How to Find Joy During A Stressful Holiday Season

Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Some of the links below are affiliate links meaning that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you purchase something using the link. Read the full disclaimer policy here.

Between the school’s holiday play, work obligations, Christmas parties, and gift shopping, the weeks leading up to Christmas can be a very busy and stressful time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and rush through the days. When you push hard to get everything done, you may find yourself exhausted on Christmas day. At that point, you will realize that you’ve blown through the entire holiday season without stopping to enjoy it.

There are a few little simple things you can do to make sure that doesn’t happen. If you’re ready to make sure you can enjoy this holiday season, no matter how busy you are or how much pressure you’re under, keep reading.

Stop And Smell The Poinsettias

When you’re busy, it’s hard to notice the fun little things this season has to offer.

Challenge yourself to stop at least once a day and “smell the poinsettias”. Take a short little break to enjoy a cookie and your favorite cup of coffee. Spend a few extra minutes when you’re driving home with the kids in the evening and go look at lights. Turn on Christmas tunes and sing and dance through the house. Just stop and have some Christmas fun for a few minutes. It’s a great stress buster.

Engage Your Own Elves

Santa doesn’t do everything on his own, and neither should you. Learn to delegate both at the office and at home. Have your assistant compile the report for the boss, and get the kids to help with cleaning up after dinner. If you’re really sneaky, you can even get them to help with wrapping their siblings’ presents. Just the mention of Santa and their own gifts should encourage them to be quite helpful!

When you get some help with some of the things you have to get done, you’re freeing up a little time here and there to enjoy the season. No better time than the present to get good at delegating.

Making A List And Checking It Twice

Last but not least learn to prioritize. Make a list of what you need to get done today, this week, or before Christmas. Prioritize it and then go back and check it again. Eliminate anything you don’t really need to do. It’s amazing how freeing cutting tasks and things out of your life can be.

There are a lot of things we do just because we’ve always done them. When you stop and challenge yourself to focus on the important stuff, it becomes much easier to cut out busywork. That in turn greatly reduces the length of our to-do list and with it both the time it takes to get everything done and the stress we’re under.

Follow Santa’s example and work to find joy during this busy holiday season.

Merry Christmas!