How to Avoid Christmas Week Burnout

23 Comments

1. These tips could not have been more timely, as I am still awake at 3:00 AM after finally getting all the holiday cards written and ready for a Saturday morning run to the post office! I had a very sensible schedule laid out for the past week with assigned tasks for each day, but that was quickly derailed when my son-in-law’s boss (who obviously never had school aged kids the week before Christmas) sent him out of town for a mandatory training for the entire week. I’ve been handling all the school parties, pickups, etc. that he would have covered, and shuttling kids to sports and other holiday fun. Add an unexpected funeral that required a day trip and the surprise blessing of a ticket to a church concert I could not have afforded, and suddenly it’s less than 36 hours until my family’s (early) Christmas celebration with no gifts wrapped, a dirty house and not nearly enough decorating done. At least the groceries are finally all rounded up, four stores later.

   I appreciated all your excellent tips and reminders, and as a lifelong maker of lists I wanted to weigh in with my own tips. (My husband used to tease me about needing a list of all my lists!) For my entire adult life, I organized my Christmas preparations on a spiral-bound set of 4×6″ index cards. I saved those from year to year so I could look back on the gifts I gave and avoid duplication, and at the end of each season I made notes for next year. Some were practical, like “need paper for the kids and more wired ribbon,” but others were things I wanted to do better the next year, like “more music, less shopping,” “grandkids need at least one thing they can play with immediately, no assembly required,” or “take widowed friend out for lunch instead of just dropping off her gift.” I had a page for each family member with gift ideas and current sizes, and noted what I bought. In the back I kept a master list of every single remaining thing I needed to buy, regardless of what store it was from so that if I was in Target, I could scan the master list to see if anything could be found there.

   I am the least tech-savvy person God ever made, but once we moved to smart phones, I started using the One Note app, which can be accessed both on my laptop and my phone. My best friend’s husband helped me set it up and I love that it synchs between both devices with no action needed on my part. I don’t have to worry about grabbing the list when I leave the house since I always take my phone, and I can make updates on the fly while I’m in line to purchase the items that need checking off the list. I start each year’s list on New Year’s Day by copying in the list from the previous year (easier on the laptop than phone) so I already have names grouped by families. It’s easier to look back at previous years’ lists than flipping through a stack of the index card sets, and it’s always with me.

   I also keep my grocery lists in the same app with one for each of the stores I use with my most frequently purchased items already included. I check the items when I need to buy them, and uncheck them again afterward, which seems backward but I promise it works! I can always add new items, but I tend to buy the same things week after week in this life stage. I also use the same app to plan menus and cross reference all the ingredients on the shopping list. Never thought I would be promoting using an app over a notebook (I use notebooks for many of my other projects) but this has worked so well for me that I wanted to share. It’s so important to remember that this week is a marathon, not a sprint, and somehow we will get it all done!

2. Thank you for all you took time to share here. I think your notecard idea and saving them year to year is awesome…and I wish I had done something like that. I also use the One Note app for grocery shopping week to week. It’s great. But for a really big shopping trip, I use the notebook, so I have the recipes with me and I have the shopping organized by department. It is just too much for me to put in the app. But, it works well for me for weekly trips…I think I would forget things if I did not use it. Get rest! You are doing a wonderful job that I am certain your family appreciates.

3. I loved all of your advice, Pamela, especially the notebook. I am a list maker. Keeping all those lists in one place ( not only for holidays but also for company, traveling, a busy week), makes me feel that it is half done. I like a steno pad, it is what my mom used. I am going to be better about it. It is good for reference. My mom wrote down prices of odd things that they bought. I was amazed that when they purchased their house in 1960 that they paid 46$ for a row of 30 fir trees to plant across the back yard! My husband and I have been walking at night after dinner- our nightly constitutional. We bundle up, take lights, and have a 15 minute circuit. I read that it improves digestion, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure. We don’t go if we have black ice. I sleep so much better now. The countdown is ticking. My family arrives Wednesday morning. I am officially done with gifts. Happy Saturday!

4. Walking is good any day and you give us a great reminder! My mom was an executive secretary and used steno pads for everything! I have not thought about them in years!

5. My advice would be to slow down and really be present in all the moments with loved ones. Two years ago, I didn’t know that would be the last Christmas with my mother, and though I’m sure we had a lovely time, I wish now that I could go back and really savor every detail of that holiday. Commit it all to a deeper memory. The good thing is that this longing taught me such a valuable lesson, and I feel now that I am able to focus in on my interactions with my loved ones, even day to day, so much more. On a more lighthearted note, I’m meeting my bestie this afternoon at a favorite winery for a little Christmas time together. It will have beautiful decorations, music, and a spectacular view.

6. Hi Pam! My favorite cooking app is Paprika, and it houses my recipes. It will allow me to create a menu from the recipes and notes, and then automatically create a grocery list from the menu items. I enter the list into my grocery stores app and they will pick my groceries and I can just pick them up in the parking lot. I am like you as I buy Christmas presents during the fall. Once I have sleuth out everybody’s needs and wants. Due to blended families, we celebrate family Christmas Eve at our house and it is quite the event. Our neighborhood also sets out hundreds of luminaries throughout our streets. Sometimes Santa even comes to visit. This will be our 20th year of doing this and the grown-up kids just love it. We have created some very happy memories.

7. Thanks so much for these helpful tips and to the other readers who shared theirs! I use spiral notebooks as well as steno tablets.
   Have a wonderful day, Pam🥰

8. Wise advice, Connie. Thank you!

9. Sounds great, Lisa…thanks for sharing! I will check it out.

10. You as well, Jen. This audience always has great tips and advice to share.

11. Lori, I’m giving your son-in-law’s boss the Grinch Award. Thanks for mentioning the One Note can be somehow shared between the phone and computer. A friend set up my calendar that way which has been indispensable. I will look up how to do it. Right now I only use the app for things like noting a book recommendation by a friend but I can see that it could be much more useful. I am a list maker. I keep a notebook and everything goes into it. Every week I’ll start a new page and bring forward anything that was left hanging. We keep a whiteboard inside the pantry door when each of us can write for the grocery list when anything runs low. But I write the recipe needs first in my notebook. Then the lists are combined to the list I take to the stores. Yes, in order to shop the store methodically. I’ve been known to leave the list at home and still be able to remember almost everything. LOL.

12. Good for you, Kathie! If I leave my list at home…I am toast. I can remember a list for just me and Mr. B…but for more than that I need either the app or the notebook. Just returned from the grocery this morning and I am so glad I had my notebook.

13. Pam, Hopefully this text will go through this time as it’s the third time I’ve tried today. Our phones, iPads, technology has been wonky for days now. I wanted to describe two ways I try to stay organized. First, I always have an At-A-Glance weekly planner in my purse and write down anything I need to remember. I write down when we have had important appointments like seeing our doctors, colonoscopies, X-rays, blood work, those things doctors always want to know. I also write in red ink ( an old teacher always has a red pen) birthdays and anniversaries, and include trips we’ve taken, people we met, books people recommend, recipes I’ve liked or not, details of our everyday lives so I can look back even years later to remember such facts. I have these planners going back more than 25 years. I also print out my recipes, slip them into clear sheet protectors, and keep them in loose leaf notebooks categorized by food type…desserts, soups, breads, etc. When I use a recipe, I pull it out of the notebook and clip it to a coat hanger to hang on my cabinet above the work area. Just a couple of ideas that keep me fairly organized during this season and the rest of the year. Old school ideas that work for me.

14. Thanks for your perseverance, Celia…our technology lately has also been wonky. Thanks for sharing what works for you!

15. Thank you everyone for your kind ideas for organizing daily and for special events. We still write out a grocery list every week. I add anything we are running low on or that I want a where to get it. Brent is the shopper. He sticks to the list. When I shop he said it costs 20% more because I always add things I see. This working well for our budget and peace of mind. I usually have all gifts ordered and received by the end of November. This year our gift, a new sofa came a couple of weeks ago. No wrapping needed! Merry Christmas everyone!

16. I am a list maker, too, & I prefer to hand write my lists. Writing them as opposed to typing helps me to remember them & clarify things in my mind. Since the daughters have taken over the major holidays, I am much less stressed, but it is still easy to get overwhelmed by the “to-dos”. I am trying to be very intentional about all the things I say yes to & not over schedule. I also know that I need to stay hydrated because I can become very tired when I don’t.

17. I love DeborahLM’s comment about the feeling generated by a well-made list! It truly does feel like figuring out the entire holiday on paper is the hardest part, and once the list is made you are halfway to the finish line. As they say, “You CAN eat an elephant, one bite at a time.”

18. Thanks Sydney…enjoy your sofa!

19. Hydration is so important…I always have it at top of mind. Thanks Becky

20. I know that helps me immensely! Thanjks for circling back!

21. Amen to the tips you suggested.
    Merry Christmas 🎁

22. Dear Pam,
    You put your whole heart into EVERYTHING you do, your family is so blessed to have you. You are an incredible outstanding roll model for them.
    Have a blessed and memorable Christmas. You are “too blessed to be stressed.”
    I had both of my cataracts done last year.
    You will be do happy when it’s behind you. Medicare does not pay for it, I decided to treat myself. I had ocular implants put into both eyes during surgery. I still need a low OTC readers for the computer and reading. When is your surgery scheduled for? All the drops are important to follow after your surgery. Be prepared you will get LOTS of drops put into both eyes before surgery starts.

23. Thanks for the heads up. I will know more after initial visit Tuesday. Thank you for such kind words…you are so sweet.

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