As a child, I remember Christmas being a fun and magical time of year. We eagerly counted down the days until Santa came and woke up bright and early on Christmas morning to unwrap the gifts we had asked Santa for that year. As an adult, there have been years when I have come to dread the holiday and all the stress and busyness. Those years had me yearning for a return to a simpler time when the Christmas season was fun and memorable (in a good way) and we enjoyed a stress free holiday.
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Our family still stays plenty busy, but we have reduced the busyness and stress allowing us to enjoy the simple moments of the holiday: cuddling with our kids while we read a favorite Christmas book, watching our favorite Christmas movies, seeing our kids’ faces light up when they see Santa, listening as they nail their lines in the Christmas program.
5 Surefire Ways to Enjoy the Simple Moments
1. Prioritize
Your days can fill up pretty quickly during the holiday season. The season can flash by leaving us wondering where all the time went and asking how we arrived at Christmas already.
There are some things that are not negotiable, for example the kids’ school and church Christmas programs, but do we really need to bake 20 dozen cookies; probably not.
Decide what’s important to you and your family. What are your family’s most treasured traditions?
Make a list, prioritize it, and cross off those items that don’t make sense for your family.
2. Plan & Organize
There are some things that cannot be done until the holiday season, but there are many things you can check off your to do list before the Christmas season even arrives. I can’t stress this enough. There’s only so many days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If it can be done early, do it.
Here are just a few things you can do before December even rolls around:
- Plan your gifts. Write out everyone you will be purchasing and/or making a gift for this year. That way you won’t forgot anyone.
- Christmas shop prior to the holiday season (more on that one below).
- Get pictures taken and do Christmas cards, so they are ready to mail out these first days of December.
- If you do Elf on the Shelf use a planning calendar and map out your activities.
3. Take the Stress Out of Shopping
Christmas shopping is a big part of the Christmas season for many. I don’t know about you, but the time between Thanksgiving to Christmas is busy enough without adding shopping to that list.
To save my sanity and reduce my stress level, I get almost all of our Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. I also do almost all of it online. There’s no bundling up, fighting traffic, waiting in long lines, or listening to grumpy people. I can sit at the computer in my yoga pants and drink my tea while checking off my gift list.
4. Make it Easy
Now is not the time to become a professional baker or deep clean your house. Rely on simple and easy processes and products, like Bona, and no bake Christmas treats, like these no bake cookies or white chocolate pretzels.
Whether you have guests coming or just an active family to keep up with, you don’t want to be stuck cleaning while your family is enjoying a Christmas movie, a fun Christmas game, or many other Christmas traditions your family may hold dear.
The key is using simple, convenient products that save you time. We love Bona products year round for our tile and hardwood floors, but especially during the holidays to make clean up quick and easy. I love that I can go between the Hardwood Floor Wet Cleaning Pads and the Disposable Dusting Cloths with my Bona Microfiber Floor Map. They make clean up so easy. I use the Disposable Dusting Cloths to go over the floors quickly daily and the Hardwood Floor Wet Cleaning Pads at least weekly but sometimes more depending on how dirty the kids and pets have been.
5. Make Time For Yourself
It’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas and trying to do it all that we often forget about us and our need to recharge. We can easily become tired and stressed, which is not fun for anyone.
Carve out time for yourself and do something that you enjoy. This will look different for all of us. Maybe it’s visiting the gym or the spa. It could be curling up in bed with a good book or binge watching Christmas movies.
Giveaway
Bona is making the last two tips a reality for one lucky person.
Enter to win $100 worth of Bona products, to get started on your own holiday cleaning – and a $150 SpaFinder gift card, to help you enjoy your “simple moments”!
Giveaway Terms & Conditions:
The contest runs until December 20, 2016 at 11:59 PM PST. The winner will be notified directly by Facebook messenger on or before December 27, 2016. Entrants must be residents of the US and 18+ only. Winner will be randomly selected from entries via the Rafflecopter widget.
