As I like to say “Tis the season to be busy! I stress thinking about it before it ever arrives. Everything must be prefect. I can’t have my child going through therapy as an adult because he didn’t get what he wanted. Because mom burnt Santa’s cookies, half the lights on the Christmas tree burnt out and dinner was just so so. After it’s all over I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck and I’m thankful it’s over. Why do I do this to myself?! I create all the stress and it stops this holiday season. Here are 5 tips I’m following, and I hope they will help you too.

1. Write it down. Everything you need to do, need to buy and parties to attend. Being organized and writing things down helps with not forgetting and wasting your time on last minutes trips to the store.
2. Declutter and outsource. Look at your list. Think about what’s important and cross off anything you can move to a later date. What can you can put on someone else’s to do list. Yes, your spouse and your children are capable of somethings. Look at you calendar. Are you stretching yourself to thin? It’s okay to say “NO.” Now look at what you can outsource. Is it easier to have your groceries delivered? Think about the extra time you spend just standing in line at the store and not to mention the friendly people, full of holiday cheer! What about hiring someone to clean your home. Even if it’s just the main gathering areas, living room, dinning room and guest bathroom, you will save a good amount of time. Also, hiring a professional with a good cleaning eye might just keep that mother-in-law from making her jabbing, undertone comments.
3. Done is better than perfect. Being a perfectionist is not benefiting you. Your wasting your time. The truth is no one cares, but you. It was on your to-do list, it’s done, it doesn’t look like the picture, but it’s done.
4. Save time for self-care. We are so concerned about everyone else we don’t take time for ourselves. Keeping your regular routines as much as possible to keep our sanity.
5. Focus on what’ important. You’re the youngest you will ever be. This is the youngest your kids will ever be. Stop take a breath and focus on the now. We all ask were did the time go? Give yourself that memory.