Your Guide To A Stress-Less Holiday Season

Three years ago, I was so calm and relaxed, you'd never have guessed it was Christmas. I had a brand new baby, and we had just moved into a new house, but I was grounded with an overwhelming sense of peace. Now that another holiday season is bearing down on us, I think back to the reasons that time was so magical.  That year, we simply went into our backyard and picked out a crooked little tree that just screamed "Baby's First Christmas." I tied on some bows, and we invited our closest friends and relatives to share some Friendship Tea, sugar cookies, and prime rib (which my mother-in-law brought and prepared.

) We opened gifts that I had ordered online weeks before. (They arrived gift-wrapped.) It was a low-cost Christmas spent in our unfurnished living room, but you would have been hard-pressed to find a merrier place that year.  When we renew our focus on the holiday spirit, the stress of the season begins to erode. This year, let us pledge to align our personal goals to reflect the goal of the holiday season as it has existed for centuries: to centre on our spiritual awareness and connectedness in this spiritual time.  Simplify When professional organizers urge us to simplify, they ask us to eliminate our time-wasters. This year, let us find some time-wasters. Particularly during the busy holiday season, we moms too often feel that if we aren't busy doing something, we aren't being of value. In the upcoming days, consider the value of just lounging on the couch with your kids, of playing a board game with your son, of reading the Christmas Box or The Story of Hanukkah aloud in the evening, or of simply sitting around for awhile thinking about how lucky you are for the family and friends that are yours.  Meanwhile, take a close look at your self-made holiday to-do's. Is it necessary to bake enough goodies for the neighbourhood, or are you okay with just whipping up the occasional batch of Rice Krispie Treats? Do you want to travel to a distant relative's house on Christmas Day or ask that they come to you? Keep in mind that the mere fact that you've always done something isn't