How to Prepare for a Peaceful Holiday Season: Simple Tips for a Calm Christmas
The mornings are getting cooler and I feel the first hints of the holiday season in the air. Christmas is my favorite and I could not be more excited to be entering this time special time of year.
For years I tried to do all the activities, have the most beautiful decor, find the perfect gift for everyone, bake all the cookies, and do all the things, but I just ended up overwhelmed and burnt out, not enjoying the holiday season at all.
Over the last couple of years I have pulled way back. I’ve scaled back on our commitments and activities, limited gifts and gift giving, and found so much peace, intention, and presence in my home.
This is what I want: for my family to remember cozy evenings by the Christmas tree reading books and sipping hot cocoa; waking to the smell of crispy bacon and warm cinnamon rolls, time spent together enjoying the beauty of the season.
To accomplish those goals though, I have to simplify my home and rhythms and prepare my heart and home so that I can full embrace the season, without the overwhelm. I thought I’d share some of the ways I am preparing now for a peaceful and joyful holiday season.
Preparing your home
Decluttering
I like to take a few weeks before the holiday season begins to declutter my home. A simple 15-20 minutes every day, organizing a different area can make a world a difference in feeling fresh and prepared for the season.
If you need a good place to start, grab my free holiday homemaking planner.
Simplify decor
There’s something delightful about simple and minimal decor. Of course, this will vary depending on your taste and preferences, but as much as you can streamline things and keep it simple takes the pressure off and eliminates stress. Simple things like dried orange garland, evergreens, and natural elements, like pinecones, make lovely Christmas decor.
Here’s my favorite handmade or simple decor:
- Candles
Stock the pantry
Stock up on pantry staples before the season gets going to avoid last-minute grocery trips. I am much more likely to have a baking day or prepare a cozy meal at home when I have the ingredients on hand I need to prepare them. You can find my simple pantry staples list here with all of the items that I like to keep on hand.
Create cozy spaces in your home.
Add simple touches to your home to make it feel more cozy. Things like throw blankets, soft lighting, candles, beautiful picture books and so forth add whimsical touches that just bring the warmth of the holiday season into your home. If you’re decorating on a budget, this blog post might give you some simple ideas for decorating your home for Christmas on a budget.
Organizing gift supplies
Gift wrapping tends to be one of the most disorganized and chaotic parts of the holiday season, at least in our home
Here’s a few tips to make it feel less overwhelming:
- Create a room or corner in your home that can be dedicated to wrapping gifts
- Keep the dedicated area stocked with wrapping paper, scissors, tape, gift tags, etc
- Wrap gifts as you purchase them, rather than waiting until the end to wrap everything
Beautifully wrapped gifts can be a lovely, simple way to decorate for the holidays. Check out these blog posts for some beautiful wrapping inspiration.
Prepare your rhythms
Look at the calendar
Take a hard look at your calendar now and decide what is essential and what is not. I like to take time to make a list of traditions or activities that are must-do for our family and then another list of activities that are “want to”. This helps me narrow down my calendar and plan things while also leaving ample white space to just enjoy the season. Set realistic expectations for yourself and your family and don’t be afraid to say no to over commitments.
Simplify meals
December is not the time to be reinventing the wheel when it comes to meals, unless you enjoy cooking and being creative in the kitchen. Choose 3-4 simple, cozy meals that your family loves and make them on repeat. You can grab my free crockpot e-book here or the holiday homemaking planner has several cozy meals that would be perfect for for the month of December.
Anchor traditions
Deciding early on what your core traditions will be will help you as you plan your calendar. If you’re looking simplify or switch up your traditions, you might find this blog post with 10+ beautiful family Christmas traditions inspiring.
Years ago, I started keeping a Christmas journal just to record the things that we did on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I included things like how we chose gifts, what we ate, any special guests, or other significant events or weather. This has been a rich history to look back on and also helps me remember our yearly anchor traditions and what we found most meaningful.
Prepare your budget and gift giving
When it comes to gift giving, I start planning gift lists and shopping early. By the beginning of November, I like to have an idea of what I’m doing for my core family for Christmas gifts.
As a general rule in our family, we do small stocking stuffers and then we do three gifts under the tree: a book, something to wear, and some thing the person wants. This has simplified gift giving tremendously, and allows us to focus on togetherness, rather than just receiving.
Generally, I start a list on my phone of gift ideas and then keep a watch for sales as November rolls into Black Friday and all the other holiday sales. I like to do my shopping when things are on sale as much as possible and knowing what I’m looking for keeps me focused. Sometimes I will also pick up things throughout the year and stash them, especially for stocking stuffers. So if you’re like me, be sure and check those hidden gift containers before you start shopping!
When it comes to holiday gift giving, there is inevitably the question of budgeting for Christmas. I like to plan ahead on this also by limiting my spending in the months prior to Christmas, maximizing my budget while also considering how I can create a little extra income for the holiday season. You might consider selling bread or baked goods, selling some of the items you declutter, or even explore making online income through things like affiliate links. You can read this blog post where I share 10+ ideas for homemakers to create extra income.
Prepare your heart
One of the most important things that you can do for the holiday season is to prepare your own heart to be joyful throughout this season. One of the simplest ways I have found to do this is by not only preparing my calendar and plans ahead of time, but also choosing a special advent reading for myself.
There are so many good advent devotionals and studies out there, these are several that I have done or find highly recommended. Another simple ideas it to read a chapter of Luke in the Bible every day and journaling your gratitude and thoughts as you read. This would also make a great family study.
It’s also important to prepare the hearts of your children, and there are so many simple and delightful resources out there. I’ll just a few of our favorites here.
Reflection
As you prepare your heart for the busyness and beauty of the holiday season, I would encourage you to take some time to reflect on what you want this time to mean for your family. What do you want your children to remember? What are the most important things for your family based on your core values and beliefs? What do you want the atmosphere of your home to be like this season?
As you ask yourself these questions, you will begin to find priorities emerging. Lean into those things and let go of the mentality that you have to do it all. I promise that you (and your family) will enjoy the holiday so much more if you keep things simple, rather than doing it all and feeling overwhelmed.
Lastly, let me just remind you that the atmosphere of joy and love and connection in your home is worth more than a full calendar and checking off all of your holiday bucket list items. The most important and meaningful gift you can give your family is your presence, which is much easier said than done, for sure. However, with a little planning and intentionality you can enjoy the season and be fully present without any regrets.
Be sure and grab my free holiday homemaking guide here.
