Take The Overwhelm Out Of The Holiday Season: Simplify And Enjoy More Artwork

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Take The Overwhelm Out Of The Holiday Season: Simplify And Enjoy More

November 03, 2025 • Jodie the Mom

Do you long to go back to the holiday season of carefree childhood bliss? Where the only thing on your mind is to enjoy the season. Now, those days are replaced by overwhelm, stress, and the pressure to make this the most amazing Christmas ever.

This is just one of our roles as a mom. Especially, since we are homeschool and, in some cases, work from home moms. We are home with the kids, so it falls to us to make this time of year magical. It isn't that we don't want to. Of course, we want to create traditions and make memories with our kids. It is just that it can be a lot.

It isn't like the holiday season magically produces more time for these extras. We are adding all of these extras to our already busy schedules. Which then leads to feelings of overwhelm and stress, and robs us of the joy of the season.

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So how do we, as moms, take the overwhelm out of the Christmas season, so we can enjoy it more?

I am an expert at adding overwhelm to the holiday season. After repeating the cycle of adding more to the schedule, then feeling like I missed out on the season. I've learned to pump the brakes and really be intentional about the Christmas season.

This post is all about taking the overwhelm out of the holiday season so you can enjoy more of it.

To Everything there is a Season

It is easy to get caught up in all the busyness. Yes, there are things that need to get done, and it is usually up to mom to do it. Some seasons may be busier than others. That's ok. It doesn't mean that every year needs to be busy.

Yes, sometimes it is unavoidable. But not every year. I want to ask you this question. Are you in a busy season because it is unavoidable or because it is of your own making?

To everything, there is a season. Sometimes we just need to deal with a busy Christmas time. Almost five years ago, I gave birth https://lifeunboxed.blog/birthing-stories/ to my Christmas baby. That was a different holiday season for sure, but it was only for that season.

If you are busy every Christmas, and you are dreading it. Then it is time to take a hard look and see why you are busy.

What Are We Doing?

Simplifying always involves cutting things. The first step is to realize everything that you are doing. If you want to take control of the overwhelm, then you need to understand where it is coming from. You can't simplify anything if you aren't sure what you need to cut.

This isn't a session about how to get more out of the time you have. That's not practical. We only have so many hours in the day, so it is impossible to multiply them. The only way to simplify anything is to cut something out.

Start with a list. Get a fun Christmas notebook https://www.amazon.com/Its-Pug-Christmas-Notebook-Jodie/dp/B0CJHBB91J and write down everything. Even include things planned for your homeschool. List everything. Now decide if it is a must do, I like it, cut it, or unsure.

Write it all down. Don't skip an activity because it isn't a big deal. It is the compounding of these small activities that leads to a lot of busyness.

Intention and Planning for the Holiday Season

If you want to do anything well, including simplify your Christmas, it requires intention and planning. Now that you have your list, you can start planning your holidays.

Planning is one of those things that makes my brain happy. I know for other moms, it can cause more overwhelm. That's ok. Plan in a way that works for you and makes your brain happy. The important part of this step is to cut things and to understand what is important to you.

What is the most important thing for you? Do you want to make memories with your kids? Are you creating family traditions that they will take with them? Do you want to teach them the generosity of the season?

Think about the lasting memories you want to make. Give a lot of thought to this question, then write down what is most important to you. This needs to inform all of your intention and planning.

If one of your activities doesn't line up with what is most important to you, then it needs to be cut.

You have your list, and you have an idea of what needs to be cut. Next, put it all on a calendar. This will give you a visual of how and where you are spending your time. You will also see any conflicts or extra busy days, so you can plan accordingly. If there is a really busy day, you are going from one event to the next, then don't plan any schoolwork for that day.

A source of stress and overwhelm during this season comes from too many things on the schedule. If you can start planning ahead of time, even planning for busy days, this will do a lot to simplify these feelings.

For this step, you want to remember to have a purpose for your plans. Lay it all out so you can see busy days, then cut some more.

5 Hacks to Simplify the Holiday Season

Now that we have the big picture view. We know what is most important to us, and we started cutting activities. Let's really get into the practical tips to simplify the holiday season so they aren't overwhelming, and you can enjoy them more.

1. Simplify your mom guilt

Part of the reason we are overwhelmed and stressed is mom guilt. We are homeschoolers, and we should have all of these experiences. So we break our necks trying to make it happen. If you want to simplify the holidays, then you need to simplify your mom guilt.

You don't have to do everything that Pinterest tells you to do. If being in a crowded mall to stand in line for a picture with Santa is too much, then don't do it. If the idea of elf on the shelf makes you cringe, then don't do it. If you love to do these things, then rock it, mom. But find other things that you despise doing and cut them.

You want to make memories with your kids and enjoy this time. Your kids aren't going to remember all the activities you do, but they will remember if mom was happy spending time with them or if mommy was stressed and snappish. So instead of checking of the next thing off of your to do list, completely delete it instead. Play a board game, read a book, or watch Christmas movies together and eat fancy popcorn (trust me, fancy popcorn levels up any activity). Simplify your mom guilt.

2. Simplify your cooking and baking

This is my number 1 hack for simplifying Christmas. You don't need to bake cookies for the entire neighborhood. If this is something you like to do, then simplify the amount you are baking. Or if you just like decorating cookies with the kids, buy a kit with the cookies already baked and ready to go. Remember, this is all about freeing up your time to spend with your kids. Simplify the baking process, so you can spend more time decorating with your kids. That is the funnest part.

Then cater Christmas dinner. Can we hear the angels singing? When I was pregnant with my Christmas baby, I knew Christmas dinner was out of the question. I actually made it for my husband's birthday, in August, and told everyone to expect pizza at Christmas.

I knew I would not want to spend hours in the kitchen, exhausting myself even further, ten days after giving birth. So, I simplified Christmas by catering our feast. It was amazing. This started a new tradition because I still do it every year. I hate the feeling of being totally exhausted after cooking all day. I wanted to relax and enjoy my presents too. It was impossible to do when I was in the kitchen all day.

I will add this. I hate cooking. It is not something that I enjoy doing. So if you love to cook, then do it. But if it still exhausts you, then cut something out. Cater part of it, and you cook those things that you absolutely love to cook.

Think of ways to simplify your cooking and baking. You don't have to cut everything, if you don't want to, but what can you cut back on it. Remember, a lot of the busyness comes from the compounding of a lot of small activities. So, you may not need to cut things completely, but simply cut the amount you do.

3. Simplify your activities

We've already talked a lot about what you are doing, but it is worth mentioning again. You can slow down your holiday activities and cut back to what's most important. If the holiday season is overwhelming for you, then start simplifying your activities. Go back to the list you made and cut some more.

It is a lot of work to go from one thing to the next. Just loading the car is a lot of work. Making sure everyone has what they need because there is always one that forgets something.

I know our culture equates holiday spirit with how busy we are. Let's be rebel moms. Instead of maxing out our calendars leave lots of room for spending time together, making memories, and starting new family traditions. Or really enjoying your old traditions.

4. Simplify your homeschool

To school for the holidays or not to school, that is the question? And it really is up to you. There is no right or wrong answer. I think you should take time off. Just to give yourself and the kids a mental break. Your brain needs to recuperate and recover, so this is a great time to do it. Also, you are distracted by all the holiday activities, so it is harder to do school.

If you still need to do something, whether you need to get your required hours in (if your state has requirements) or idle hands and time just aren't a good combination. Then plan other homeschool activities that still count as school. School isn't just about the curriculum books you get through.

Read a book together. One year we read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. https://www.tkqlhce.com/click-100522748-15496421?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.christianbook.com%2Fthe-best-christmas-pageant-ever-softcover%2Fbarbara-robinson%2F9780064402750%2Fpd%2F02754&cjsku=02754 I found notebooking pages, and we worked through that. Then we watched the movie and ate popcorn with the cousins. It was a very simple, low-key activity that they still talk about. And confession time, we never fully made it through the book, but it is still one of the favorite simple activities we did.

Grab these fun winter lapbooking pages. https://payhip.com/LifeUnboxedBlog/collection/activity-pages

Each year we will take two weeks off at Christmas time. My sister likes to figure out how to take from Thanksgiving through January completely off. However you decide to do it, the important thing is that you and your kids take a break.

Rest is just as important as working on a goal or getting things done. You need a break, and this is a great time to take it.

5. Simplify your spending

Money can be one of the biggest stressors for the holidays. Simplify your spending by budgeting and cutting. I know, all the fun words we don't want to hear. But this is a practical guide.

Let's talk budgeting first. I know we are almost at Christmas, so you may not be able to do this right now. I want to mention it, so you can plan to start in January. Your holidays will be less stressful if you know you have money to use.

Figure out how much you spend at Christmas time. Keep a spreadsheet and write it all down. Be honest with yourself. You can't make plans if you don't know what you need to plan. Then save for it every month. If you save $100 a month for 12 months. Then you will have $1200 to spend on Christmas. Then you don't need to stress about debt. You can make plans based on the money in hand.

Let's talk about right now if you weren't able to budget for this year. Everything is expensive and money is tight. You can simplify your gift buying. For a while, we had the tradition of just buying one big family gift. Once we had our second litter, this tradition wasn't workable anymore. But it was a way to buy something expensive without breaking the bank. There were still a few individual gifts, like Christmas pjs and books. But the main event was something big for everyone. Like a Wii or a Ping-Pong Table.

Or there is the three gift rule: something to wear, something to read, and something to play with.

It is ok to simplify your spending at Christmas time. If you've done an enormous gift giving in the past, and it needs to change this year, then tell your kids. If they are prepared for a simplified Christmas, then it will be ok.

Conclusion: Take the Overwhelm Out of the Holiday Season

I know this time of year creates a lot of busyness. It is harder to cut back and say no. But if you are finding yourself overwhelmed and stressed out just thinking about the holidays. Then it is time to simplify the holiday season, so you can take the stress and the overwhelm out of it, and you can enjoy it more.

This post gave you all the steps you need to simplify the holiday season. What are you going to start with?