Got Holiday Burnout? Here’s how to fix that.
3 practical tips to put joy back into the holidays
Parenting Matters #91
By: Catherine Lynch and Glenn Collins
Dear Awesome Parent,
Ah December, the month of holidays! We were reminded recently that there are two types of people in the world: those who adore every sparkling moment of the holidays, and those who just wish it was January already. If you’re in the January camp, this issue is for you.
We have a confession to make: We’ve been in the “skip straight to January” camp for a while. It wasn’t always that way. We used to love the holidays. Maybe it’s the fact that our kids don’t live with us anymore, or maybe it’s just that we’ve gotten older. In any case we’ve been enjoying the holidays less and less the last few years. It had become a grind. Shopping. Crowds. Parties we had to attend. Family obligations. The commercialization and focus on gifts.
The joy had gone out of it.
We wished it would just all go away so life could get back to normal.
If that’s you too, you’re not alone.
It even has a name: Holiday Burnout.
But we don’t want the holidays to be this way, and we bet you don’t either! We want to recapture the happiness we used to have.
So this year we’ve resolved to make changes and find the joy again.
But how? That’s the challenge.
Here’s our plan. We’re going to combine two of the most potent anti-stress, feel good, get-out-of-a-funk things we know of:
Kid-enthusiasm and fun.
Everyone knows that kids love the holiday season, so we’re going to use our kids’ and grandkids’ enthusiasm to re-ignite our own. To see the the season anew, using their eyes.
And of course fun is a natural antidote to stress.
Combine the two and you have the perfect remedy for the holiday blahs.
In practical terns that means making the time to do fun holiday and seasonal activities with our kids and grandkids.
Here are 3 things we’re doing this year to put joy back into the holidays:
Let the kids take the lead with holiday traditions: We’ll find out which ones are most significant to the kids (it might be different for each of them). As much possible, we’ll let them take the lead in those activities. Which ones were most fun? Which ones were most meaningful?
Introduce the kids to wintertime/holiday activities we loved from our own childhood. I (Glenn) loved to ice skate as a kid, but dropped it for most of my adult life. One of the things I’ll be doing is taking the kids and grandkids skating.
Bake holiday goodies with our kids. This is a triple whammy - You get to connect with your kid. You get (almost) instant gratification - you make the yummy thing and then you get to eat it. Bonus: It feels good to make something, give it to someone, and watch them enjoy it. Plus, you’re role-modeling generosity - and isn’t that supposed to be one of the central themes of the holiday season?
What’s your best tip for avoiding holiday burnout?
Hit the comment button and tell us about it.
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