It’s the Most Wonderfully Stressful Time of the Year!

First off I promise to blog more, but as today’s title suggests December is a wonderfully stressful time for me. Why wonderfully stressful? Does that even make sense? Let me explain. I love the holidays and everything that goes along with it – seeing family, the parties, the food, the gifts, the decorations, etc. However that also means traveling, planning, cooking, spending money, and dragging up boxes from the basement. See what I mean? Wonderful, but stressful.

Here are a few things that help me enjoy the holiday season without getting too overwhelmed:

1. Make a list and check it twice. Santa was on to something here. Lists help me all year round, but especially at Christmas. I had a checklist of things to get done around the house before we had our family over which included chores and a cooking schedule. This helped to keep me on track and made our Christmas Family Dinner actually enjoyable because I wasn’t stuck in the kitchen the whole time or scrambling last minute to clean the bathroom.
2. Get help. I wasn’t scrambling last minute to clean the bathroom because Bryan was scrambling last minute to clean the bathroom. He also carried all the Christmas boxes up from the basement. Even Santa has helpers. And yes, that’s me saying that Bryan is my elf. Ho ho ho.
3. Don’t spread yourself too thin. We have really tried to see all of our family around the holidays, but stopped killing ourselves trying to see everyone on one day. No more driving for six hours. This year we spread things out and really got to see and spend time with our families because we weren’t running out the door trying to get to the next house. It’s hard to be this popular.
4. Christmas=Memories=Tears=Note to self to buy stock in Kleenex (Who am I kidding I buy the generic stuff because who can spend that much money to blow their nose?? Maybe someday...) Putting up Christmas decorations is a little bittersweet for me since my Mom passed away two years ago. It’s unrealistic to think that I won’t be sad when I put these decorations up, which is why I spend the evening taking my time to decorate our tree and to remember my Mom. 
5. Start your own traditions. Two years ago, Bryan and I started hosting a pre-Christmas dinner for our immediate family to celebrate the holiday at our home.

One of my Mom's ornaments. We always used to try to get the light to fit in the bottom window so it looked like they were open.

My elf at work.

Pre-Christmas Dinner Table

Our very own Christmas tradition of embarrassing Poe every year.