Have you ever made a list of things you are choosing NOT to do?! This holiday season I did that after making a long to do list, and honestly, it made me feel better! I have a tendency to take on more than I can handle and underestimate how time consuming some tasks might be. So, I am trying to become more aware of what I have on my plate, when it’s starting to be too much, and being more aware of the things I am saying “No” to. During this time of year, when there seems to be an extra pressure to do ALL the things, I wanted to take a moment to share some things I have decided NOT to do in hopes of providing a little reminder that it’s ok to say “NO”. In fact, saying “NO” to some things often means we have more time and capacity to make the “YES” things really count.

Making my “To Not Do” list also made me think about the fact that people so rarely share the things they are saying “no” to. We often focus on sharing what we are doing, especially on social media! It is so easy to see one post from someone else and just assume they must be doing “ALL the things”. I know my brain has gone down that path! And where does it lead me? To a place where I end up putting more pressure on myself, and ultimately I feel more stressed.

My goal this year was to prevent some of that stress by consciously choosing not to do certain things that I would typically be tempted to do. With a toddler and traveling for Christmas, I wanted to set myself up to enjoy the holidays. I don’t think it’s possible to completely prevent stress this time of year, but I figured it couldn’t hurt to reduce the likelihood. So, enough of my rambling. Here’s a few things I decided NOT to do:

• Set up certain Christmas decorations. In fact, over half our decorations are still in boxes.
• Put up half of our ornaments.
• Go to a holiday party that’s at an inconvenient time. In a different year, I may have gone out of my way to make it work, booked a babysitter etc., but it felt like too much this year.
• Cook at family gatherings we host. I’m thankful to family for helping on this front!
• Bake Christmas cookies. While I love doing this I opted to get some gingerbread house kits that we will take to do with Will’s family on Christmas.

So am I officially a Scrooge?? Or are there things you are choosing not to do this Christmas/holiday season?

Choosing not to do these things means I have more time to focus on the holiday to dos that I am choosing to do this year. ❤️ We don’t have to do ALL the things. Maybe we should just pick a few and make those count, especially when we are in a busy season life.

Whether you are doing a lot of holiday activities this season or not, I hope you have time to enjoy and focus on who you are with, connecting with them and having fun with what you’re doing!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

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