Episode 122: Prepping for the Holidays without Losing Your Mind!
What You’ll Learn
What is your holiday schedule? (01:47)
What is your holiday budget? (10:17)
What does your family like to eat during the holidays? (20:12)
Have you considered food allergies? (33:32)
Recap (37:50)
Invitation (38:27)
It's no secret that for us moms, the holidays come with a lot of extra responsibilities... and that means overwhelm.
That's why, in this podcast, we're going to walk you through some actual tips and tactics to get ahead of the holiday, and to protect YOU momma, to protect 'January You' so that you aren't burned out and you ACTUALLY look back and have GOOD memories and ENJOY the holiday season!
The holidays with kids are both incredibly beautiful and overwhelmingly full of challenges, like organizing all the people, planning meals, packing for trips or preparing for guests, not to mention all the gifts & MORE! This week, we’re sharing real tips from two moms of many!
The Holiday Planner is in the shop!
Our favorite is the Family Feast Section. The first page is the Planning Checklist. It walks you through a timeline…helping you plan in small bites.
The creme-de-la-creme is the Holiday Baking and the Feast Planner. Everything you need is on one sheet.
Finally, the last page of the Family Feast section is the Life Notes page.
What is Your Holiday Schedule (01:47)
What are the values and traditions that mean the most to you and your family? Getting a bird’s eye view of what you have coming is the BEST first step. What do you want to prioritize?
There are so many wonderful opportunities to say ‘yes’ during the holidays. Getting an overview of your schedule gives you an opportunity to set good boundaries.
Britt has a rule about saying ‘yes’ on the day of, and when she sticks to this boundary, it makes life run so much smoother!
Take a look at your calendar and ask yourself, ‘what are the important days for your family? Britt’s family does Saint Nicholas Day, my family celebrates Saint Lucia Day.
Another thing to look at are the family commitments you may have. Sometimes they can be beautiful, and sometimes they are stressful. Having them on your calendar will allow you to mentally and physically prepare for them.
Don’t forget about church and community events! These will also find their way onto our calendars as well!
All of these things are GOOD things, but if we try to fit too many things into our calendar, we will become mom-sters!
Take a look at your calendar (when it’s filled in) and take a step back and thing, do I actually have the capacity? Do I have the kitchen space? The home space? To commit to these things?
There are a lot of good, beautiful, valuable things we want to commit to, but do we have the capacity. . .mentally, physically, and financially?
Something that comes up for mommas with kids in school is the multitude of activities that come up around the holidays, pageants, teacher gifts, parties. . .
There are church events too! The craft show, singalongs, bell choirs, etc.
Sports! Pictures, parties, and season wrap-ups can all happen during the holidays.
Last but not least, family and friends!
Thinking back to the last podcast, ALL these things require spoons. Do you have enough for all these activities? Momma. . .if you love having a full calendar, and you love going to events, keep in mind that having one down day in-between is so helpful for you AND your people to re-set.
Now, when Britt plans things at the holidays, she ALWAYS has a down day in-between.
Also, consider your husband and kids’ capacities too! Because ALL of those have a big impact on YOUR capacity! Especially in big families, you’ll find a variety of personalities, try to keep everyone in mind.
What is your holiday budget? (10:17)
Do you have the financial capacity to handle all these holiday activities and commitments?
What do you have on hand for crafts, meals, teacher gifts, etc.? Using what you have can be a great way to save money (and the environment)!
Decorations. . .the tinsel and lights you used last year *might work again this year!
With the time and resources you have, can you host? Do you have the space, capacity, time, and resources to host people and enjoy the feasts of the season!
If money isn’t tight, giant high five coming your way!
If money IS tight, here are a few ideas for saving a little on food and feasting. . .
Less meat, more sides.
Try a few casseroles, thin slice the meat and it is even MORE delicious because you get some meat in each spoonful!
Consider seasonal fruits and veggies! (This can cut costs and improve nutritional value.)
Think about meal-sharing! Cook a meat and have friends bring sides! When multiple families pitch-in, it can save money, build community, and foster holiday spirit!
As you’re trying to plan for your holiday, you may need to cut back in other areas if you want to spend money on different feasts and activities. Perhaps this isn’t the month for saving extra, or going to Starbucks, or getting nails done, there ARE ways to cut back.
Britt’s family does bacon, biscuits, eggs, and cinnamon rolls on Christmas, which is a HUGE breakfast. She saves a bit throughout the year for this meal (because it’s important to her family!)
Spending money you don’t have isn’t very adult-y. . .it is better to work within your means!
The holidays CAN be a great way to stock up on staples while they are on sale, or to find seasonal items that aren’t around other times of the year (like cranberries).
Around Thanksgiving, potatoes, green beans, and turkey are VERY cheap! Turkeys aren’t always super fun to cook, but a nicely brined turkey that’s been cooked low and slow (Britt’s favorite way) can easily replace chicken in casseroles, enchiladas, etc.
Sidenote if you are a macro-counter, try turning Thanksgiving into a high-fat day! (This is what I do).
What does your family like to eat during the holidays? (20:12)
So, you’ve figured out what your plans are, you know your budget, now you need to figure out what to feed your people. What would you like to have at your feasts, Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas?
When you know what your menu is, look for sales! Stock up early!
Brittany made a holiday planner (get yours here). In the planner, you’ll find a month overview, and that’s where you fill in your activities first, then add in the bigger feasts.
If you look at December and fill in your feasts, obligations, and events. Then after that, if there are any days that will require special meals, add those in to the overview.
Next, you can take your meal planner and begin to fill it in.
Sidenote: if there is no blank space on your overview calendar, you may need to make some tough decisions on your holiday commitments.
Lysa TerKeurst has a book called, “The Best Yes,” that lays this concept out really well. In order to have the BEST yes, you have to have some ‘nos’ too! You have to work in down days, you need to consider your capacity, and you have to not use up all the spoons you have because, we have finite resources to work with everyday, and in motherhood those resources get used up even without us consciously making the decision a lot of times, so if you set plans that use up all your spoons before the day has even begun, then you’ve left no spoons for the people closest to you.
A few thoughts to keep in mind as you do your meal planning.
Is your schedule way too busy?
Are you hosting?
If you’re not hosting, have you offered to bring a dish? Even an extra meat! Ask what you can bring that will be helpful!
If you ARE hosting, invite your guests to help out!
Communication is key! Make a phone call! Send a text. Put on a bit of mercy, understanding, humility, and generosity can be a beautiful thing. Create boundaries by giving options, like “What do you like that I make?”
Here are a few guidelines from the Bon Appetite site regarding how much food you’ll actually need at a feast. . .
Generally you’ll want 1-1.5 pounds of turkey per person.
A 9x13 casserole should feed about 8 people, but this can vary with tastes, kids vs. adults, etc.
If the 9x13 is a side dish, it will feed more than 8 people.
A can of vegetables will feed 3-4 adults, or 3-15 kids (depending. . .because kids are tough to feed vegetables too).
Don’t be afraid to invite guests to share in the responsibility! If Aunt Patty makes a delicious jello salad, let her bring it (yes, this IS a salad in Minnesota)! In the South, salads can get pretty weird too! (Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, peas, pickles. . .). Southern grandmas also serve gizzard, heart, etc.
Britt’s dad is an “everything in the fridge” soup maker. Depending on who makes the soup, you *may need to look for bones!
Inviting people to share the burden keeps everyone in check! There are so many people in your life who want to help, but just don’t know how! You can even make a list and ask people to sign up!
Another thing to think about is what people are actually coming for! Maybe they’re more interested in the sides, and not the turkey.
Have you considered food allergies? (33:32)
If you have allergies, offer to bring food you can eat that actually tastes good! This is an opportunity to show people that allergen friendly food can be delicious! Bring GOOD food!
Don’t expect everyone to consider your allergies for every meal.
If you are hosting people with allergies, no allergy shaming y’all! Do your best to accommodate. There are lots of delicious foods you can make without the most common allergens.
Keeping the above in mind, be considerate of your host if you have allergies, or even preferences. Food is made out of love. Even a bad cook can have good intentions and put love into their food. Britt was raised to not speak badly about the food of others.
Britt’s family hosted some neighbors, and caught them outside ahead of time and shared the menu. The neighbors basically refused to eat the food that Britt was going to cook (which is ALWAYS delicious by the way), which led to another trip to the store and a decision to not invite them again. Just remember-be thankful for people who feed you!
Recap(37:50)
Look at your schedule and the values and the traditions you want to uphold this season.
Know your budget.
Consider your family and friends’ preferences and allergies.
Create a broad overview cheat-sheet for your season.
Menu plan weekly using your cheat-sheet, it is going to change your life!
Don’t be afraid to shop around a bit more than usual and take advantage of those great sales!
Invitation (38:27)
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And momma, don’t forget, you’re doing beautiful work!
