Christmas Past- Learning from People Who’ve Been There
Christmas is an absolutely magical time of year. The sights, sounds, tastes, and smells all delight the senses. Everyone wants their holiday to be merry, bright and filled with wonder. Sometimes that’s easier said than done and all the good intentions start to feel like a burden. Trying to make everything perfect gets overwhelming and stressful. That’s when it’s great to talk to someone who’s been around the Christmas block a time or two.
If you talk to people who’ve raised families into adulthood, you might learn that you don’t need to jam pack your holidays so full that you start to feel dazed and confused. They’ll likely tell you that a lot of the effort you put into making memorable holidays simply doesn’t matter. That you can do less and have a bigger impact.
Learning from people who’ve lived some life can help you avoid stress and headaches during Christmas…and the rest of the year. Asking some powerful questions can make all the difference in how you spend your time and resources during the holiday. Take a look-
Q? How important is it to buy gifts for Christmas?
A: It may feel important to have a lot of gifts under the tree so children feel valued, but in the end it doesn’t matter. They usually blow through the gifts and only really care about one or two each year. Over time it means more to kids to have fewer gifts that are more thoughtful for their needs at the time.
Q? What do kids remember most?
A: Kids tend to remember events more than anything. A year you take a vacation instead of staying home. The year you go skiing on Christmas day and have a crock pot dinner. These unusual events really impact their memories in positive ways.
Q? What are the top 3 most important things to focus on?
A: 1. Quality time. Doing a special activity with each child during the season really means a lot to them. 2. Tradition. Having something fun you do each year helps create a lasting memory that they tend to take into adulthood. 3. Community. Using the holiday to remind children of the importance of caring for the community as a whole. Buying gifts for the Angel Tree network or volunteering somehow as a family.
It can feel overwhelming trying to be, do, and have everything there is to make Christmas special. It needn’t be too complicated. Ask those older than you for their perspective and advice on how you can streamline and bring out the best of the holidays without feeling burdened.
Crafting a Christmas Mission Statement Helps Reduce Holiday Stress
The holidays come around every year and each year brings the promise of magic and wonder. Christmas delights entire families and gets them excited for gifts, celebrations, and time off from their regular routine. The excitement generated by Christmas can quickly fade when things start to feel overwhelming. Without proper planning, Christmas time can morph into a stressful time filled with too many activities and not enough resources to meet your expectations. Luckily, there’s a simple way to avoid stress during Christmas time.
You may have heard about mission statements and how they help organizations and businesses laser focus on their overall goals for their business. It’s directly connects to the why of why they are in business. A mission statement helps businesses, and those who run them, weigh their decisions and make the best choices possible that align with their mission.
In the same way that mission statements serve business, they can serve families. When it comes to Christmas, having a mission statement can help families make decisions that support their mission and reduce stress spending time on things that don’t suit their mission.
A sample mission statement for Christmas could be- To focus on family and friends making memories that last. Another could be- To use the season as an opportunity to serve others.
Taking the time to define what matters most helps remove any doubt about where to put your emphasis and where to set healthy boundaries. If your family mission is to serve others, it makes sense to set aside resources to donate or volunteer during the holidays while giving up other activities. If your mission is to focus on family and friends, it makes sense that you would plan activities that are family oriented.
Try these tips for creating your Christmas mission statement
Tip- Involve the whole family. Make creating your mission statement a family affair. Involve everyone in determining what matters most to them and crafting a mission statement that reflects the goals for the season. It might be something unique like- to experience Christmas as a family on a vacation.
Tip- Write out your mission statement and post it. Make sure your mission statement is front and center to remind your whole family what they have agreed is their focus for the holiday.
Tip- Weigh your choices against one another. When you are faced with decisions about what to do with your spending, time, and obligations, weigh them against your mission. If the opportunity doesn’t support the mission, it’s an easy no.
One of the easiest ways to reduce stress during Christmas time is to agree ahead of time what your focus is going to be. Creating a mission statement can help your family identify their primary focus for the season and avoid unnecessary stress.
Tips for Reducing your Giving Without Feeling Like a Scrooge
Being generous is important. There’s no greater time of year to give than during the holidays but it doesn’t take long for the list of opportunities to give to outgrow your ability to be generous. Sometimes you’ve simply got to cut back. This can leave you feeling guilty and fearful you’ll be perceived as a Scrooge.
There are plenty of great reasons to give and be generous, but your resources may not always be as big as your heart. What can you do when you need to reduce your giving without feeling horrible? Try these ideas out-
Idea! Try reducing your overall gift-giving budget. If you are in the habit of giving extravagant gifts, try reducing your price point per person to make the budget stretch. Lowering your spending per person can help you give more without cutting out the number of people you give to.
Idea! Give time rather than money. Giving gifts and making monetary donations comes out of your bank account. Why not give the gift of time instead. Create coupon books with vouchers for special time with friends and family. You can postpone your spending until they cash in their coupons. Instead of making money donations to your favorite charities, consider doing some volunteer work throughout the year to offer an equally valuable resource.
Idea! Reassess your giving guidelines. Over time, you may find you are under pressure to give gifts to an ever-growing list of friends and family. Times change and it’s ok to assess and re-evaluate your giving guidelines. Some fun gift-giving guidelines could include-
Only buying gifts for kids under 16
Doing a numbered gift exchange with adult family members
Opting out of gift giving outside of immediate family
Setting a spending cap on gifts
Once you’ve made the best decision for your family, rest assured that you can give confidently without feeling like a Scrooge.
Idea! Get crafty with your giving. Try making gifts that have low cost investments. Body scrubs, décor, and other DIY items can cost pennies to make but their personal touch has great value. Search the web for fun do it yourself gifts you can make in bulk and give to lots of people.
Christmas means something different to everyone who celebrates. There are no two families experiencing the holiday the same. You must feel confident setting limits and creating spending plans that make sense for you and your family’s finances. Be generous, but not to the point you face going into debt. Find fun ways to give without feeling stressed or like a Scrooge.
Vacations are an Excellent Way to Celebrate Christmastime
What’s your idea of a perfect Christmastime? Does it include a well-lit tree, friends and family gathered around the table for a meal? Or, does it look more like being in an oceanside condo ready to hit the beach? For some, vacations are an excellent way to celebrate Christmastime.
Most people feel pulled to their homes during the holidays. The traditions of setting up a tree, baking, and other family fun brings back comfort and joy each season. There’s no place they would rather be than home and they want their children to build lasting memories about their holiday time at home too. The thing is, if you ask adults about their favorite holiday memories, they oftentimes speak about the rare time they traveled during the holiday.
Taking a vacation during Christmas can be fun! Getting out of tradition and doing something extraordinary can create a new spark during the holiday. There’s something new and exciting about spending an old holiday in a new way. There are lots of ways to use travel as an alternative to a stay-at-home Christmas.
VRBO- Vacation Rentals by Owner are affordable, fully contained homes that offer the benefits of home in a fun location. Consider transferring your holiday magic to a VRBO. You can still have a tree and cook your traditional meal all the while experiencing a new and exciting location.
The Happiest Place on Earth- Did you know that Disney theme parks are open 365 days per year? That means you can celebrate Christmas at a Disney theme park rather than your living room. Instead of investing in the trappings of Christmas, divert your funds to a family vacation and spend your special day with Mickey and friends.
Foreign Exchange- Why not experience the holiday through another culture’s eyes. Many cultures celebrate Christmas and it can be an eye opening and cultural experience to celebrate somewhere new. Take a deep dive into another culture and experience Christmas in ways you may have never dreamed of. The experience will certainly last a lifetime.
There’s no requirement that you stay home for Christmas. Whether you have an entire family living under your roof, or it’s your first year as an empty nester, there are plenty of opportunities to travel and experience Christmas on vacation. Try something fun and new and see how much your family enjoys their alternative celebration.
