Prepping for Christmas Before Thanksgiving Can Save Sanity

My husband is adamant that Christmas celebration or preparation does not occur until after you have eaten your pie on Thanksgiving. This includes decorating, baking, Christmas cards and shopping. He wouldn’t even enjoy the Christmas beer he bought until the pie sat in his stomach for 2 hours!

The preparation for the holidays can become very overwhelming for me. There are Christmas cards to send and decorating to be done (both at home and the office), baking to be done and delivered to the neighbors, Christmas presents to be bought and some that have to be shipped to our families in Iowa and Arizona. We have Christmas concerts to attend and lights to be viewed. I write a list of what needs to be done along with specific dates that task will be achieved. Honestly, there are a few years were I begin to dread the holidays and do not enjoy them at all because of everything “I need to do”! Every year I tell myself “it’s okay if you send cards late” (which I actually did one year for sanity reasons), “you don’t have to give cookies to the neighbors this year” and “don’t worry about presents for the grandparents” - but every year I bake the cookies and send the cards and the presents.

Christmas Day in itself is always a stress free day, especially the years we stay home and do not have to travel. We sleep late, maybe take a shower, eat soup for lunch and dinner and watch movies all day. So why is the time before Christmas so nerve-racking?

This year I gave myself a gift; I started my Christmas task list earlier! I ordered the cards at the beginning of November and started addressing them on Thanksgiving. I bought the presents for my husband’s parents in October and even bought a few for the children. Sophia and I decided to forget the cut-out frosted sugar cookies (which put me in tears every year as I have difficulty rolling out the dough) and bake something a little simpler for the neighbors.

My husband may not be a fan of starting Christmas before Thanksgiving, but if it means a few less tears from his wife, it may be worth breaking the rules. Happy Holidays and don’t be afraid to cut a job from your list when things get too stressful!