6 Ways to Enjoy the Christmas Season (With Less Stress and More Joy!)

Christmas often ends up being one of the most stressful times of the year, which can leave us feeling frazzled and fatigued. But that’s not how we want to spend such a wondrous occasion! Use the tips below to enjoy the Christmas season with your loved ones.

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Ahhh, the Christmas season. The magic of twinkle lights, the comfort of family traditions, the coziness of a cup of hot chocolate. And, of course, the wonder of celebrating our Savior’s birth. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Unfortunately, it can also be the most stressful.

Between shopping and events and family obligations, the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas can get pretty crazy. Everyone is hustling and bustling to fit in alllll the things. By the time Christmas actually arrives, we’re so tired and tapped out, we’re hardly in the mood to enjoy it!

It’s sad that a season that should be about celebrating one of the best gifts we’ve ever received ends up being one of the most stressed out, exhausted, and grumpy months of the year. But maybe it doesn’t have to be that way.

If you want less stress and more joy, check out these tips for enjoying the Christmas season.

6 Tips for Enjoying the Christmas Season

Hold expectations loosely

Holiday family traditions are a beautiful way to bond and build your family culture. But things don’t ~~always~~ usually go as planned. Kids (and parents) get sick, meltdowns happen, food burns, and activities descend into chaos. It happens! So, make your holiday plans, but rein in your expectations. Your Christmas festivities don’t need to be Pinterest-perfect or Instagram-worthy to be meaningful.
Prioritize your festivities

There are no less than a gazillion ways to celebrate the Christmas season, so it’s important to remember that you don’t have to do all the things! Trying to cram every Christmas tradition idea you come across will only leave you (and your family) run down and stressed out. Instead, pick a few activities and traditions that are most meaningful to you. They’ll end up being more enjoyable than trying to do them all.

I highly recommend the book Sacred Holidays: Less Chaos, More Jesus by Becky Kiser for more on getting more meaning (and a lot less stress!) out of every holiday.
Focus on what really matters

Keep the Christmas maelstrom at bay by reminding yourself what is most important about the Christmas season. Is it getting the “right” gifts? Attending all the parties? Decorating your house? Or is it remembering the gift of Jesus’ birth and spending time with family? Focusing on what really matters in the Christmas season helps us know what to hold onto and what to let go of that doesn’t align with our priorities.

Related Post: How to Keep Christ in Your Family’s Christmas
Plan and prep early

Don’t wait until the last minute to tick off all your to-do list tasks. Make a plan now so you can space out all your preparations. Set a goal to buy/wrap a few Christmas presents each week, schedule your family activities, and start prepping your holiday food now (there are MANY dishes you can make ahead of time!).

Also, plan for your stressors! What stresses you out the most during the holidays? What drives you absolutely bonkers? Identify your triggers and make a plan for how you will handle them. If it’s too many activities, pare down your list. If it’s last minute scrambles, start earlier. If it’s conflict at family gatherings, prepare some canned responses or ways to change the subject. Planning and preparing early will give you more peace and joy throughout the season.
Make room for rest

The Christmas season gets pretty packed, which makes it even more essential to make room in your schedule for rest. We are not designed to keep up a frenetic pace for extended periods of time, and trying to do everything without stopping to rest is a guarantee for burnout. If you’re tempted to plow through your to-do list, remember that prioritizing rest is not only wise, it will also enable you to give the best of yourself to your family and friends.

Here is a fantastic book on the subject of rest, in general — the different types of rest, why it’s so important, and how to get in the midst of never-ending demands.
Maintain your regular routines & healthy habits

Part of the reason we get so depleted during the Christmas season is that we forget to take care of ourselves. Our packed schedules result in an upheaval of our usual routines, and the smorgasbord of delectable goodies makes us abandon our normal eating habits. Maintaining (at least some of) our daily routines will reduce stress, and making good food choices (in moderation, of course) will restore energy.