Holiday Shopping Stress

Sometimes I think it’s impossible to have a stress free Christmas.  So many gifts, gatherings, families, meals and budgets that have to be planned for, it just seems like madness. In the name of a waste less Christmas, my family did a loose no-spend December plan a few years ago.  It started out that she wasn’t going to buy anything at all. She was going to have all her Christmas shopping done, all her food stocked, everything she needed to enjoy the holiday without being bogged down by commercialism. She wanted these holidays to be fun, not stressful.

Sounds good, right? Then she realized stressing out about not being able to buy anything wasn’t fun, so she decided to buy from locally-owned stores or as locally as possible. This means supporting our local restaurants, local stores and artists.

It’s a pretty common practice for people to flow to the bigger city to do their holiday shopping. This can have a negative impact on the economy and also it’s just a waste of gas. Companies decide to locate in cities based on how companies like them are being supported in that particular city. If people always go to another city to buy stuff, then other companies aren’t likely to move there because its citizens aren’t supportive of the companies already there.

Getting everything arranged, bought and paid for can go along way in helping create stress-free holidays without debt, but there are some additional tips that might be helpful.

Holiday Planner

The holidays are also one of the busiest times of year for many people.  Between family get-togethers, parties hosted by friends, the baking, cooking and shopping…. well there is just so much to keep track of.  A holiday planner is a great place to store all the information you need to keep your holidays running smoothly so you can just worry about enjoying the festivities.

At the end of the post, you’ll find more information for a great e-book filled with extensive planning and organizing solutions to make your Christmas the best ever. Use CODE: everchange for a 5 percent discount!

Tips for a Stress Free Christmas

With these Stress-free tips, the holidays are more manageable. It’s all about finding what balance works for you.

1. Create A Holiday Timeline

   Starting with a holiday planner complete with a menu planners, gift trackers, shopping lists and budget trackers can be extremely helpful. This can help you create a timeline to help you figure out what you have to get done and when it needs to get done. If you get down to the wire and start to get stress, enlist help and prioritize what absolutely has to get done and what be put off.

2. Change It Up

   What’s the one thing that drives you the craziest? Buying gifts? Meal planning? Cleaning? Once you’ve narrowed it down to one or maybe even three things, find a new way to get it done. Enlist help, don’t do it  or start earlier, just find a new way to do it that doesn’t make you crazy.

3. Stock Up on Supplies

   Whether it’s wrapping or meal planning, sometimes it’s good to have extra. Nothing is more frustrating than getting half way through and realize you ran out of what you needed. Then you have to again make plans to get the job done. The leftovers can be saved for next year or if it’s food can easily be used after the holidays.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help

   I would say this can be the biggest thing for stress-free holidays. As a guest, it’s no fun to see your host/ess suffering and having to do everything themselves. As a host/ess, it’s no fun to miss out on the family activities and conversation because you’re busy cooking. Ask for help, look for canabis stores near me to ease the tension, and get the family involved so everyone can spend time together for the holidays. That’s what they’re about after all. You can also seek out help from professionals like those companies that offers the best cbd topicals that can opt with your concerns especially stress.

5.  Don’t Try to Mix it Up

   Holidays aren’t the time for experimentation. It takes time to figure out the new things and if they don’t work out, then you’re either stuck with it or have to find time to make a new one. Stick to what you know, the family favorites and use less-stressful times of the year for experimentation.

6. Break out the Christmas Music

   Who doesn’t love Christmas music? It just gets you into the spirit of Christmas and that joy is good when working on things that overwhelm you. If you need to clean the house, start meal prepping or gift wrapping, just make yourself a play list to sing along to. The best part is once you do it, you can store it away to use year after year.

7. Don’t Multitask

   I know this can be hard when there is a million things to do, but if you do on one thing at a time, you can really really focus. Making your world-famous pecan pie? Enjoy the memories of your family eating it, enjoy the smell as it bakes and look forward to eating it. Don’t miss out on memories running from one task to the next.

8. Be Thankful

   Changing your perspective from what still have to do to all that you already have can bring relief instead of anxiety about the holidays. Thanksgiving should be celebrated all year round. Any time you feel overwhelmed or stressed, just stop, breath and try taking some Exhale Wellness Delta 8 products.

9. Involve the kids

   The holidays are all about spending time with those you love. They can help decorate — everything from rooms to cookies. So even if they’re in the way, they’re helping you get the job done.

10. Team Up

    Pretty much everyone you know is prepping for the holidays. Team up with your bestie and double team and double the recipes. Make an assembly line and wrap gifts your gifts together. Help each other decorate your houses. Everything can be much less stressful, if you have a partner to help your conquer your projects.

These are my tips for a stress-free holidays. It’s all about looking at them a bit differently and finding a new way of doing things.

Here is a fun little graphic to help remind us of what the holidays are all about.

Additional Resources and Coupon Code!

Although, stress free holidays is something my family always strive for, I came across this e-book from Lisa Sharp called Stress-Free Christmas. Obviously, I’m always looking for better strategies for less stressful holidays, so I gave it a read.

She goes beyond shopping early and saving money. She gives detailed solutions for how to keep your home organized, prioritize and plan, so you can have a stress-free Christmas. Get access to the best planners including, Cooking and Baking Lists, Christmas Order Tracker, Gift Ideas and so much more! Even with a late start, her tips will help you get organized, budget and declutter in time for the holidays.

Check out her book at Retro Housewife Goes Green. Use CODE: everchange to get 5 percent off, then grab a notebook and a pen because you’ll want to take notes!

Feel free to add your stress-free holiday tips in the comments below!

For more posts to get you in the Christmas spirit, check out these additional blog posts.

What do I get my Daycare Kids for Christmas? – Little Sprouts Learning

Good Deeds Your Kids Will Cherish During the Holidays-House of Fauci’s

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