Are you ready to CRUSH IT this holiday season or will you have a thirty-day crushing headache from December 1st to January 1st?

Honey, I feel ya!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for everyone, except mom. It ain’t easy being the arbiter of cheer when everyone is on the dole! And you certainly don’t want to go through the whole season with a chip on your shoulder. Nobody likes a cranky Mrs. Claus – especially Santa Claus and the elves!
So how do you get it all done – cookies to champagne toast – without cracking like a pecan in a nutcracker?

Plan, Plan Plan – Do you remember Frosty the Snowman? Synopsis – It was all going real good for ‘ol Frosty, until the heatwave. Then he was turned into a puddle of yellow water, mostly because he failed to plan. Don’t pull a Frosty and be taken down by the first little thing to go wrong. Plan out what needs to be done, set some due dates, delegate what you can, and have a contingency plan. Fail to plan, plan to fail. And, if you feel a meltdown coming on, go find yourself some shade and take a break!

Fake, Fake, Fake – I won’t tell those cookies came out of a roll in the refrigerated section if you don’t! You simply can.not.do.it.all. Bake the cookies, trim the tree, buy the presents, hide the presents, cook the dinners, go to the office Christmas party, recover from the office party hangover – it’s just not doable! Go back to Plan, Plan, Plan and delegate some of the holiday cheer to Mr. Claus – and cut a few corners where you have to.

Me, Me, Me, Me, Me – That would be ME time. Yes, even during the holidays. Get a massage, have a relaxing evening routine, take a one-horse open sleigh ride on with Mr. Claus *wink, wink*. Basically, do something you enjoy that de-stresses you every day and do NOT skip your healthy routine. You’re not running the gauntlet for Christmas’ sake – you’re celebrating the holidays. At least you’re supposed to be!

Making memories is a tough burden to bear but the best memories you and your family will have include a happy, unstressed, parent who is actually enjoying the holidays and not surviving them. Type A personalities + the Holidays = high blood pressure, not happy memories! Some of my best holiday memories are of when everything went a little sideways. I’ll betcha many of yours are the same, too. Now, steer into the holiday skid, momma and don’t lose your $3*% this year!