Taking Care of Mom – Ways to Cope with Holiday Stress

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I’m a mom.  And so speaking from experience, I know how crazy busy, pull your hair out, stressful all of the Christmas preparation can be.  Don’t get me wrong for one minute – I love Christmas, it is my favorite holiday.  And I love getting everything ready for Christmas.  BUT…

I know that as Mom’s most or all of the Christmas preparation is left up to us.  We want our Christmas to be perfect.  We want our children to see how magical this time of year can be.  We want to have people over to ‘relax’ and have some fun.  We want to attend all of the Christmas concerts, parties, and church plays.  We want perfect food, a beautiful tree, well behaved children, a husband that notices all we do, beautiful wrap on all of the gifts, family time to do special activities for the kids….. SHALL I CONTINUE?

No – I think you get the idea.   Alot of the stress from Christmas we put on ourselves.  We want to make sure that everyone in our family has the best Christmas.  It’s hardwired into us.  We are Mom’s – that’s what we do.

The problem is that we are mom’s all year round, and most of us are already stretched to the max with our precious time as it is.   So to find the time for all of the extra Christmas activity we usually take it from what little sleep we get, or the few minutes of “mommy time” we have before or after the kiddo’s are in bed.

It is so very important to Take care of Mom at Christmas time (That’s you).  Make sure you take time each day to be good to yourself!!!  Do something (even if it is very little) to help you re-charge everyday.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Quit wrapping present 15 minutes earlier tonight, and go relax in a hot bath or shower.  This will help relax you for bed, and help loosen the knot you have between your shoulder blades.
2. Eat Healthy – This is a hard one, but make sure you are eating healthy most of the time to give your body energy.  AND DON’T SKIP MEALS!!!
3. Get enough sleep – We can function on 2 hours and 2 pots of coffee, but it is definitely not a good way to go about it!!
4. Grab a specialty coffee as you go running around town trying to do errands today.  Just giving yourself that extra treats says – I’m worth the time.
5. Tag Team – Get together with another mom, and tag team – I’ll help you clean your house, if you help me clean mine.  Working in pairs often keeps your spirits up, gets more accomplished in less time, and is way more fun.
6. Delegate – What jobs can you pass off to hubby?  Are the kids old enough to help with some things?
7. Take a power nap with the kids – Set a timer, and just go to bed for a half hour.  Those little afternoon siesta’s can really help you keep up the energy.
8. Meditate and deep breath – You can do this several times a day.  Close your eyes, do some relaxing breathing, and think of things you are grateful for. (Don’t sit there and think of all of the things that you STILL have on your list – that will stress you even more)
9. Take a walk – Even for ten or fifteen minutes, getting outside and enjoying the fresh air is a very healthy way to de-stress.
10. Listen to Music – Happy upbeat songs will help you keep your spirits up.  It can be Christmas music, but it doesn’t have to be.  Whatever makes you smile. 

These are just a few examples of ways that you can take time to be good to yourself EVERYDAY and help prevent the seasonal burnout that is so common this time of year.

Oh and I think most important for me – Is to laugh!! Laugh with your kids, laugh at yourself, whatever you have to do!    Make sure you take time everyday to belly laugh – it keeps you young!

What kinds of things do you do to help you keep it together during the Christmas season?

Merry Christmas,

Heather

Tagged as: Christmas stress, destress, holiday stress, relax