Love these ideas! I have started conversations with some about not exchanging gifts this year and instead meet for coffee or scheduling time in January to hang out. So much less pressure on everyone who feels they need to get a gift.
I try to include my teenagers as much as possible in some of the tasks. My college-aged daughter loves decorating, so I just delegate some of it to her, or we do it all together. I've also delegated some cooking/ baking to the kids - either we do it together or they do it themselves. We always make a photo calendar for the grandparents, which takes a few hours, and having the teens create it online is a great help! I also ask them to help me wrap gifts for cousins.
That’s great, @Mika! Whatever works… I’ve found the kids enjoy it too! So it’s a win-win! My daughter is going to do a lot of cooking for Thanksgiving this year (I know you don’t live in the US so that’s probably not your holiday!).
Cooking ahead and freezing in portions (as well as very low expectations and minimal but cherished decorations) keep the holidays centred in gratitude and connections for this neurodivergent and often low-energy empty-nester!
I love Nat singing that one too! I can’t handle music with words for the most part, so I love my Kenny G. Since I lean into the mystic (and romp through it from time to time) I have a ‘mystic christmas’ playlist with strong celtic and medieval vibes that for me bring in the wonder.
These are great ideas! Thanks for sharing! As a neurodivergent, almost empty-nester…I appreciate hearing how other people manage this time of the year.
This was a good reminder. The holidays this year will certainly look different for my family. We lost my father a few weeks ago. We are going to try to be apart of more family gatherings but pace ourselves as well.
I can’t believe the holidays are around the corner already! I’m all about suggestion 2 here. I try to keep it as lighthearted as possible. My husband and I will sit down in November, pop on a fun movie, and do our online shopping. I also like to wrap gifts while playing a fun movie. It makes a big difference! The stress I get comes from the day of cooking. I love cooking, but holiday cooking is a whole different game. I need to spend some time doing some more pre-planning and even setting my tables days in advance so I can actually enjoy having guests over. 💕
I started hosting Christmas sometime around 2009, I think? I didn't mean to host every year, but that's just the way it went. Now, my brother and I try to split up holidays a bit. He does all the summer holiday hosting and I do the winters. Our parents are older and are not in condition to host, so it works for us!
Love that! It’s a mission to host, so good on you for taking that on and making it special for those around you. Im sure it’s all worth it when everyone is around enjoying themselves!
I could definitely start earlier. I spend most of November in denial each year then panic - but I do love to find different and unique gifts for people if I can - so I am intentionally starting earlier this year. The other thing I do is try to make sure I use some cooking shortcuts and find things that can all just go in the oven or steam on the hob. I wrote a list of times when different things need to go in. And remember to keep my nutroast away from my daughter’s chicken ;). We are hosting mum this year as my brother is off to Lapland with his family. But she’s happy to go with the flow and to simply have company. I’m trying to slow down everything at the moment due to having felt over stressed and stuck in flight/fight mode too long. 💚
I hope you have a lovely relaxing time with your family. I’m sure that thinking ahead will help in the long run. Just as long as we don’t stress over it! 😵💫
We have a huge festival coming up in India at the end of this month, and I had spent whole of October figuring out what to gift to friends and family. I absolutely love buying meaningful gifts for my loved ones and I enjoyed it more this time as the process was slow and enjoyable for me. I agree with everything you said here. Have a great holiday season💕
This is great! Luckily I've been trying to buy my gifts (for myself and others) through Etsy, prioritizing handmade items from small business owners. I get something more unique and well made and help an actual person in the process!
I don't actually do the whole spending like a mad fool thing at Christmas. I opted out of the commercialism a long time ago. That's not even what Christmas is about lol.
Time spent with people I love, time spent outdoors enjoying natural beauty, and often looking for ways to help others or volunteer. Much better use of my time and energy than freaking out over gift buying lol.
My mother in-law has opted out of making crazy Christmas dinners and spending all day in the kitchen, like she’s saw her mum do for many years.
When the kids lived in the house she gave the kids a list of food they can choose from. Then she gives the food in a big gift bag on the day (except the frozen or fridge food), and they eat out of their bags the whole day! 🛍️
It’s a tricky time for small businesses! Especially those who are also going to do a Black Friday sale WHILE managing planning and organising for their own family.
One thing that we’re doing this year is buying holiday food early. Especially the things that fly off the shelf quickly; brown sugar, cherries, stuffing, etc. We’ve finally learned our lesson from being last-minute shoppers. 🙃
When we lived nearer the family and would see them at Christmas I would set aside a present wrapping day / afternoon. It would involve mulled wine, tasty snacks & Elf on the telly! Now all the nieces/nephews presents get delivered directly to their parents to wrap 😳
Love these ideas! I have started conversations with some about not exchanging gifts this year and instead meet for coffee or scheduling time in January to hang out. So much less pressure on everyone who feels they need to get a gift.
This is a great idea! It also gets more and more difficult to buy for people who we might not see often.
I try to include my teenagers as much as possible in some of the tasks. My college-aged daughter loves decorating, so I just delegate some of it to her, or we do it all together. I've also delegated some cooking/ baking to the kids - either we do it together or they do it themselves. We always make a photo calendar for the grandparents, which takes a few hours, and having the teens create it online is a great help! I also ask them to help me wrap gifts for cousins.
You’re super star!! I definitely could use a leaf out of your book.
My kids are definitely old enough to help.
I think I will delegate the holiday planning. We have a few stops to make and the order and the timing is tricky!
That’s great, @Mika! Whatever works… I’ve found the kids enjoy it too! So it’s a win-win! My daughter is going to do a lot of cooking for Thanksgiving this year (I know you don’t live in the US so that’s probably not your holiday!).
Cooking ahead and freezing in portions (as well as very low expectations and minimal but cherished decorations) keep the holidays centred in gratitude and connections for this neurodivergent and often low-energy empty-nester!
A favourite holiday playlist is an easy way to set the mood, I play it a lot and have pine scent candles going when I can.
I like that evenif I haven’t done much, with these my home feels ‘christmassy’, for me and others
What are some of your fav songs?
I have to listen to “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole (Chestnuts roasting on an open fiiiireee 🎶)
And “Last Christmas” by Wham 🎵
I love Nat singing that one too! I can’t handle music with words for the most part, so I love my Kenny G. Since I lean into the mystic (and romp through it from time to time) I have a ‘mystic christmas’ playlist with strong celtic and medieval vibes that for me bring in the wonder.
These are great ideas! Thanks for sharing! As a neurodivergent, almost empty-nester…I appreciate hearing how other people manage this time of the year.
These are lovely ideas, Quinn!
This was a good reminder. The holidays this year will certainly look different for my family. We lost my father a few weeks ago. We are going to try to be apart of more family gatherings but pace ourselves as well.
Heartbreaking. Sending you lots of love at this difficult time. 💐💐
Thank you so much!
So sorry for your loss. I'm sure that is hard to hold with the holidays coming up.
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Yes, it is.
Condolences on the loss of your Dad. Those firsts are hard. Be gentle with you.
Thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Hire a cleaning service😍
This is an epic suggestion!! 💪
I can’t believe the holidays are around the corner already! I’m all about suggestion 2 here. I try to keep it as lighthearted as possible. My husband and I will sit down in November, pop on a fun movie, and do our online shopping. I also like to wrap gifts while playing a fun movie. It makes a big difference! The stress I get comes from the day of cooking. I love cooking, but holiday cooking is a whole different game. I need to spend some time doing some more pre-planning and even setting my tables days in advance so I can actually enjoy having guests over. 💕
These are all fantastic tips!
Have you always hosted Christmas?
I started hosting Christmas sometime around 2009, I think? I didn't mean to host every year, but that's just the way it went. Now, my brother and I try to split up holidays a bit. He does all the summer holiday hosting and I do the winters. Our parents are older and are not in condition to host, so it works for us!
Love that! It’s a mission to host, so good on you for taking that on and making it special for those around you. Im sure it’s all worth it when everyone is around enjoying themselves!
I could definitely start earlier. I spend most of November in denial each year then panic - but I do love to find different and unique gifts for people if I can - so I am intentionally starting earlier this year. The other thing I do is try to make sure I use some cooking shortcuts and find things that can all just go in the oven or steam on the hob. I wrote a list of times when different things need to go in. And remember to keep my nutroast away from my daughter’s chicken ;). We are hosting mum this year as my brother is off to Lapland with his family. But she’s happy to go with the flow and to simply have company. I’m trying to slow down everything at the moment due to having felt over stressed and stuck in flight/fight mode too long. 💚
I hope you have a lovely relaxing time with your family. I’m sure that thinking ahead will help in the long run. Just as long as we don’t stress over it! 😵💫
Thank you for sharing this lovely guide Mika!
We have a huge festival coming up in India at the end of this month, and I had spent whole of October figuring out what to gift to friends and family. I absolutely love buying meaningful gifts for my loved ones and I enjoyed it more this time as the process was slow and enjoyable for me. I agree with everything you said here. Have a great holiday season💕
I would love to know how you made it enjoyable! Did you window shop or do it online?
This is great! Luckily I've been trying to buy my gifts (for myself and others) through Etsy, prioritizing handmade items from small business owners. I get something more unique and well made and help an actual person in the process!
I’m totally going to do this! Thank you for this idea ☺️
You're welcome! 🤍
I don't actually do the whole spending like a mad fool thing at Christmas. I opted out of the commercialism a long time ago. That's not even what Christmas is about lol.
Time spent with people I love, time spent outdoors enjoying natural beauty, and often looking for ways to help others or volunteer. Much better use of my time and energy than freaking out over gift buying lol.
Love the opt-out approach.
My mother in-law has opted out of making crazy Christmas dinners and spending all day in the kitchen, like she’s saw her mum do for many years.
When the kids lived in the house she gave the kids a list of food they can choose from. Then she gives the food in a big gift bag on the day (except the frozen or fridge food), and they eat out of their bags the whole day! 🛍️
I love your list Mika, good idea to plan ahead, it creeps up on us! I’d add a big dose of self compassion and totally let go of perfectionism! ❤️
Yes to self-compassion!!
How are you doing with creating stock for Christmas? With everything that’s going on, it must be pretty full on:
I always feel fear I’ll have too many and also too few orders! I am a bit behind but getting there! X
It’s a tricky time for small businesses! Especially those who are also going to do a Black Friday sale WHILE managing planning and organising for their own family.
One thing that we’re doing this year is buying holiday food early. Especially the things that fly off the shelf quickly; brown sugar, cherries, stuffing, etc. We’ve finally learned our lesson from being last-minute shoppers. 🙃
That's a good idea!
It gets pretty hectic on Christmas Eve, that’s for sure! Trolleys everywhere! 🛒
When we lived nearer the family and would see them at Christmas I would set aside a present wrapping day / afternoon. It would involve mulled wine, tasty snacks & Elf on the telly! Now all the nieces/nephews presents get delivered directly to their parents to wrap 😳
What a great aunty! 🥰🥰
I'm right there with you on that slide to the end of the year. Things are going so fast 😳
Totally pictured us on the slide! 🤪🛝
It's the holiday season already. Oh my goodness..
I know! I’m hoping to get ahead of things so it will be nice and relaxing. 😅
thx 🌹🌻🌸💐💚💛💜❤️🌼😍🥰
You’re so welcome!