It’s the most wonderful time of the year! If you’re a mom who is in charge of making holiday memories, though, you’re probably stressed. How to relieve some of that stress? You need mom-friendly coping strategies! Let’s explore some options!
The holidays are chock-full of mom stressors. Typically, moms are in charge of holiday baking, getting gifts for everyone, planning the holiday meal, and making sure the traditions are carried out. It’s a lot, and it mostly falls on mom’s shoulders. You’re allowed to be stressed about it.
Because you still want to enjoy the holidays despite the stress, you need coping strategies. Now, we are all aware of destructive coping strategies that eventually do more harm than good. These are not those. Here are mom-friendly coping strategies that you can use whenever you’re stressed – at the holidays and anytime you need to get yourself through.
Mom-Friendly Coping Strategies
Bake
By now, I think you know that I like to get in the kitchen. I like to both cook savory dishes and bake yummy treats, but for some reason, I really get the itch to bake when I’m stressed out. Baking just seems to take the edge off in a way that cooking doesn’t. I turn to baking as one of my most-used mom-friendly coping strategies, but it’s especially helpful at the holidays because it’s stress-relieving and productive. If you caught my 2024 Holiday Baking List, you know I have a lot to bake. You probably have a lot to bake too, so try baking something and see if it relieves a little holiday stress for you.
Walk
When I feel overwhelmed, it’s often helpful to focus my efforts on something physical. Now, I’m not a runner or a gym rat, so I tend to channel my physical efforts into walking the dog. If you have a dog like I do, this is a great mom-friendly coping strategy because both you and your furry friend will benefit. If you don’t have a dog, it’s still a good way for you to relieve a little stress, take yourself out of the stressful environment that’s making you crazy, and get a bit of fresh air. Grab a jacket, lace up your sneakers, and take a spin around the block!
Yoga
I’ve been on an at-home yoga journey this year. It’s been an integral part of my 2024 New Year’s Resolution to move more, and I’m so thankful for it. It’s a great way to thank myself and turn my focus inward for a few minutes instead of being directed outward at all of the Christmas craziness. If you’re interested in using yoga as one of your mom-friendly coping strategies this year, I highly encourage you to browse through Yoga with Adriene’s YouTube channel. She has a peace about her that’s just contagious. Put on something comfy and let yourself escape for 20 or 30 minutes. I highly recommend it.
Dance
I am not a talented dancer. My moves are embarrassing, I won’t lie. But guess what? There is no need to be embarrassed when you’re dancing in your house. So crank up the tunes as you’re making holiday magic and bust a move!
Now, you don’t have to limit yourself to dancing to Christmas music, although I highly recommend including some Christmas music in your repertoire. Mix in your favorite genre of music and boogie down. I’ve been introducing my 5-year-old to what I think is good music lately as I cook dinner. We sing and dance and release some of the stress from the day. It’s been a great little part of the day. And I’m super proud when he comes upstairs and asks me to listen to “the Bugs.” Can you guess who he means?
Craft
Crafting can be so soothing and is an excellent mom-friendly coping strategy. At this time of the year, it can actually be productive if you want it to be. Most people love a crafted, homemade gift, so channel your stress into checking something off your holiday list! You can color, cross-stitch an ornament, crochet a blanket, scrapbook your family’s year, or whatever else floats your boat!
Write
I actually started Sara in Season as part of my quest to find mom-friendly coping strategies that work for me, so I’m a huge fan of writing your stress away. Obviously, I prefer writing in a coherent, structured manner that turns into hopefully helpful posts that I can share with you. But if this isn’t your speed or if you don’t feel like you have time to write anything that actually makes sense, you can still write as a way to relieve your stress. You can just rage write in stream of consciousness to dump your worries and burdens on the page or in the computer just to be thrown away or deleted immediately thereafter. It’s cathartic, y’all.
Take deep breaths
By far the easiest mom-friendly coping strategy that you can adopt and practice on a super regular basis is taking deep breaths. Anytime you’re feeling stressed, just pause and take a deep breath. Really focus on making sure your lungs are completely filled. Then slowly let the air out of your lungs and exhale fully. Then go back to what you were doing. You’ll be amazed at how just one deep breath can put you in a totally different headspace. Try it – you’ve got nothing to lose!
Relax your jaw
It’s amazing how much of us carry tension in our jaws. Take a second now and notice your jaw. Are you clinching your jaw or holding it up? If you are, actively relax your jaw. Feel better?
I was turned onto this technique years ago by my favorite YouTube creator, Blair Lamb. She also has a small online shop that’s full of super cute things like seasonal t-shirts and home goods. She used to even sell a “relax your jaw” sticker that was a super helpful reminder to help you de-stress. I don’t see that she has this sticker anymore in her shop, but she has a bunch of other stickers that will make you smile. Give her shop a look (this is not sponsored at all – Blair has no idea who I am, even though I think we’d be fast friends if she did!).
Take a break
There are two types of people in this world: people who need a breaks and people who are stressed out by the prospect of taking a break. If you fall into the first camp, don’t underestimate how useful a break can be as a coping strategy. It doesn’t have to be a long break or an elaborate break. Seriously, just five minutes sitting on the couch staring at the wall (or the Christmas tree) can work wonders.
Clean
Before I had kids, my favorite coping strategy was cleaning my house. I would have such a clean house when I was uber-stressed. It was always so helpful for me to tackle even the things I never wanted to do like the tile grout, for example. I would get the bleach, a scrub brush, and a toothbrush and come out with impeccable floors and a much better mindset. Even though I’ve moved on to other mom-friendly coping strategies that work better for me in this season of life, cleaning could be your magic stress relief. If you think it might work for you, start small. Maybe tackle a toilet and see how you feel?
Scream
Sometimes you just need to scream out your stress and frustration. There is no shame in that. If you happen to find yourself alone in your house, go to town. If you can’t wait until you have a little alone time, grab a pillow and scream into it so you don’t scare the children.
Plan a vacation
Last, but certainly not least, on my list of mom-friendly coping strategies is to plan a vacation. It can be a weekend getaway with your girlfriends, your family’s summer vacation, or a solo trip to the grocery store. You need a vacation after all the magic you’re making for your family this holiday season, so get to planning, ladies!
Other posts
I’ve got more mom-centered content where this came from, ladies. If you’re interested in other ways to remember to keep yourself on your list this holiday season, check out these posts:
I hope you’ll take the time to try some of these mom-friendly coping strategies this holiday season. What’s your favorite way to cope when you’re stressed? Let us know in the comments below or over on Instagram @sarainseason!