{31 Days to a Stress-Free Christmas} Day 12~ Are You Ready To Party?

The Christmas season brings with it many reasons to celebrate. From caroling outings, office Christmas parties, to Christmas plays at church the invitations seem endless. One year, I scheduled so many things between Thanksgiving and New Years that in the end, we didn't enjoy any of it. I promised my family I would never do that again. To keep things more manageable, I get out my calender in October and write in things that we want to do as a family that I know the dates of right now. 

Britni as the Nutcracker

For example, for the past 21 years some or all of our family has been involved in a local ballet theaters production of the Nutcracker. I know every year which week in December that takes place so I put it on the calender now and I know not to schedule anything else that week. 

I also know that we have a family tradition for Christmas & New Years Eves so I don't accept any invitations for those days. There are also several Christmas productions or concerts we like to attend so I keep my eyes on the paper or go to the organizations websites to find out the dates and times as soon as I can. As my calendar starts filling up, I really watch how many activities we have scheduled each week. I have found that no more than two activities per week works really well for us. If we already have two activities on the calendar, that we have not already RSVP'd to, and another invitation or special activity comes up, we choose which one of the scheduled activities we want to swap with it. It takes a lot of discipline to say "no" but it really makes for less stress all around. I will say, what makes this easier is if mom & dad are on the same page and they present this to the kiddos and everyone comes to an agreement that this is what's best for the family.