{"id":4655,"date":"2014-12-09T20:59:09","date_gmt":"2014-12-09T20:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/2014\/12\/09\/taking-the-stress-out-of-the-holidays\/"},"modified":"2014-12-09T20:59:09","modified_gmt":"2014-12-09T20:59:09","slug":"taking-the-stress-out-of-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/2014\/12\/09\/taking-the-stress-out-of-the-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking the Stress Out of the Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/Exhausted-Mom.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright rotatecw size-medium wp-image-4656\" src=\"http:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/Exhausted-Mom-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"Take the Stress out of the Holidays\" width=\"300\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/Exhausted-Mom-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/07\/Exhausted-Mom.jpg 425w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>This season can be such a whirlwind\u00a0of parties, school holidays, and family time. We so encourage you to spend this time enjoying the season\u00a0instead of letting the potential stress outweigh the joy. Here are some tips I have found helpful:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Remind yourself about what the holidays are about.<\/strong>\u00a0Spend time with your loved ones and be grateful for your blessings. You are creating memories and <!--more-->\n<p>traditions. Let your children\u00a0help with the decorating (here&#8217;s a fun <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/197102921167605300\/\">kid-friendly decorating craft<\/a> to try)\u00a0and the cooking\/baking (here is an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/28358672627763347\/\">easy treat that\u00a0you can make together<\/a>). Set the mood. Turn up the music, make some hot chocolate, and have a holiday movie on in the background.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don&#8217;t try to be\u00a0a perfect\u00a0host when you\u00a0entertain.<\/strong>\u00a0Remember the mantra, \u201cI am here to bless not impress\u201d. Stress is self-imposed, and unless Pinterest\u00a0is your passion, you could become overwhelmed with finding\/making the perfect\u00a0decorations, cooking the perfect dishes, etc.\u00a0I remember spending hours and hours creating decorations for a company event we threw a while back. When we asked people what they thought of the decorations, many answered that they didn&#8217;t even notice them! Your guests will remember the people they talked to and how they felt &#8211; not the minute details. And don&#8217;t be afraid to ask people to bring a side dish, a dessert, or drinks!<\/li>\n<li><strong>Just say no.<\/strong> Is your calendar already filling up with events?\u00a0Prioritize what\u00a0is most important to you, and what you will have to politely decline. Leave space for time to be home and enjoy your family.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Find ways to give back and serve others.<\/strong> There are so many opportunities to donate and volunteer this season.\u00a0This is worth carving out some time. When you give back to those that are far more in need, it\u00a0really puts all of the\u00a0materialism and commotion of\u00a0the holidays into perspective.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hire MBF Sitters.<\/strong>\u00a0Don&#8217;t drag your kids around running errands, or set them in front of screens while you work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/book-a-babysitter\/\">Hire an MBF sitter to entertain your children instead!<\/a> When you have to hire a babysitter for parties, shopping, working, cleaning, etc., you will have\u00a0peace of mind knowing that Mom&#8217;s Best Friend will send you a fully screened, background checked, experienced, and\u00a0FUN sitter! (We also may even be able to help with\u00a0one-off personal assistants, housekeepers, chefs, etc. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/contact\/\">Contact us<\/a> if you are interested!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>From time to time, I certainly get caught up with finding the perfect dress for a party, or buying a perfect gift for those special someones in my life, but as often as I can, I try to keep these tips in mind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This season can be such a whirlwind\u00a0of parties, school holidays, and family time. We so encourage you to spend this time enjoying the season\u00a0instead of letting the potential stress outweigh the joy. Here are some tips I have found helpful: Remind yourself about what the holidays are about.\u00a0Spend time with your loved ones and be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,76,106],"tags":[165,166,167],"class_list":["post-4655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holiday-help","category-holidays-with-kids","category-stressful-holidays","tag-holiday-help-2","tag-holidays-with-kids","tag-stressful-holidays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4655\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.momsbestfriend.com\/austin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}