Let’s get right to it, I am taking a stand this year and ditching the holiday stress, deciding to instead focus on being thankful. With the holidays quickly approaching, stress levels are on the rise. As a kid, I never saw my parents stress over the holidays. Maybe they were great at hiding it or maybe they legitimately had nothing to stress about. Either way, as an adult I have an entirely different outlook on the holiday season from my parents—and mine includes stress.
Presents, large family dinners, entertaining; it’s all EXPENSIVE! When we hosted our first Thanksgiving dinner at our home as a married couple, I spent at least $30 on a turkey—A TURKEY. For my son’s first Christmas, we spent a few hundred dollars. He was six months old. Children at six months old are easy to entertain. Now he’s 2 1/2 with the attention span of a caffeinated squirrel, so a large haul of presents just isn’t necessary.
This year I’m on maternity leave during the holidays. Maternity leave without pay. You know what our plan for the holiday season is in order to be stress free? We are focusing on being thankful for nothing.
When I say “nothing,” I’m really talking about materialistic, tangible things like presents, fancy table cloths, and holiday decorations. In our house, we are focusing on the following “nothings” in order to have a stress-free holiday season, and we are encouraging others to join us!
Here are Six Things to Be Truly Thankful For This Holiday Season
- Health. Is everyone in our family 110% perfectly healthy? Absolutely not. But are we alive and breathing? Yes. Another day alive, another day to be thankful.
- Togetherness. We may not be able to spend time with everyone we love this holiday season. With loved ones who have passed away, broken relationships, and more, this can seem like something that is near impossible to be thankful for. However, in our home we will remember the good that came out of every situation. In togetherness we will celebrate our family and friends.
- Laughter. Put on your favorite comedy and laugh until you cry. Talk about the time your brother fell while running and landed in a garbage can at the dinner table. Bring up the funniest memories and laugh. Laugh until you cry, laugh until your face hurts, just laugh!
- Coffee and Wine. Need I say more? Mommy fuel.
- Comfort. Whether it be food, a warm bath, or a hug from your husband—at the end of the day this is one of the greatest gifts of all.
- Yourself. You are a uniquely individual person! NO ONE is you, except for you, and that is pretty special by itself.
Even though the holidays can be a stressful time, focusing on the “nothings” instead of the “things” is always an easy way to help relieve some of that stress. What are some “nothings” you can focus on during this holiday season? Comment below with your ideas!