Samantha, who runs the witty and hilarious 'Walking Outside in Slippers' blog, was kind enough to share what the holiday marathon looks like. She also gave some advice on how to survive the mad rush by slowing down and focusing on the essentials.
"I feel like at the height of the pandemic, many of us realized the value of slowing down a bit and doing fewer activities. That said, these past few weeks have been some of my most crazy busy ever. So I guess a lot of us are back into the grind!" the parenting blogger revealed to Bored Panda. She pointed out that we all have to focus on our priorities so we're not completely overwhelmed.
"When it comes to my family and activities, I try to prioritize what's most important and what can be let go of. Shopping for family members is important to us, and helps my kids see the value of generosity and giving to others. We took part in holiday parades, joined in work potlucks, and did the darn school dress-up days," she shared.
However, this meant that the family had to set some other fun activities aside. "But we didn't take pictures with Santa this year, and we are not sending out holiday cards. There will be no fancy, Pinterest-worthy holiday crafts or baking in my house. I would say letting go of the (often imagined!) expectations of others is the best way to unload some of that holiday stress," Samantha told Bored Panda.
We were curious to find out what Samantha's favorite part of the holidays is. "I really love that extra time to spend with family around the holidays," the founder of 'Walking Outside in Slippers.'
"Once the crazy hustle and bustle of Christmas morning and Hankukkah is behind us, we hopefully have some time to linger in our pajamas and just be together."
For us, the holiday season is a time of taking stock, giving thanks, and eating way, waaay too many gingerbread-themed snacks.
The year is coming to a close, and we remember what our priorities truly are. Visiting family. Reconnecting with friends. Laughing with glee, surrounded by loved ones, in front of a roaring fire. Hallmark movies might be cheesy, but they get these things right.
For a moment, issues like the state of the economy, our troubles at work, and all the relationship drama we might have in our lives take a back seat. They patiently wait outside, in the deep snow (probably waiting till we fail our New Year’s resolutions).
For now—there’s peace… or there would be if there wasn’t such a massive rush to get everything done!
Look, the fact of the matter is that the holidays can be an extremely stressful time for everyone. Especially if you’re a parent. Not only do you have to work, cook, clean, and take care of the pre-holiday chaos at school, you also have a festive marathon to take part in.
Put up the Christmas tree. Decorate your house. Create a landing strip for Santa to safely land his sleigh in your neighborhood. Take part in your kids’ school festivals, fairs, and concerts. There’s a seemingly endless list of tasks to be done. And among all of that running about, you might forget why you’re doing it all.
Like it or not, there’s a lot of social pressure during the holidays. ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ is as apt now as it was a century ago: people compete with each other to celebrate Christmas ‘better.’
That might mean putting up more impressive decorations or cooking a more impressive festive meal. Or having your kid win the Xmas talent show.
Or just plain getting everyone fancier gifts than they got you… naturally, wrapped in the most overcomplicated and impressive way (thank you, Pinterest and YouTube). Humans are social beings and we naturally want to impress others because reputation and standing are important in communities. We want to be liked.
The main drawback of this need to be liked and to impress others, however, is that we often do things that run counter to how we’d rather do them.
For instance, if you had nobody to compare yourself to, you might not ‘deck the halls’ with two football fields worth of tinsel and a thousand fairy lights. A modest Christmas tree with some stylish ornaments might be what you actually prefer.
Similarly, in the mad rush to survive the holidays, we might forget that it’s usually not the gift itself that we appreciate the most, but the act of giving.
Spending time with your loved ones, baking cookies together, and getting a hug is often far more important than getting a massively expensive gadget, a handful of medium-sized gifts, and a whole bunch of tiny presents.
