Holiday Planning-How to Not Be Miserable!

So the holidays are here and they’re going to be great right? Well, they can be so stressful and so crazy that it can take the fun right out of it! How can we make the holidays fun and enjoyable? I think there are three ways to accomplish this!



Don’t overdo it.

There are one thousand things to do this holiday season and of course it’s all fun and we want to do EVERY. SINGLE. THING. Doing all the things can make you miserable real fast! It can also take it out of your kids so that the actual holidays are no fun! I would say look at the calendar a few weeks or a month in advance and decide the top things you want to do and make those a priority. You do not need to go to your brother’s cousin’s wife’s sister’s dog’s Christmas performance. It’s nice to support and do everything but not at the expense of your own happiness. So choose the top things and put those on the calendar and if you’re able to make the other things work then throw them on the calendar too. I would say having something big every single night in December is going to burn everyone out real quick. We have already scheduled one big activity every week leading up to Christmas in December and I know little things will come here or there but our big focus was on the important things we want to do. We chose family and friends that we want to spend time with and do those specific things with them. I’ve had so many Christmases where I have gotten sick on the big day because I overdid it and I wasn’t able to make it a memorable time for my family because I was run down. One other important thing here I want you all to know is that it’s okay to say NO!  Saying no doesn’t make you a terrible person, it makes you a smart person for realizing your boundaries and seeing that you can only be stretched so far!

Put your family first.

Children? Put them first! No children? Put yourself first-don’t be selfish but don’t give in to everyone! So we all have things that come up that we want to do, but some of the parties and activities aren’t really focusing on our kids. It’s obviously alright to go to an occasional party for ourselves but Christmas to me is so special for those little children. It gives the opportunity to teach about giving and serving and about spending time with each other. Do the silly little Christmas things that are cheesy and ridiculous and so fun because these years pass by too quickly. Before you know it they will be all gone and the cutesie phase goes fast! I look at my sweet Ryler who is 11 and I can’t believe he will be gone on a mission in 6.5 years, WHAT????  Didn’t I just have him? Oh, how fast 11 years goes! I remember my first Christmas with the kids. It was so special and magical. They get older and you know the years are numbered. Take the time to teach them when they are young how to think of others, how to serve, and not just think of it as a time to ask for presents. Of course the presents are fun and so is the shopping. I am a giver, I love to give to everyone I know! I think its the greatest to show someone I love them by giving them a little gift.

 

Remember the reason for the season!

“The beauty of Christmas is not in the presents but in HIS presence”

Matthew 1:23

Remembering that Christmas isn’t just about a big jolly man in a red suit is going to be key. I know we may not all believe the same thing, but for us we believe Christmas to be the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. What a special time to celebrate the one who gave his life for us. It is a time of year for us to reflect on the blessings we’ve been given and to show our love for those around us. As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, may we find the time and desire to serve and to bring about the Christmas joy in others lives.

“Christmas means giving. The Father gave His Son, and the Son gave His life. Without giving there is no true Christmas, and without sacrifice there is no true worship.

-Gordon B. Hinckley

You don’t need to block out your entire month of December to serve, but its an easy way to feel the spirit of Christmas. Here are a few things we have done to feel the warm goodness inside:

  1. Pay for someone’s food in the drive through
  2. Hang candy canes on people’s cars in the parking lot
  3. Open the door for someone
  4. Donate your spare change to those in need
  5. Give a warm smile and tell someone hello
  6. Shovel a neighbor’s walk
  7. Invite a family over for dinner
  8. Write a note to a friend
  9. Leave a treat for the FedEx, UPS, or USPS
  10. Bake a treat and deliver to a friend

There are plenty of other ways to serve and make someone’s day, the goal here is to love like He loved and to feel the true meaning of Christmas.

Of course there is always the option of going to comeuntochrist.org and participating in the #LightTheWorld challenge.

 

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  • I Love this Mindy I have decided that this month I am going to not only pay for someone’s meal in the drive thru I will also do it in the restaurant!!!

  • I say no to a lot of things. I absolutely love paying for the car behind me in the drive thru. I try to start early and stay ahead of the Christmas madness. We have scheduled a family vacation this year. Can’t wait.

  • What gets me through the holidays is spending a lot of time going through pictures, videos and other memories I have of my wife who passed away 8 years ago after a battle with cancer. I also spend as much quality time with my family in order to create lasting memories with them as well. I love you guys so much. Take care and have an amazing Christmas.

  • I love these ideas. Even though it’s only my husband and I it gets so hectic that I feel I don’t enjoy my time off. I do a toy drive every year in Memory of my daughter and that takes a lot of my time from November to mid December. I host Christmas Eve for my family and friends. I always feel like I’m shopping every day and don’t get to do the things I want. We decided to visit family in FL this Thanksgiving sonI have not had time to clean my house and decorate. I’m already overwhelmed😢

  • I just want to say happy holidays. I love watching your YouTube channel everyday because it brings a smile to our faces. My Family has been through a lot in the past couple years First I have health issues a Brain tumor , cervical cancer and so many more so many more issues and my kids and husband were and still are my rock. We lost both my parents in a house fire 2 years ago my depression started after that real bad and after that everything went down hill my husband lost his job and in January of this year we lost our house after 14 years living there and were are still struggling. We deal with everything day by day and we don’t even know what we are going to do for Christmas we have 5 kids 22 year old son,21 year old Daughter,18 year old son,15 year old son, and 13 year old son but my 13 year old still believes in Santa but even tho we might not have a lot for Christmas if anything I know we have each other and I make sure I kiss my 15 Trent and my 13 year old Noah every night and watching how much family and friends mean to you guys on a daily reminds me of that everyday and the struggles we have we can get through them as long as we have each other. So I want to Thank you Mindy and your family for helping lift my spirit everyday Happy Holiday from my family to yours Thank you <3

  • Thanks for sharing but Christmas is hard for me because I don’t have money because I live off of my widow pension disability check.and I’m raising my two teenage Gran children and I don’t get income for them. So there’s nothing left for Christmas. So it’s hard to be happy. But we did put our tree up. And I will try to have a small dinner. God Bless you all and have a Merry Christma

  • Mindy, can I just say that’s amazing!!!!! Yes indeed he is definitely the reason for the season. I just wanted to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!!!! I love your videos and your blog posts they all bring me joy!!!! I’m definitely going to try to spread the Christmas cheer more by paying for food for others and donating money to homeless and just telling people about the true meaning of Christmas!!!!!!

  • Merry Christmas Bingham Family!! We also believe Jesus is the Reason for the Season! Fortunately, we don’t have a lot of activities that we have to say no to, so we get to enjoy the holiday as a family! Our oldest son lives in Iowa so we always have a countdown to when he’ll be home–2 weeks from today for 10 days!! WE’RE SO EXCITED!!
    Thank you for your inspired words! I thoroughly enjoy your vlogs, and in all honesty, I’m super behind! I need to have a TIHWB binge, that’s for sure!! May God continue to richly bless you in 2020! HUGS <3