Ahhhh….we made it past Thanksgiving. (Thanks goodness!)

Don’t get me wrong, I love the holiday, the food, the chance to see family, the quality time with the kids. But you know what they say about too much of a good thing! The holiday can quickly turn into too much food, too much time with family, and too many days out of routine for the kids!

But the fun doesn’t stop at Thanksgiving…

We are officially entering into the busiest month of the year! Between kids programs, PTA activities, holiday parties, gift-buying, decorating, tests at school, field trips, baking, cooking, spending money, visiting family, figuring out what to do with the kids when school is out for two weeks, cleaning house and more it’s easy to turn into a Grinch!

Everyone has their own way of coping with all the holiday stress and I thought I would share mine for your reading pleasure – feel free to adopt some of my techniques if they can help you through the month!

1. I remind myself often that the “Santa’s watching you” threat works all the way up until Christmas! Leverage my friends….
2. Start off every day with a Starbucks Chai Eggnog Latte with an extra shot of espresso for energy!
3. Buy up all the Candy Cane Chapstick I can find and squirrel it away for when I (inevitably) lose a tube.
4. Announce that “Mommy’s going shopping! By herself!” – when it’s Christmas mommy needs to shop a-l-o-n-e!!! YAY!
5. Find the loudest, most annoying, messiest toys for my nieces and nephews! You know, the ones your kids beg for but there’s no way in Hades you are bringing into your house! Gift warfare!
6. Every now and then at work sing a snippet of an annoying Christmas song out loud. That thing’ll be stuck in their heads ALL day!
7. Leave a chunk of coal in your kids’ stockings. “See? Santa knew you had been naughty – he must’ve left this as a warning for next year!”
8. Add an extra shot of something else to that Starbucks Chai Eggnog Latte.
9. Take the kids to the Dollar Tree with a list of family members and friends and let them Christmas shop! Giggle when you think of the tweezers that little Johnny picked out for Aunt Bertha (for her chin hairs) or the glass mug for Uncle Ben (cause he likes beer)!!
10. Don’t give in to guilt. Sign up for the paper plates and napkins for all the potlucks and school parties. Somebody has to bring them and that way you don’t have to stress about preparing food! You also don’t have to stress about whether anyone liked your food. Win/Win!
11. If you need to get things done at home, let the TV babysit – let your kids watch EVERY Christmas special ever made! They’ll hear great stories about giving and Christmas spirit and you can get things done!

I always try to be chill over the holidays. It’s supposed to be a fun time of year, but if you spend it stressed out about everything, the fun gets sucked out quickly!

You don’t have to be Baking Betty, or Crafty Caroline or Dolly the Decoration Diva.

I, for one, would rather spend the days leading up to Christmas laughing, singing and stress-free! Wouldn’t you?

What techniques do you use to keep your holiday stress levels way down low?

Here’s a great post to help alleviate that stress at the holidays as well!