How To Simplify Christmas & Enjoy The Holiday Season
Simplify Christmas with tips for making your life easier during the busy holiday season. Get back to basics and enjoy the holiday season without stressing over all the smaller details with these ways to make your celebration lighter and more enjoyable!
December rolls around so quickly each year! One moment you are getting the kids ready to start the new school year, the next… up goes the Christmas tree and all the chaos begins for another year!
Thankfully there are plenty of things you can do early to ensure you have a stress-free December and manage to get organised for all your pre-Christmas planning and preparation.
HOW TO HAVE A SIMPLIFIED CHRISTMAS
Christmas is often the one day of the year that takes the most planning, no matter how simple we want it. Unless we are talking about weddings… but that’s a whole other story!
For some of us, Christmas planning is fun, but for others, it’s a total nightmare. Regardless of which end of the scale you sit, aiming to simplify Christmas for yourself is always a good thing!
It has a tendency to sneak up on us. And it seems to happen earlier each year.
The second those Halloween decorations go on sale on 1 November, it is suddenly Christmas decorations galore, festive music playing and almost like November is some strange limbo between Halloween and the feast of the year! Oh boy!
And if you haven’t gotten a start on your preparations in November, December can feel like a full-blown panic episode just waiting to happen!
Tips To Simplify Christmas
Traditions are great and can help you stay on track, but sometimes they can over-complicate things more when you feel you have to do all the same things, in the same way, year in and year out.
It can help to simplify Christmas if you focus more on your plans for that year, and less on what you’ve always done. Because face it, what we always do isn’t always the easiest way!
Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it can also be a very stressful time. If you’re looking for ways to simplify your holiday season, here are a few essential tips that may help.
- Make a list of what needs to be done and stick to it. Trying to do too many things at once will only make things more difficult.
- Delegate tasks to others. If you have family or friends who are willing to help, let them!
- Set a budget and stick to it. Christmas can be expensive, so it’s important to be mindful of your spending.
- Plan ahead as much as possible. The more you can do in advance, the less stress you’ll have later on.
- Take some time for yourself. It’s important to relax and recharge during the busy holiday season.
By following these tips, you can help make Christmas a little simpler and less stressful.
Need extra help? Get my mammoth printable Christmas planner:
Now let’s dig a little dipper into ways that you can make Christmas easier for you and your family!
Start Before December
There’s no denying that if you start anything early, you are going to feel a lot less overwhelmed when it nears.
Christmas is a perfect example and you can definitely simplify your Christmas by starting early.
Keep an eye out all year for potential gifts that you see on sale.
Get decorations in the after Christmas sales the previous year. These things will help you get organised easily when December arrives.
Ok, that one isn’t going to help you this year but it could be a helpful plan to help with next year.
Finalise Gift Shopping
If you still have Christmas gifts to purchase or create for family and friends, do it as soon as you can in December.
Avoid the last-minute rush and the craziness that happens in the shops as the 25th of December gets closer.
The later you leave your shopping, the longer it will take because the shops are busier or the postal services are loaded.
Online shopping can be a great option, so long as you do it early enough to account for the potential holiday shipping delays and cut-offs.
You don’t want to rush around on Christmas Eve trying to find a replacement gift for the one that never arrived.
Check out these gift guides for every occasion:
- Gifts for active kids
- 101+ non-toy gifts for kids
- Teacher gifts they actually want
- Gifts for people who love to cook
- Last-minute Mother’s Day gift ideas
- DIY Father’s Day gift ideas
- Last-minute Father’s Day gift ideas
- DIY Valentine’s Day gift ideas
- Older sibling gifts from new baby
- New mother gifts
- Non-chocolate Easter gifts
- Unique stocking stuffer gifts under $15
- Gifts to give a whole family
- Gifts for men who have everything
- Clutter-free gift ideas
- Gifts that keep on giving
- Subscription boxes for families
- Experience gifts for kids
- Class gifts for kids
- Gifts for newborn babies
- Handmade gifts kids can make
Tip: You can reduce your load by suggesting Secret Santa with family members, which means less to buy and less to spend.
You may also like: Easy Christmas Gifts Kids Can Make
All Wrapped Up
Have a bulk gift wrapping session early in December, once your shopping is complete.
Print off a few of these Santa gift tags early so you aren’t having to try and be quiet at midnight on Christmas Eve.
Get this out of the way so there is no last-minute late-night wrapping session when the kids are in bed on the night before they are due to open them.
You need your sleep on Christmas Eve too!
Wrapping gifts can take forever. If you are wrapping for other family members and your kids are good at keeping secrets, get them to help out!
Groceries
Start purchasing the non-perishable or long-dated food and speciality items you need for any Christmas events you are hosting or attending.
Keep an eye on the specials that pop up before Christmas and you will hopefully cut your costs too.
I always check out the grocery catalogues leading up to Christmas from November, as the more expensive items almost always go on sale once or twice beforehand.
A thrifty Christmas is still a great Christmas!
Make sure you have adequate fridge and freezer space for your chilled groceries.
Christmas Baking
Many Christmas foods can be made ahead of time and frozen. Rum balls are a perfect example. I always make ours about 2 weeks before Christmas so they are ready to go.
You may even be able to freeze cookie dough or other Christmas foods. Make sure you defrost early enough though. Frozen food is one Christmas disaster you don’t want!
Creating a Christmas baking list will help you keep track of all the different items you need to make too.
You can also make many meals ahead such as pre-prepared breakfasts to serve on Christmas morning.
Decorating Your House
If spending a couple of hours decorating your tree and house seems like too much time, you can always break it up into smaller tasks.
On the first day, put up the tree and decorate it. The next day may be hanging lights. And so forth.
There is no reason for you to go all out. A few simple decorations and a minimalist-style tree can look stunning. Do what suits the time you have available.
Pack Early If Travelling
If you are travelling over the Christmas period, start packing early so you don’t have to stress on the day while trying to get ready to go.
This reduces your chances of forgetting something important… like your travel documents!
Also, consider filling up the car with petrol and checking the tyre pressure a day before you leave to avoid any last-minute extra stops.
Enjoy Yourself
Most of all, the best way to have a simple Christmas is to stop stressing about it, stop putting lots of pressure on yourself and just enjoy it for what it is – a great time to spend with loved ones, enjoying delicious food and each other’s company.
No one cares if your serviettes aren’t folded in the shape of a Christmas tree, or if that one light out of 100 isn’t flashing on your Christmas tree.
These are such minor details and won’t even be remembered once the day is over. Instead, it will be memories made with each other than linger.
Wishing you a safe and festive Christmas!
Do you have any favourite ways of simplifying Christmas for you and your family?
Need more Christmas inspiration? Check these out:
- DIY advent calendar ideas
- Advent calendar fillers for kids and adults
- Free printable Santa gift tag
- Fun Christmas games
- Photo Christmas cards with candy canes
- What to put in a Christmas Eve box
- Advent calendar activities for families
- Christmas gift ideas for families
- Clutter-free gift ideas
- How to make a no-glue bauble wreath
- How to make Christmas crackers
- Funny Christmas jokes
- Christmas colouring pages to print
- Pom Pom Christmas baubles
- What to do on Christmas day with family