I wrote this post as part of my participation in a blog tour for The Motherhood on behalf of the makers of Children’s MOTRIN® and received compensation to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
I have to confess that this past weekend kicked off one of the most nerve-wracking times of the year for me: first of all, daylight savings plunges us into way too much darkness, and November kicks off the really busy holiday-birthday-palooza that goes nonstop from now until Christmas. We have Sophie’s birthday November 16, Bobby’s on the 26th, Thankgiving, Jonah’s birthday on December 17th and then Christmas.
So basically, I should’ve started shopping 2 weeks ago. Hey, I am just happy to have already booked Sophie’s big bday bash at the bowling alley!
The truth is during these next 8 weeks, I have more to do than humanly possible – working, birthday + Christmas shopping, party planning, Sophie’s two birthday parties (one for friends, one for family) along with the other weekly activities that won’t stop like church, house church, and swimming lessons. But I have done it for years past, and I will do it again this year. Because I’m unstoppable! Here are a few ways I keep it all together during the holidays.
1) I shop online almost exclusively. Ain’t nobody got time to run around to a billion stores to get all these presents. With two kid birthdays and a husband birthday AND my mother’s birthday and Christmas all between November 16 and December 25, THAT’S A LOT OF PRESENTS. Amazon and Kohl’s.com are my friends. I don’t have time to lovingly pick out each gift at the store and I am not handmaking NUTTIN’. So. I shop online, when I have time, and it saves my life.
2) I delegate. I do make Jonah’s birthday cake because he’s gluten-free, but I let someone else (bakery!) make Sophie’s cakes (although of course I make sure Jonah will have a gf cupcake to eat at her party as well). I ask my mom or sisters-in-law to bring extra chairs or chips to go with the pizza we’ll order. I let my husband wrap the presents because he is WAY better than I am at it and he likes doing it (although the sheer volume of Christmas presents for all our family members is so large that we do that together). I keep our family parties casual. We have lots of fun, but not a lot of frills. Nobody is going to pin pictures of any party I throw and that is A-OK with me!
3) I ask for help. I guess this is kind of like delegating, but much more pointed. If it’s a couple days before a family party and my house is DEFCON-4 level messy, I ask my mom, or my sister-in-law, or a house church friend if she can take Jonah for a couple hours so I can power clean. If I have more places to be that I can possibly be, I ask for help. Sometimes I just cannot do it all, and when I can’t, rather than fail, I ask for help. And luckily I have lots of family team players who will help out in a pinch.
The Birthmaspalooza is on it’s way, and I. Will. Survive. I might even ENJOY it, celebrate my wonderful kids, hubby, and mom, and try to impress the wonder of the Christmas season and God’s amazing gift to us upon my kids’ hearts – whew!
I can do it, because I’m unstoppable! Stopping, my dears, is simply not an option.
What makes you unstoppable as a mom?
The makers of Children’s MOTRIN® would love for you to share your unstoppable tips over on the Motrin Facebook page. Because one of the best ways we can help each other be unstoppable is to share what works for us! And what’s awesome about that? For every tip shared, they will make a $1 donation made to Safe Kids. Your tip might also win you $100 just for posting (all details on the Motrin Facebook page)
*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY, OPEN TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES & D.C., 18 AND OLDER. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Promotion ends 11:59p.m. ET 12/28/14. Sponsor will donate $1 for each approved Submission made as part of the promotion, with a minimum donation of $30,000 and a maximum donation of $50,000. For Official Rules, and complete details, visit www.unstoppablemoms.com. Sponsor: McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. To learn more about Safe Kids Worldwide visit safekids.org
Go give the unstoppable moms who have inspired you a big shout-out today, and share your tips to help other moms, too!
What makes you UNSTOPPABLE during the holiday season?
You forgot to add the online shopping that you do for me in picking out gifts for the kids! Thank you!
I feel ya! I have my boys birthdays on November 10 and November 11 (one year apart) then Thanksgiving, then the Christmas craziness and then my daughter’s birthday on Dec 27! This is literally the craziest time of the year!