Physical and financial exhaustion are right around the corner unless you take a different approach this year to the hustle and bustle of the season. Be aware that you may be suffering from Holiday Amnesia.When you hear music of many a holiday past, you begin to have visions of how you are going to decorate and celebrate this year! You have no recall of your very own words last January as you gazed at your credit card statements filled with your holiday happenings and your had-to-haves all listed in front of you. Let me refresh your memory, I believe you said. . “That’s it!!! Next year I’m cutting way back. This is not happening again!” So dear Mom, keeper of the holiday memory makers, of Thanksgiving, Christmas or Hanukkah, be sure to include these on your holiday wish-list:

Lower Your Expectations to Elevate Your Joy
Think back on your own childhood and tell me if you can honestly remember every single meal your own mother made or all the gifts that you received. Before you add another item on your “Must List’ make sure that it really matters. Realize as your holiday stress rises, your ability to enjoy this time with your children goes down faster than a sled sliding down a snow hill.

Give the Gift of the Giggles
Becoming a stress mess at the holidays is no laughing matter. . .literally. Use this as your parent barometer over the holidays. If you are hardly laughing, your pressure has peaked. Not only are you not experiencing any joy, but those around you probably aren’t either.

Say No and Don’t Go
There are some holiday happenings that are a must for every family. However, there are many events that we drag ourselves and our kids that could really find us on the naughty and not nice list for our bad attitudes. Truthfully, we mean well which is why we go however, we end up so burned out that we moan louder than the winter winds. Sometimes you may need to say that you have a previous commitment. . . and it’s your family.

Clean up the Calendar Clutter
Right now is the perfect time to decide on how full you want to see your calendar become for the season. Literally block off time to slow down and stay at home, get out a marker, your planner, the kids school calendars and any work related commitments. Fill in the dates and evaluate just how much more you can add before your holiday spirit and energy starts to deflate.

Relax With Your Relatives
This is the time of the year that we come together as a family. Rest assured that you are not alone in having at least one relative that you cannot believe that you share the same gene pool.That is a common denominator in every family. However, the holidays are not the time to delve into the frustrations and fatigue from dealing with the same old issues. Focus on letting each loved one do the best they can and you do the same.

Have Fun While You Get it Done
Holiday trimmings and tidying up can create many fun opportunities to share with your little ones. All work and no play can make both mommy and her kids a little cranky. The decorated cookies you made together may not be featured on the Food Channel, but if you and your little ones had fun, that’s fantastic!

Make a List and Check it Twice
You may have visions of sugar plums dancing in your head, but you also will have a million other things in there too! Don’t make mental lists this time of year or you will forget where you put them! Crossing off a task on your list that is longer than Santas’ will give you quite a sense of accomplishment and may even make room in your mind for a minute of meditation.

Make Memories Not Miracles
I once had a mom share with the story of her favorite gift. Her mother gave her a box tied with a ribbon. Inside were letters she had written to her every year on her daughter’s birthday. She ran up to her room and read every one of them. Later that very night there was an electrical fire and the house burned to the ground. As she reflects back on that night, she realizes that of all the things she had lost, the memory of what her mother shared in her letters will be the one gift she with have forever.

So my dear devoted moms, remember this. . .someday as each one of your children become a mother or father themselves, they will struggle to remember the must-have items of many years past. What they will always remember, is who they shared their holidays with.