In this blog post, Jennifer faces her challenges and hopes for the upcoming holiday season. Think it’s too early to start thinking holidays? Check out Jennifer’s reasons for getting started sooner rather than later.

The holidays. (gulp) This subject is already coming up regularly for me! My mother-in-law asked the kids for their wish lists. My aunt called to ask about sizes. And at lunch with friends yesterday, our talk turned to trying to get our to-do lists together now.

Holidays

It seems so early, doesn’t it? And part of me sort of cringes at all the holiday talk that seems to come earlier each year. I really want to enjoy the gifts of this day, not make myself crazy buying gifts for the next 90 days! The consumerism of the holidays drives me mad, but here’s the thing I’m realizing: If I don’t have myself prepared for the holidays, I am actually more likely to end up with a version of the holidays that looks nothing like what I envision. I want a season with more laughter, boundless joy, and lots of love. But I know from past experience that without a plan, I end up stressed out, sleep deprived and over budget. Trust me, I’m not very merry in that state. 😉

So when I say “prepared,” I definitely don’t mean that I intend to have all my shopping done by October (although, that would be nice) or that I will deck the halls the day after Halloween. I do, however, want to sit down with a nice cup of tea and some paper and map out what’s most important to me and my family. I want to make space for the things we value, and I want to make peace with letting go of what we don’t.

Calendar

A few years ago, a friend gave me a great holiday planning notebook along with an assignment. After the holidays, I write down what I hated and what I loved. It is so great to pull that out each year! I actually have a pretty good memory, but sometimes it isn’t until I’m in the midst of something I swore I’d never do again that I remember why I said that! Especially when it comes to the holidays. It seems my memories can grow a bit fuzzy with nostalgia or twisted with fantasies of how I thought it would be.

One thing that’s top of “what I hated about the holidays – 2010” is the bazillion little details I seem to leave until the last minute. I do most of my shopping early, so in my head I think I’m done. I bought the teachers’ gifts, so I check that off my to-do list. Suddenly I am up until wee hours trying to write “heartfelt” cards and wrapping the teachers’ gifts!  This year, I intend not to be bogged down by small details that in the past I left until the last minutes. I also want to make sure a task is fully completed before I check it off my list. If the teachers’ gifts aren’t wrapped and accompanied by cards, that task doesn’t get a check mark!

Joy

That’s just one small change, but I think it’s going to be huge in enhancing our holidays overall. I could certainly use some more help, though, in making our holidays even happier. How about you? Are the holidays already in your thought process? Is there something you’re planning to do to improve your holidays this year? Please leave us a comment or tell us on Facebook!

~Jennifer