Escaping the Holiday Hustle Before It Steals Your Joy

It starts innocently enough.

A little checklist here. 

A quick Amazon cart there. 

Maybe a shared Google doc for Thanksgiving, a Pinterest board for teacher gifts, and a holiday card template saved to your desktop.

By the time November rolls into December, your mental tabs are endless:

• Holiday travel logistics
• Custom ornaments for this year’s tree
  
• Meal prep for 14 (but gluten-free this year)
  
• Secret Santa signups
  
• Winter break camps
  
• Family New Years Cards
  
• That one photo book you swear you’ll finally make

You are—without a doubt—running the show.

And while part of you may take pride in how efficiently you’re juggling it all, there’s another part, quieter but persistent, that’s whispering:

“When did motherhood start to feel like project management?”

For so many of us, efficiency becomes a kind of survival skill. Especially during the holidays.

We want to make things magical. 

We want our families to feel nourished, celebrated, and wrapped in wonder. 

So we sprint toward that goal, checking off lists, managing expectations, buying the gifts, cooking the meals, coordinating the plans, and playing the role of memory-maker-in-chief (elf on a shelf anyone?).

And the world rewards us for it.
 “You’re amazing.”
 “I don’t know how you do it all.”
 “You make it look so easy.”

But here’s the question no one asks: What is it costing you to be this efficient?

Behind the curated calm is often a mom who's running on fumes.
Not because she’s weak.
But because she’s tired of being strong every second.

Efficiency is meant to serve us—but too often, it starts to control us.
We use it to outrun anxiety.
To avoid asking for help.
To stay in motion so we don’t have to sit with how exhausted or unsupported we might feel.

And this season—between Thanksgiving and New Year’s—turns the volume all the way up.

So this year, let’s try something different…

What if you let go of being amazing this year—and focused on being present instead?

What if the magic didn’t come from how well you planned it—but how available you were to enjoy it?

Because the truth is this:

When you take care of yourself, you resource yourself.
And a resourced mama gets more done with less friction, more joy, and fewer meltdowns (yours or theirs).

5 Ways to Slow Down Without Losing the Magic

If you’re craving a more connected, less chaotic holiday season, here are five ways to begin:

1. Build in Buffer: Plan less. Pad your schedule. Say no more often. (Nobody remembers the third holiday party anyway.)

2. Make a Joy List, Not Just a To-Do List: Include hot baths, solo Target runs, a night off from bedtime, and yes—extra whipped cream.

3. Trade Perfection for Connection: The mismatched ornaments? The slightly undercooked cookies? The skipped elf night? They don’t matter as much as your calm presence.

4. Outsource the Invisible Work: Gift wrap with your partner. Let grandma coordinate the kids’ gifts. Choose easy over impressive.

5. Give Yourself a Break: Literally. Take one. Even 10 minutes of stillness can reset your nervous system—and bring the joy back into view.

And remember the holidays are meant to be magical for you too!

The season doesn’t have to be a blur of effort.

Let’s be the generation of mothers who model joy, not just output.

Let’s show our kids that peace matters more than Pinterest.

Let’s remember that the most beautiful memories are made inside the moment, not on the to-do list.

So if you need permission to slow down this season, here it is:

You already do enough. You already are enough.

Take care of you.

Because when you feel good—really good—everything gets easier.