligation?
    • Do I feel a tightness when thinking about the activity?
    • Or do I feel light and excited?
  • Give yourself permission to keep things simple.
  • If you need some ideas for holiday traditions, check out this post with 15 ideas to get you started.
  • I also walk you step by step on how to set up a Seasonal Bucket List in this post.

Remember, instead of adding more hustle and bustle to your already full plate, find meaningful activities that your whole family will love and cherish. It’s about choosing what’s best for you and your family so you can bring the most joy for YOUR family, not someone else.

6. Plan ahead, even just a little bit.

I do not mean you have to put up your tree after Halloween and skip right over Thanksgiving or have all your presents wrapped after Black Friday. What I mean by planning ahead is to think about a few key areas NOW so you aren’t rushing around like a crazy person on Christmas Eve when you should be spending quality time with your loved ones.

The Simplify the Holidays Trello Board is a great place to start. It walks you through setting your intention for the season, setting a budget, and thinking about what activities you want to do this year, just to name a few things!

>> Grab your FREE Simplify The Holidays Trello Board to get yourself organized!

7. Set a Realistic Budget.

This is such a crucial step! Remember that stat I mentioned earlier? All the spending can add up sooooo quickly! If you take some time to think about how much you want to spend and how much you have to spend during this time, you will hopefully prevent any financial issues come January when the holidays are behind us.

There is no reason someone should go into debt in order to celebrate the holidays!

Most people think about setting a budget for money, but I love this article that talks about setting a budget for your time and attention as well.

8. Simplify Your Schedule.

Thinking about your schedule ahead of time will save you from saying yes to something when you really don’t want to commit or you have something come up later. This also lets you say NO gracefully because you just don’t have the room on your calendar. Also, make sure to add LOTS of white space!!

9. Create a cozy environment in your home.

I don’t mean to decorate every inch of your home! What I mean is to set the mood for an inviting and cozy place to hang out. If our homes are comfortable and cozy then we will be more inclined to slow down and spend more time at home! Here are some great tips to make your home cozier this holiday season!

I also love the Nester’s tips for decorating for the seasons using nature instead of “cute-ish clutter” that you find at the store. Her new book, Welcome Home: A Cozy Minimalist Guide to Decorating and Hosting All Year Round, talks all about how you can create a warm and inviting home without adding tons of clutter. One of my favorite tips from the book is to use your five senses when decorating. For example, using candles to stimulate the sense of smell and playing seasonal playlists to stimulate the sense of sound. I love that it’s more than just what you see!

10. Focus on what you already have.

My final tip is to focus on gratitude!

There seems to be an extra layer of pressure (aka: stress) around the holidays to be and make it the merriest of them all. There is pressure to spend more, do more, and visit more.

Since starting a gratitude practice (even though it’s not super regular!) I am usually content with what I have and who I am. During this time of year, I try to really focus on what I am thankful for and not get caught up in the craziness that could derail my efforts for a slow and meaningful holiday season. If you think back on your most memorable Christmas, I bet you don’t even remember what was wrapped up under the tree. What you remember are the people you were with and how you felt!

Remember – it’s not about the stuff…it’s about the people.

Related Post: How to Start A Daily Gratitude Practice

Conclusion

I hope that these tips are helpful to you in slowing down this holiday season and you are able to make more space for what truly matters to you!

More Resources to Simplify and Have A Slow Holiday Season This Year

How to Simplify the Holidays

How to Develop Meaningful Holiday Traditions

Clutter-Free Gift Guide for Adults

Download your free Trello Board Template to Prep for a Slow Holiday Season

If you loved this post, consider joining our Insider List and you’ll also receive the Free Trello Board template to simplify and organize your holidays this year!

If you loved this post, Pin It for later!

Are you tired of feeling stressed out and overwhelmed during the holidays?  Do you just want to relax, spend time with your loved ones and actually savor the season?  Check out this post for 10 tips to prepare for a slow holiday season this year.  It is possible to enjoy holiday traditions and still keep your sanity!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.