Genius Christmas hacks for moms | Tips for happy holidays

Christmas morning can turn into one crazy hectic and stressful time, as you try to check off every item on your to-do list, get that last-minute gift under the Christmas tree, and – oh don’t forget to take family photos! This year, start a new tradition where you bask in the joy of the season and soak in the memories with your family by employing these Christmas hacks for moms.

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Christmas hacks for moms to make gift wrap easy

Over the years, I’ve found several tricks to make wrapping and handing out gifts easier.

1. Never use tags again: Use one pattern of wrapping paper per person: Never worry about gift tags again. Assign each member of your family one pattern of paper this year. Anything wrapped in that paper, is theirs – no tags necessary. This tip works great for younger kids who can’t year read especially. Even better – make or buy fabric gift bags, with one pattern per member of your family. Reuse the bags year after year. Your kids will treasure their bags, and you can pass them on them as adults.
   
2. Stuff the stockings quickly: As you buy stocking stuffers, separate them into bags or boxes per person. When it is time to fill the stocking, no sorting or searching for items needed.
   
3. Make taking gifts home easy: Use paper gift bags for guests who don’t live with you. They can use the gift bag to carry their gift home, and you won’t have any paper to clean up.
   
4. Simplify wrapping large items: Have a large gift like a bicycle or a sled? Hide the gift, and place a note with its location in a wrapped package instead.

Christmas hacks for moms to streamline Christmas morning

On Christmas morning, the little kids are ready to open gifts and you want to be able to sit back and watch, feeling the joy that comes from giving to your loved ones, and the excitement of the children. Follow these tips so you soak it all in moment by moment:

• Make trash clean-up easy: Wrap a big box, leaving the top open, and use it to hold for discarded gift wrap and tissue paper on Christmas morning (can save this from year to year; line it with a big trash bag); a basket for the bows and gift bags to save for next year.
  
• Have the right tools handy: Keep scissors and batteries in a basket next to you, ready to use for that hard-to-open plastic packaging or gifts with batteries not included.
  
• Photograph the tree and stockings: When everything is in place, and before the family gathers together, take a few photos of the Christmas tree and the stockings ready to be opened. I like to take these snapshots right before I go to bed on Christmas Eve.
  
• Record it all: Place a camera on a tripod and hit record before all the hubbub starts. Later on, you can use computer software to capture single frames from the video for photos.
  
• Play background music: Christmas carols playing softly put everyone in a happy mood, and have a calming effect. We like to play a YouTube playlist on our television with the picture adding some ambiance as well.
  
• Don’t rush: Once the gift opening begins, take a deep breath, sit back and soak it all in. Small children often want to play with a gift before opening another – let them open at their own pace!

Christmas hacks for moms to keep your people fed

While the little ones are impatient to open gifts, the rest of us are hungry. Avoid a hangry crowd with these tips:

• Keep breakfast simple: You want to be with your family, not stuck in the kitchen, so choose a menu that can be prepped ahead or purchased. A sausage bread can be prepared in advance and baked or warmed quickly on Christmas morning. Freezer biscuits are easy and delicious. An egg bake casserole can be prepared in advance and baked Christmas morning and bake overnight in the slow cooker.
  
• Rely on potluck meals: If you are hosting Christmas dinner or other holiday meals, prepare the main entree, but ask family members to bring specific potluck side dishes and desserts.
  
• Set out snacks: Have a tray of Christmas cookies, candies, or appetizers available for your family and guests to select from whenever they are hungry. These can be purchased or prepared potentially way in advance and frozen.
  
• There is nothing wrong with disposable: Paper plates have come a long way, and there are so many gorgeous options – your guests may not even know they are using disposable tableware.

Christmas hacks for moms to have the right mindset

The number one hack for Mom to enjoy Christmas is to have the right mindset. The quote “the secret to happiness is having low expectations” (source: Warren Buffet) has a lot of truth to it. Don’t expect perfection, your Christmas to look like a magazine spread or the kids to behave perfectly. For example:

What will your young kids remember?

As a mom, I want to create a Christmas that my loved ones, especially my children, will remember and treasure. Realistically, young children will not remember all the details though. So evaluate what is most important to them. Do they ask you about decorating the tree? Then make that a wonderful experience. Ask them the best part of last Christmas (or 2-3 best parts), and focus on those items. At the same time, keep the items you do focus on simple.

• Advent calendars: If an Advent calendar is a favorite family tradition, chose an easy one. I recently shared 9 unique Advent calendar ideas, and several of them are super easy (such as reading Christmas stories for bedtime) with a minimal amount of preparation required.
  
• Gingerbread houses: We made gingerbread houses every year at Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season. Anyone who has made gingerbread houses with young children knows this is NOT a simple tradition. I made it simpler by buying kits that were less ornate, and taking them to my parents’ home when we visited for Thanksgiving where my younger sister loved to help them assemble the houses. And when they didn’t stay in one piece or look picture-perfect, we didn’t stress – the point was the memories my sons made.
  
• Santa Claus: A common tradition for generations has been to take young children to visit Santa Claus, sit on his lap, share what they want as a gift, and take a picture. If your children WANT to visit Santa, then go! If they don’t want to sit on his lap when you get there – it is okay. Hop in that picture with them, and you’ll still capture a memory to look back on fondly.

Comparison is the thief of joy

You and your family are unique. Celebrate your uniqueness by focusing on what is important to you and not getting caught up in expectations of others.

• Christmas cards: Do you send out a holiday card? There may be a season in life where that isn’t practical. Or it may be a tradition you love and enjoy.
  
• Social media: What you see on social media is the highlight reel. Avoid scrolling social media on Christmas Day; instead be present with your loved ones and value the experience you have together.
  
• Protect your schedule: Are there holiday events you dread but feel obligated to attend? Re-evaluate why you feel that obligation and how you feel when you leave the event. If you feel worse after attending the event each year, don’t go even if it isn’t a popular decision.

Take simple steps to prepare all year

Here are a few additional steps you can take for next year, by spreading the preparation out throughout the entire year.

• Shop year round: Some of the best sales are during after-Christmas clearance. Buy your gift wrap and some stocking stuffers at a deep discount and that is one less thing to worry about next December. Set alerts on Amazon price drops using camelcamelcamel, where you can see past prices, and request an email notification when the price drops below an amount you choose.
  
• Watch for freebies: Look for freebies, or buy-one-get-one sales for stocking stuffers. We have a home improvement store called Menards near us, and nearly every week they have small items that are free after rebate. I’ve purchased cutting boards, cooking utensils, small tools, office supplies and more – and the only cost was the postage to mail in the rebate.
  
• Block a cooking day: In October or early November, set aside a day for prep-ahead cooking. Make freezer biscuits, pizza dough, sausage bread, pie crusts, cookies, etc. and freeze them.
  
• Share with friends: Invite girlfriends over to bake cookies together. Or invite friends over to do a cookie trade. Everyone brings several dozen cookies, and trades so that you each have a variety of cookies for a Christmas treat plate. When your children are small, ask a friend to swap babysitting so you can do grocery and gift shopping more easily.

May these holiday hacks help make this Christmas season the best Christmas for you and your family. If you found the ideas helpful, please share this post with others.

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