Why I’m Not Making A Holiday Bucket List

I had on my editorial calendar to publish a big holiday bucket list today to officially kick off the holiday season. I’m a big fan of seasonal to-do lists – I enjoy coming up with a full schedule and list of things to do every fall and holiday– it’s my favorite time of year after all! But this year I decided not to. As fun as it is to dream up all of the holiday experiences I want to share with my girls, it also comes with a lot of PRESSURE.

There’s already so much pressure that comes along with this time of year, having a list of things I know I’m not going to accomplish and subsequently feel guilty about just doesn’t feel good. It’s really hard to not compare yourself to others in this industry especially – despite all of the activities and projects I do with Piper I still find myself feeling like I’m not up to par with all of the other moms I see on Instagram. It seems like there are more and more holiday activities to partake in and keep up with every year (I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing, it can just be overwhelming). I didn’t hand-make an advent calendar like I did last year or take Piper on the Polar Express train ride and it’s only December 3rd. 

Having a list of holiday goals just adds to this pressure, so this season I’m not making one. And I’m actually excited about it! Having a million plans always makes the holidays fly by so quickly and I’m hoping to actually sit back and ENJOY my family more this year rather than trying to cross things off of a list. Of course we are still going to have fun with all of our favorite traditions and make new ones, too – but this way there is more room for down time, being spontaneous and less pressure on me. I hope you’ll think about taking time to live in the moment this month instead of racing through to-dos!