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Last weekend my husband and I took our boys out to dinner and a movie. While we were waiting for our food at the restaurant, we started to make a list of all the things we wanted to do before New Year’s Eve. We each got a say in what we really wanted to do this holiday season. The list was long, and getting longer as each minute went by.

My husband stopped me. “Now you’re just putting things on the list to put them on the list.” He was right. I crossed out the things that weren’t important to any of us.

It’s so easy to fill up the calendar during the holidays with every activity and invite that’s offered. But it doesn’t necessarily make the holidays more enjoyable. It often makes them simply busier.

Simply Busier

There’s an oxymoron. Shouldn’t we be looking for ways to make our holidays simply simpler? If you want to simplify your holiday to-do list, here are seven tips for creating simplicity in the holidays.

1: Make The Dreaded To-do List

You can’t simplify the list until you have one. There’s nothing wrong with a to-do list unless it includes stuff you really don’t want to do.

2: Prioritize

Ask yourself, or ask everyone in your family, what are the most important things on the list. Keep them.

3: Only Do What’s Really Important

Ask everyone involved what isn’t that important. Put it like this, “If this activity didn’t happen this year, would you be disappointed.” If no one is going to be disappointed that an activity doesn’t happen, is it necessary to keep it?

4: Pencil It In

List all the activities on your calendar – in pencil. It’s important to have a central calendar so you don’t overbook yourself. That way you won’t have too much to do in one day, but you’ll also be able to change activities as priorities change.

5: Ask For Help

If you try to do all of the shopping, wrapping, baking, and decorating that you’ve kept on your list by yourself, you can get burnt out quickly. Make sure that everyone in your house has a hand in all the preparations.

6: Don’t Overdo The Gift Buying

If you can, set aside only one day to shop. Make your gift list, figure out where you’ll buy each gift, and plan the most efficient route from one store to the next. An hour or two of preparation and planning before shopping can save you countless evenings of running out to shop. If you’re going to do some shopping online, take the same approach. Make a list and set aside a big block of time to do it all at once.

7: Happy New Year

If you send out holiday cards, consider sending New Year’s cards. Trying to get them all out before the holiday can be crazy, but usually the few days before New Year’s Eve are fairly calm. You can spend time writing out your cards with intention, instead of just creating an assembly line of signatures, envelopes, return address stickers and stamps.

By choosing your activities with intent and by doing some planning, you’ll be able to make your holidays simply simpler this year. You’ll have time to enjoy the season, enjoy your loved ones, and enjoy yourself.

Photo by: koko sexton