Christmas is my favorite time of year, but it hasn’t always been that way. For many years I looked at December as a list of duties and obligations. The decorations, parties, events, and gifts. Everything!
The thing is, we are the ones in control. We choose what we allow into our holiday celebrations and what we won’t. We are the architects of our December schedule. The holidays happen by our design.
And that’s the problem. We don’t take time to design. We fill our schedules before we design what they should look like, and we end up in a great big frenzy!
Freedom from frenzy comes when we remove the “oppression of overdoing” that has a hold on us. To do this, we need to start by figuring out specifically where that oppression is coming from.
Here are six ways to find freedom from the frenzy this Christmas:
1. Make a list of all that worries you about Christmas tasks and events. A great start to fixing the problem is knowing the problem!
2. After each item ask, “Why does this worry me?” Be real with the answers.
3. Make hard choices. Once your worries are written down, then it’s time to tackle them. How you choose to tackle them will be unique to your situation. You are the only one who can make the choices, but here are a few ideas to find freedom from the frenzy:
- Events: Choose one or two important gatherings to participate in. Say no to the rest.
- Gifts: Decide the one gift your family member would like the most—forget all the sales, forget what the neighbor kids are getting—and buy only that. (Remember that when asked, most kids would rather have TIME with their parents than GIFTS from their parents.)
- Decorations: Pick out your favorite holiday decorations. Only put up those. Keep the rest boxed up. Just because you have them doesn’t mean you have to use them.
- Cards: Whittle down your Christmas card list to a few select individuals—those who aren’t online and don’t see updates of your family on a regular basis.
Read the rest of the post and discover the other steps you can take over at momlifetoday.com!
And download the Freedom from Frenzy worksheet to help you eliminate stress this year!
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