How to Simplify The Holidays For A More Meaningful Season

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The winter months can be hectic. Black Friday deals are happening all month long. And now that the weather’s getting colder, some of us are thinking about breaking out the eggnog and putting up holiday decorations. We are easing into it here at my house. Why? Because I want to enjoy the magic and wonder of the holiday season this year. I love the warm fuzzy feeling that I get when I walk into my tidy home and smell the cookies and hot chocolate, the cypress and juniper candle going and the tree glowing. And for the past couple of years, it hasn’t been that way. I’m wanting to simplify the holidays for a more meaningful season this year. Won’t you join me? Great, then let’s get started!

Why simplify the holidays?

Well, I’d like for you to do a quick, fun exercise with me. Close your eyes. Now think about your favorite holiday season, it could’ve been last year or it could’ve been when you were 12. Ask yourself if you remember exactly what gifts you received, all of the holiday parties you went to, and what crafts or activities you did at these events. If you were able to remember these, that’s great! If you can’t, that’s okay. Overall, were you able to pull out a feeling? You know the one – where you are warm and cozy in front of a fire laughing and playing games, singing carols, and opening presents cherishing the time that you spent with the people you love.

If I haven’t said it enough already, I love Christmas and New Year’s. The holiday season is my favorite time of year and goes from November 1st through January 31st for me. (January is my birthday month.) But for many of us, the holidays can quickly become stressful and overwhelming. It can become one of the busiest, most expensive, and most draining times of the year. It almost becomes expected that the holidays are busy and chaotic. AND THAT IS NO FUN! I like to think of this time as a season of magic and wonder! So let’s get into the steps to simplify the holidays this year!

1. Simplify Priorities

The first step in planning for a simpler holiday is thinking through your priorities. If thinking about the holiday celebrations has you hyperventilating already, it’s time to take a step back and think about the following questions:

• What matters most to you for the coming season?
• Which adjectives would you use to describe your ideal holiday season?
• What memories do you want to have?
• What’s most important to you?
• What aren’t you looking forward to?
• What feels overwhelming?
• What feels like too much?

It can be very helpful to think through these questions for yourself and then discuss them with your spouse. Finding some middle ground where you can both be happy in selecting your priorities as a family is key. If you get through these questions and find together that something doesn’t work or seems “extra”, try celebrating without it this year. If you miss it, you can always add it back in next year. The holidays always come around again!

Decide intentionally and ahead of time how many events and activities you feel are appropriate. Your schedule for the holiday season will easily fill up if you don’t have clear boundaries. I know, especially since I have a one-year-old that my husband and I have had to a family meeting to set up those clear expectations for the coming holiday season since we’ve added another person. So depending on the age of your children, you will want to set up those clear expectations between each other and between your children. Plus ask them what they want out of the holiday season too! You may want to ask for their opinions as you decide which traditions you plan to carry on and which you may let go of this holiday season.

As you think through traditions, schedules, decor, and gifts refer back to your priorities and how you want to remember the holidays. You want the decisions you make to reflect the priorities you established for the holiday season.

2. Simplify Expectations

The second step in planning to simplify the holidays is adjusting your expectations and perspective. I don’t recommend aiming for a Pinterest-perfect or Instagram-worthy Christmas and holiday season. It’s not realistic and will only leave you exhausted and disappointed. Try and let go of your unrealistic expectations and keep your focus on your priorities and what matters most to you. If you want a beautiful tree and want to learn something new like how to put ribbon in a tree, by all means, do that! If you want a professional tree decorator to come in and do your tree, by all means, do that too!

It’s just not worth it to work yourself to exhaustion and make the holidays so stressful trying to achieve some picture-perfect vision of the holidays in your mind. A “perfect” holiday season isn’t what’s important. Especially if it means you’re a burnt-out, cranky, exhausted mess and don’t enjoy a moment of the magic you’re trying so hard to create. Your friends and family won’t remember or care if you had five different kinds of Pinterest-worthy cookies.

But they will remember spending a fun night laughing, talking, and enjoying your company while eating your cookies. Even if the cookies are far from perfect, or (gasp!) even from a store!

Let go of the unrealistic idea of a “perfect” holiday season. Instead, shift your perspective to focus on your priorities and what matters most to you!

3. Simplify Holiday Decor

The third step in planning to simplify the holidays is simplifying the decor. Similar to how our holiday event calendars can get out of control, so can the Christmas decorations. It’s so hard when they start appearing in the large retail stores around mid-September so it gives you plenty of time to add to the already (probably) fairly large pile of bins and totes that are full! It’s easy for the bins of lights and decorations to add up and suddenly half your storage space is filled with items you only take out for a month or two of the year. I actually just went through all of my holiday decorations because it was full of hand-me-downs, kitschy knick-knacks, and broken/vintage ornaments that I’m never going to use. I’ve finally asked my family members to not ask me and to take it straight to a donation center.

Personally, I like to keep the holiday decor simple. Now call me Grinch if you must, but when it comes to holiday decor, I have my Christmas tree, garlands, wreaths, and bells. The point is, you can do the bare minimum and still make your home feel cozy and festive. Instead of making yourself crazy with tangled lights and ornaments you could cook a seasonal meal, decorate a gingerbread house, or craft if you’re crafty!

4. Simplify Holiday Traditions

The fourth step in planning to simplify the holidays is simplifying the holiday traditions. Elf On The Shelf, Standing in line to see Santa Claus, putting up a Christmas tree, doing an Advent calendar, and making a Gingerbread house. All of these traditions are so much fun. But if it’s a tradition that no one enjoys or cares about, you don’t have to do it. A great way to simplify holiday traditions is sitting down with your family and listing the holiday traditions you LOVE to do and then making time for them. Let go of the ones you don’t love or don’t care about go. It’s important to remind yourself you get to choose how you spend your time and what holiday traditions you continue.

If you love to send Christmas cards, hold a 25 Days of Christmas movie marathon, drive around to see Holiday lights in PJs, and have hot cocoa to go, then do that!

Holiday traditions are meant to be fun and also an intentional way to make the holidays special.

5. Simplify Holiday Gifts

The fifth step in planning to simplify the holidays is simplifying gifting. As Dr. Seuss said in How The Grinch Stole Christmas, “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store, maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” I wrote a blog post called, “Master The Art Of Gifting” which goes into this in more detail but to summarize, a thoughtful, intentional gift makes the receiver feel special and thought of so try to stick to one quality, intentional gift for each person on your list. Gifting someone something they will love, need, or use is the most intentional and well-thought-of present, and if nothing else, gift your time! Most friends and family will say they cherish the time spent with you just as much as you will about them so spend quality time together!

6. Simplify Holiday Events

The sixth step in planning to simplify the holidays is simplifying your holiday event calendar. The winter months can easily become a blur of endless gatherings, work parties, and family commitments – you get the picture. It is important to again go back to your priorities and make sure to prioritize the social events that are truly meaningful to you and give yourself permission to say no to all the rest. It is always so much fun to start off strong but by the end of November and Black Friday is here. You’ll be the biggest Grinch. Trust me! Instead of trying to hit all the parties and dinners, all the relatives’ houses, all the school functions, and church festivities. Choose just one. Or choose one event per weekend or week or whatever fits your family best.

You’re experiencing the joy of missing out. You aren’t missing out, you’re creating space for your family to fully engage with whatever is happening right now.

7. Spread Holiday Cheer

The final step in planning to simplify the holidays is to spread holiday cheer! It is so easy to get distracted by all of the consumerism and pressure this time of year. I love to get perspective by offering to help out at a soup kitchen or local charity like Toys for Tots. I also love to participate in a Community Blood Drive. You can also adopt a family for the holiday season too! Also, I love to sing Christmas Carols when I’m taking a nature walk with my dogs and family! You can also gather items from your home to donate to your local Goodwill or Salvation Army – warm jackets, canned goods, and gently used toys. The more the merrier! Now is the best time to clear space and help others at the same time!

In Conclusion,

The winter months always tend to fly by, and if you’re not careful – you’ll miss out on the good stuff. A little time and intention go a long way in making sure you’ve scheduled time to rest, reflect, and gather with friends and loved ones. I’m looking forward to enjoying the magic and wonder of this holiday season because I’m wanting to simplify the holidays for a more meaningful season this year. What do you want to make space for this holiday season?

Love,