101. More Fa La La, Less Holiday Hangover Series with Guest Speaker Chelsea Wessman (part 1 of 3) | Advent Calendar, Christmas, Time Management, How to be present with your family this holiday season.

101. Want to have a joy filled holiday season? 3 ways to beat overwhelm & be present with your loved ones for the Holidays. ***More Fa La La, Less Holiday Hangover Series with Guest Speaker Chelsea Wessman*** (part 1 of 3) Chelsea Wessman's back story & business story. How to beat overwehelm during the holidays and be more present: ***Step 1. Establish Non-Negotiables*** (1)-Create a "what not to do" list for the Holidays: *1A. letting go of traditions that add stress or overwhelm to the holidays, or ones that simply don't bring the joy filled spirit of Christmas. *1B. Holidays need to look how YOU want them to look - what's on your calendar is your choice - choose wisely how much you fill it & what you fill it with. *1C. You, as the Mom, control what kind of holiday season you and your family have - for the good or the bad... again focus on what brings joy to your family. (2)-Create a Holiday Live List as a Family: *2A. Live List is similar to a bucket list - but is more intentional and helps your family truly LIVE and THRIVE during the holidays. *2B. Sit down as a couple or as a family and do a mind sweep of all the traditions that bring you and your family joy during the holidays - narrow the list down to your top favorites. Make sure you let go of the traditions that bring stress, overwhelm and will leave you feeling burnt out. (3)-Calendar your holiday plans right then & there: *3A. Committments - put in your calendar all live list events that have specific dates & times tied to them. (Example - a family party, a work party, a ticket to an event that was purchased for a specific date and time, etc.) *3B. Live List items - only plan to do one thing a day - don't over schedule yourself and your family. Schedule time for things as simple as having a hot cocoa bar and a Christmas movie at home, or something as extravagant as going on a sleigh ride in the snow, from going to see Santa to taking family portraits for Christmas cards...calendar it ALL. Again, remember to not over schedule - keep it simple and you will find it will be filled with more joy. 4-Create an Advent Calendar for the Holidays: 4A. Assign Live List items a specific day from Dec. 1st until Christmas Day. 4B. Add Live List items to advent calendar to hang on wall to use for the 25 days of Christmas. (You can do little bags, boxes, or whatever you'd like) 4C. For fun - you can add a treat and a scripture verse to each day of your advent calendar. Each day the children will get to open one box or bag of the advent calendar and eat the treat, read the scripture verse as a family and do one simple tradition to go along with it for the 25 days of Christmas. This gets the kiddos excited about Christmas in a simple way - even if its as simple as reading a Christmas bedtime story to them that night - it makes it fun and something for them to look forward to because its in your advent calendar. I hope this episode blessed you in some way, until next time... Come join the Facebook community! High Five Motherhood Mamas Group Hang out with us on Instagram! @highfivemotherhood (check out link in bio for more) Read the BLOG & Check out our holiday deals on our website: www.highfivemotherhood.com (don't forget to pick up some free printables while you're there!) Love, Kim How to keep in touch with Chelsea Wessman: Instagram: @chelseawessman Website: www.chelseawessman.com