3 Ways a Mompreneur can Get Rid of Stress During the Holidays

Oh, hey there mama! It’s that time of year and the holidays, ready or not. I have gone through many highs and lows throughout the seven years when getting ready for the holidays as a mom in business. Most years, my margins were slim and I was stressed. I really wanted to get rid of this stress during the holidays as a mompreneur. I was hustling too hard to keep up with all the things. Something had to change.

Burnt Out Mode as a Mompreneur

I remember one year, I was ready to cancel the holidays all together. Forget the parties, the gifts and the food. I had no time to prepare for them and I had no mental space to even think about it. That particular year was so overwhelming, I couldn’t quite collect myself. The kids decorated the tree because I had no time. I was working the night before Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve that year, barely made it to getting the kiddos a gift. I actually didn’t join secret santa with my side of the family because I just didn’t have time. Being a mompreneur and partying full time during the holidays was not something I could manage anymore.

It was one week before Christmas, I sat down with my husband and told him,”I am not going!” 

He was like, “Where?”

“The Christmas parties! I am not going to my family’s party or your families! I can’t do this anymore! We celebrate Christmas with 3 families in one day every year and I just can’t do this anymore!”

We both sat there in peace for a little while trying to collect our thoughts on what to do next. Do we go? Do we cancel and only go to one party? What do we do? 

We mustered up all the physical and emotional strength we had left in our tanks and went to all the parties. We knew if we didn’t go without fair warning of our new plans, there would have been some unhappy grandparents and cousins if we didn’t show up. But we made some changes for the next few years that really made a difference for the following Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings to come. The stress level decreased by 99% and everyone is happy, including the rest of the families. 

Start Enjoying the Holidays Once Again

These things are not just important to do, but I would say a must. I wish I did this sooner with my family. 

Are you ready to get rid of your stress during the holidays as a mompreneur? Here are three things that helped me and my family enjoy the holidays once again.

1. Create Boundaries
   1. We wanted to make everyone happy. Traditionally, the only day to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas was on the day of the holiday. God-forbid we celebrated any other way! It was like a sin! Each family wanted to get together on the day of. Don’t get me wrong, I am so thankful. I have such a great family surrounding me. And I don’t take that for granted. But having five kids and trying to create your own traditions as a family while catering to other needs is tough. My kids are now teenagers and are requesting to create family traditions. This is where change needed to happen. I was not the only one feeling the stress of party hopping. I was exhausted by the time the 25th was over and that’s not how I wanted my Christmas day to be spent! I needed to stop the madness.
   2. We decided to create a schedule. We planned out what parties we would go to on the day of the holiday and what parties needed to be celebrated another day. There were three main gatherings we had to schedule that were important to us. There were also any Friendsgiving or white elephant parties with friends that were planned or unplanned. We chose wisely. The schedule we made reflected our values for our immediate family, then my other families and lastly all friends gatherings. We created margin. We made better memories because we had time to laugh and play games. The most important relationships were out first and only then we considered going to another party. Don’t be afraid to say no or change the tradition to better serve your family’s needs and values. You are not doing anyone a favor by showing up stressed and overwhelmed because you have over committed. You were actually hurting those around you by not having boundaries. You are hurting yourself as a mompreneur.
2. Create a Budget
   1. Ok, I am guilty. I love giving people gifts, but do I really need to say yes to every gift exchange? And some of the max spending budgets for the gift exchanges were beyond the dollars my wallet can handle. I was afraid of telling someone I didn’t have the financial means, so I joined all the gift exchanges that I was invited to. I created so much stress just trying to find the money to make it to all the parties. Not only did I create financial stress, I didn’t have time! Time to shop for the gift exchange. On top of that it was typically potluck, so I had make a dish to bring to the table. I booked myself to the brim, spending all kinds of money for just gifts. The problem is I didn’t have a budget. What I like to call this is a spending plan for gifts. Spending is inevitable, but how much is a choice. So, that’s what we did with my husband. We wrote out how much we wanted to spend on each child, how much money for each gift exchange and then we planned our parties we can attend by that limit. That made it so much easier for party planning. Creating a budget has many benefits and here are just a few.
      1. Budget helps not to overspend.
      2. It limits the amount of gift exchanges you will join.
      3. Budget saves time on shopping. 

I mean, aren’t these great reasons to create a budget? No, you don’t have to say no to all of them, but be selective. You don’t need to get into debt to get gifts for those you hardly know in the first place! Be intentional and you will have the freedom you are looking for around the holidays as a mompreneur

3. Create a Meal Plan
   1. Growing up, my mom would prepare all the food for Thanksgiving or Christmas the day before. The kitchen was off limits unless you were helping. I always wanted to be like my mother, but I forgot to take into account that she was a stay at home mom. Being a mompreneur was different. The time we have to prepare a meal is zero to none at times. We are rolling out nuggets and frozen pizza a little more than we would like in certain seasons of our life. And preparing for the holidays? That is a midnight activity at times. Sacrificing my sleep to make 20 sides for the family gathering? No way! I struggled to stay up until 9pm, let alone stay up until 12am. Doing that as a mompreneur takes the wind out of you. Over the years, I learned to create a plan. This involved preparing weeks ahead for parties. So many dishes that we make can be frozen. So that’s what I did. Most desserts can be made ahead of time and frozen. And because my family is all about having at least 10 varieties of desserts, I made them ahead of time. The first week of December, I was already preparing some of my dishes that will going to the freezer for Christmas. Now that’s the frozen department. The week of the holiday, you can always have all your vegetables sliced up several days ahead. You can mix all your sauces together and have them ready just to pour into your casserole. The holidays were a lot less stressful when I started preparing weeks and days ahead of time.

Are you ready Mompreneur?

So my dear mompreneur, I encourage you to take the stress off by planning your way through the holidays. It’s the only way to stay sane in the midst of all the chaos during this season. My life has drastically changed ever since I started setting boundaries, being intentional with my money and creating a meal plan.. I look forward to every Thanksgiving and Christmas because I know exactly what I am getting myself into for the next sixty days. I know, it’s hard to skip that party, but think of the white space you created for yourself to watch a Hallmark with your daughter or The Grinch with your family. Those are the memories you want to create and need time to do so. You won’t regret a minute of that decision.