Take the Stress out of the Holidays with a Morning Routine

*Take the Stress out of the Holidays with a Morning Routine is a guest post. If you are interested in writing for A Modern Mom’s Life, please visit my Guest Posting page. This post also contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through my link I will earn a small commission. These commissions support my blog and my family.*

The holiday season has arrived, a carefree time of joy and happiness for the whole family … or at least, that’s what it should be

Instead, you find yourself overwhelmed when buying gifts, decorating the house and planning the big Christmas party you’re hosting this year. That’s in addition to normal duties, like getting the kids ready for school, making breakfast and keeping the house clean. With that growing to-do list comes growing stress, and it’s ruining the yuletide vibe.

Stop. Breathe. Think. There’s no way to make those tasks magically disappear, but you can make them easier by working efficiently and getting the most out of your time. That starts with a morning routine. Here are some suggestions for starting your own.

Take Stress out of your Holidays with these Morning Routine tips

Divide the Chores

Do you find yourself doing everything yourself those first few hours of the day? Stop that. The entire household should be pulling its weight, and that means dividing up the chores more equitably. Hold a family meeting to decide who does what, and you’ll find that you have more time and the morning flows more smoothly.

Get Organized

Those chores are much easier when everything you need is arranged properly. Take breakfast,for example. If your pots and pans are stored on their side next to the stove, all you have to do is pull one out of the cabinet like a file and start cooking. Incorporate the same principle in your kids’ bedrooms by stacking clothes vertically in their dressers, and use the space under their beds for storage as well. As an added bonus, taking some time to declutter and get organized will make everyone in your home feel less stressed.

Related: We Have So Much Stuff (& Tips to get Kids Organized)

Create a Schedule

Start with a list of everything that needs to be done, from making beds to brushing teeth to taking out the trash to going to work. The process of writing it down is therapeutic in itself, but that’s not all. You now have a schedule to get through those tasks step by step, with everyone doing their fair share.

Stick to Timing

The schedule is not complete, however. Put a time next to each item, and that’s when it needs to be done. That’s important for the kids, who have a tendency to drag their feet in the morning. Teeth? 7:15. Breakfast? 7:30. Out the door? 8:00. Teens can stick to the schedule themselves by keeping an eye on the clock, while the tykes still need a bit of encouragement.

Put Up Checklists

This will make it much easier for children of all ages to follow along. What’s more, you don’t even have to draw one yourself, as Priceless Parenting has a variety for children of all ages.Let the little ones choose their own, then post them on the back of their bedroom doors. They can tick things off as they chug along from one task to the next.

Start the Night Before

There’s no reason all of those tasks need to be done in the morning, particularly choosing outfits or packing book bags,which are best taken care of in the evening, says Good Housekeeping. You could also grind coffee and put it in the machine along with water so all you have to do is press start the next day for your morning cup of joe.

(I use a Hamiton Beach dual coffee maker. The pot for the mornings, and the individual size side for making a cup-to-go! Jess)

Wake Up Early 

Doing so will give you a bit of personal time before the morning rush, and that’s also essential to avoid getting stressed out. Moreover, you’ll get a leg up on your chores so the rest of the morning is a bit breezier.

Use Technology

There are plenty of devices on the market that keep you on task in the mornings, as well as your kids. One of those is Alexa, Google’s illustrious voice-activated personal assistant. It serves as an alarm clock to wake the young ones up to the sound of their favorite music, or as an intercom so you can tell them to get out of bed from another room if the alarm doesn’t get the job done. It will even time them while they brush their teeth.

Soon, you’ll have a system in place that makes mornings simple and easy, and there’s no reason to set it aside when the holidays pass. Keep it going for a better 2019.

I am a single father of two. My site DadSolo.com aims to help other single fathers through resources that can help them better equip themselves for parenthood.
~Daniel

How else do you take stress out of your holidays? I try hard not to say Yes to everything that’s happening during the season. This year we didn’t go to the kid’s school event, and I’m missing a few of their dance “open house” nights, and that’s totally fine. The key is communicating with the family and letting them know it’s not realistic to fit every single thing in to the days and weeks.

Share what works in your morning routines, or other things you to do keep stress down – during the holidays or whenever!

~Jess