10 Post Christmas Survival Tips
Ahh… December 25th. Families gathered around a gleaming Christmas tree. Brightly wrapped presents, delectable goodies spread out on a gloriously decorated table. Christmas right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Then comes December 26th. Somehow the tree starts looking plastic and gaudy. The presents are scattered across the house. A sea of wrappers, ribbons, sticky bows are drifting around underfoot. The sink is full of dishes and pots and pans. The fridge has thousands of little butter containers filled with mysterious leftovers. Bags of chocolates, cookies, and candy are literally piled onto every available surface.
Maybe in your house, everything is neatly put away instantly, the moment it is unwrapped, and all the dishes are washed, sparkling in the cabinet. If that is the case I am in awe of you. But then, you wouldn’t be the person who would be reading this article. And if you have worked out a way to navigate the post holiday chaos… please let me know, because I am always open to suggestions.
Christmas carries with it such huge expectations and consequently huge preparations. I enjoy much of the preparation for Christmas (if I have time). I like the music and the decorations and even the picking out of gifts. I love Christmas morning with its excitement and fun, especially if there are children in the house.
But the day after Christmas… I go into shock.
Maybe it’s the chocolate overload. Or too many days eating too much food. Or maybe I am just exhausted at trying to be all things to all people. Maybe it’s all those things. Usually, I don’t even remember December 26th. While everyone else is off exchanging their well chosen gifts at the mall, I am sleeping. I feel like I should be up and cleaning, but my body is no longer capable of moving any longer. A year ago when my sister was visiting, my body inconveniently decided to shut down a day early, on Christmas day. I have various back and leg issues and despite my best efforts they convened literally as I was about to serve dinner. What I learned from that experience is that everyone was happy to help and dinner still happened. Which brings me to my first point.
You can’t do it all. And that has to be ok. Even when I was superhuman, a few years ago, I still couldn’t do it all. I have to get others to help, and if they won’t or can’t, then it doesn’t get done and they won’t even notice. This applies to clean up as well. Everyone gets to help with that too. And what I get to do is allow them the space to help. I am learning everything doesn’t have to happen instantly or exactly the way I would do it.
Give yourself permission to relax. Although holidays are often NOT holidays for mom, change that rule. If I am tired, I can go lie down. I can take a nap. I don’t have to do the dishes the moment dinner is done. I know it sounds suspiciously daring. But try it out. You may be surprised at what might get done when you aren’t hovering over everyone.
Take baby steps. Christmas took a month or more to cover your whole house, it doesn’t have to disappear overnight. I try to pick one area a day to work on.
Put away the most valuable things first. I immediately get the china washed and dried and back in the hutch. I also focus on getting all the little valuable presents picked up and put away somewhere safe. Jewelry and gift cards can easily get lost in piles of wrapping paper.
Get all of the chocolate, candy, etc. out of the stockings and in one place. Figure out what you really want to keep or can possibly eat, and then make gift bags for guests, neighbors etc. You will be glad you did. Finding old chocolate a year later in a Christmas stocking is pretty creepy.
Carefully gather up the gift wrappings. Double check all of them for little parts, gift cards, and so on. Even if you put all the trash in a bag on Christmas morning, I suggest going back through that bag to be sure you didn’t miss anything. We have lost plenty of parts to electronic toys by being too quick to discard stuff.
Take a nap every day. I just had to add this in. Actually, my grandmother always made us take naps every day when we visited her, even when we were teenagers. At the time I thought this was a terrible waste of good playing time. Now I see the wisdom in spending an hour a day resting. The holidays are no different. If you will spend some time resting, you will think more clearly and maybe even be more pleasant.
Actually play the games you bought for your kids with your kids. Read their new books with them. Play with their toys with them. It’s not about just giving someone a gift, share the experience of the gift with them.
Don’t be in a hurry. Getting ready for Christmas is like trying to win a race with time. The world even counts down the days until Christmas. It’s hard to get out of that racetrack mentality after it is over. But after the 25th, you aren’t in a hurry any more. So slow down and remind yourself to enjoy the vacation days with the family. There will be plenty of time left to put stuff away.
Try to gently get back to your normal routine as soon as you can. I have to have my prayer time every morning. I need my writing time. I have things that are built into my life that sort of slip away in the frenzy of the holiday. But if I try to give myself a bit of space to put back those routines, I feel much better.
Maybe many of these suggestions are no-brainers for you. Or again, maybe they come naturally. I, personally need reminders that it’s ok to slow down. That it’s ok to not do everything perfectly. (I’ve actually never done anything perfectly.) Every year Christmas shows up like a freight train loaded with expectations, and feelings, and piles of stuff, and I can’t wait for it to be over. Every year I always find myself wishing it could be simpler and calmer. But where is the fun in that? After all, life is wild and messy and unpredictable. I might as well enjoy the ride.
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