Lower Your Expectations

Remember what this season is truly about, and forget about trying to make it perfect. Perfect moments are when you are present (a lesson I am learning all the time!) If getting to school on time means driving in your PJs, do it.

Schedule Non-Momming Time

DO NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT skip on girl time. In fact, if you don’t have anything planned with your best girlfriends, reach out now.

We spend so much time and energy orchestrating the most magical season for our kids and families, we need to do things for ourselves that fill our (non-mom) cups.

Delegate & Move Your Body

Our partners LOVE to help and sometimes need to nudge to do so. Just tell them what, by when, and how they can help. Then go for a walk, jump on the peloton, do a quick yoga class or meditate. Moving your body will always help with holiday overwhelm.

Embrace Minimalism

I keep Christmas décor minimal. All of my decorations have to fit into one plastic storage bin. If it doesn’t fit, it’s time to edit my collection. Less décor means everything will be easier to clean and maintain during the holidays and easier to put away in January.

Outsource

Identify something that stresses you out and outsource it. For me personally, it’s cooking or baking! This year I am thinking about hosting a holiday potluck and asking family to bring a dish to share, or I am considering using a local caterer for our holiday feast.

Don’t Overschedule

Write down everything you think you have to do this month, and then look for 2 or more things you can eliminate. For example, you might feel pressured to go to every single Christmas attraction or event in the city this year. Don’t!

Pick one or two and give yourself permission to skip the rest. It’s important to have days in your calendar where nothing is scheduled – no parties, no events, no shopping trips. I guarantee you will feel amazing, and your kids will too.

Set Reasonable Expectations & Expect the Unexpected

Thankfully, most of my friends now have kids. Unfortunately, we all have young kids, so sometimes our events don’t go as planned – and that is expected. Make sure you set reasonable expectations, especially during the holidays. It will save your friendships and your sanity!

Relax

The best holiday moments happen when you’re the most relaxed. For me, it’s when I’m at home watching Christmas movies with the ones I love. Or even just having dinner with my family. We don’t need to go overboard in planning or hosting. Easy, simple events can be the most memorable.

As an Instagram Strategist and busy mom, I feel the daily pressure to have more work-life balance, especially when the kids are home over the holiday break.

If you are a business owner and use Instagram daily to market your business, here are a few ways to manage your time and enjoy the holidays with some balance.

Pre-plan and repurpose.

Plan your content for the month! Easier said than done, I know! But this is your opportunity to get organized and feel less tied to the app.

Repurpose your best-performing posts from the year. (trust me, no one will notice) or repurpose other content such as a blog post or newsletter and turn it into a few Instagram posts. What about stories? Re-share Instagram stories from your archives.

Automate your DM’s

Turn on your DM auto-replies and away messages.
If you must check your DM’s and comments at specific times. Avoid hourly checks.

Turn it off

Out of sight, out of mind.
Turn off all your social media notifications.

Generally, Instagram engagement can be lower at this time of year, so take a break and start fresh in January; you should have no trouble getting back into the swing of things.

Pre-Schedule Your Wellness Activities

My mental health declines drastically when I’m not doing yoga and hiking. As tempting as it is to push those things off when life gets busy, we’ve learned the hard way that prioritizing these items is a game-changer for our family.

Matt and I work hard to make sure that we both have extra-circular activities that fill us up, and we protect these times in our schedules.

Family Meetings

This is one has also been a game-changer. We sit down as a family and discuss that the holidays are a busy time and we are a team.

I am the holiday CEO, but that doesn’t mean I have to do it all. I continuously brain dump what needs to be done onto paper, and then we divide and conquer.

Iyla is the team lead on “Christmas Spirt.” 😍

XX
Christine

Do you know your tell-tale signs of burnout? Did we miss anything?

Tell us in the comments below if you have a strategy that works for your family?

^{Would you like to weigh in, or do you have an idea for The Panel? Send an email to christine@the-inbetween.ca}