Holiday survival tips

The holidays in our household can be a pretty stressful time. We celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s and three January birthdays right after one another (the 3^rd, 6^th, and 12^th). Most of that stress seems to fall on my shoulders and I suspect that’s the same for many moms.

In addition, the holidays can be a battle determining where we are going to spend them. Will we spend them at home? Will we spend them with my family or will it be with his family? Will we alternate? Who will we travel to for Thanksgiving and who will we travel to for Christmas? Are we going to fly with the kids or are we going to drive?

You would think that after 7 years we would have figured it all out but I honestly can say that we haven’t quite gotten there yet. Each year, I decide around September that I am not going to get stressed out by the holidays and that I’m going to set some ground rules before the season is in full swing.

Here are 10 holiday survival tips that I live by to get me through the season:

1. To keep the peace in the family, we try to alternate years where we spend our holiday. Thanksgiving is with my family one year and with my husband’s family the next. Same can be said about Christmas. New Year’s is a free-for-all…it’s wherever we have the best chance of securing a babysitter.
2. I’m not a big fan of long lines and Black Friday although there is a sort of cult fever that the day creates for the frugal shopper in all of us. However, in general, I do as much of my holiday shopping on-line as I can. Many of the stores will honor their store prices on-line and even have exclusive on-line deals.
3. The days of limitless gift-buying are few and far between in this economy, so I limit my gift buying to the children in our lives and opt for a grab-bag with family and friends.
4. Since Black Friday does offer amazing shopping deals and we have three January birthdays in our house and several November and December birthday parties to attend, I take care of all the toy shopping on this day. In addition, I pay cash for everything!
5. One of the most important things about the holidays is teaching my children the origin of these special days and what they mean. Before they receive anything, we read stories and I remind them what the holidays really stand for.
6. Deciding whether we are going to fly or drive gets ironed out early as purchasing plane tickets for four is no cheap feat. I generally map out our family travel plans by late October and call it a day.
7. One of the most important lists I create during this time is the gift list. I don’t do Christmas in July because our minds change at the drop of a hat, especially children. I determine a spending budget for gifts and stick to it.
8. The holidays tend to be a time when people relax on their normal routines and pack on a few extra pounds. To alleviate any post-holiday regrets, I continue eating right and staying on my fitness regimen. It keeps me healthy, fit, and sane.
9. I love planning out our holiday activity calendar. The calendar is filled with outings for Christmas tree shopping, viewing a festival of lights, catching a holiday exhibit and watching a Christmas show.  I post it in my kitchen for my husband to see so that he can put it in his Blackberry and neatly plan around the family-designated dates.
10. Last but not least, I create our Christmas card list in November and mail our cards within the first two weeks of the month. The best cards are picture cards of the family instead of the standard holiday card. With card creating services like Tiny Prints, I can easily add a bit of personalization that a store-bought card just can’t.

Tiny Prints helps with survival tip #10. Tiny Prints provides stylish, modern and unique stationery from photo cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards and business cards. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side the Holidays will be a cinch! They offer adorable Thanksgiving Cards, Christmas Cards, Hanukkah Cards, and even New Years Cards. All fully customizable and personalizable.

I’ve learned that setting ground rules, creating lists, and communicating my feelings early on with my husband, tends to ease the stress. The main obstacle is making sure that we are on the same page. Sometimes we are, sometimes we aren’t. However, when we keep in mind that the season is really about enjoying family and celebrating God, and not about spending money but about spending time, we survive with our heads above water and create lasting memories that no amount of money can buy.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a $75 Tiny Prints gift certificate! For more information on how you can participate, click here.”