Hello Reader,

Hooray, we survived Thanksgiving and we made it to December!

But also? Yikes, because that means the end of 2024 is almost here, as well as the winter gift-giving holidays.

Traditionally, much of the time and labor that goes into "The Holiday Season" is dumped on women, which makes it easy to get stressed and overwhelmed by a supposedly enjoyable holiday. And I don't know about you, but that makes my inner Grinch come out & want to cancel all holidays forever.

Because what’s enjoyable about this time of year if you’re running yourself ragged over all the details?

This year, if you traditionally handle most of your family’s holiday plans—and it’s not because it brings you joy to do so (important caveat here!)—I challenge you to do less.

Ask for help. Marshal your troops (aka family) and assign them duties. Sop being the invisible, under-appreciated magic holiday elf that makes sure everything comes together for everyone else.

The only purpose of this season is to enjoy it.

Now, as mentioned above, if you absolutely love scouring the stores for the perfect gift for that neighbor your barely know…more power to you! Go forth and do your thing, my friend! You know best how to enjoy your holiday.

But if you’re more like me, where the idea of spending hours fighting wrapping paper and tape for a pile of gifts that will be torn apart in less than 30 minutes makes you want to scream and flee to another state…this is our permission slip!

It’s our permission slip to choose to only do things we actually enjoy.

It's our permission slip to only use gift bags this year.

It’s our permission slip to cut some corners.

It's our permission slip to give gift cards or cash to that notoriously hard to please person.

It’s our permission slip to let some balls drop so our invisible labor becomes visible.

Take some time today or tomorrow to decide what really matters to your holiday. Then choose one thing to change this year to make December more enjoyable for you.

Take a baby step, because I realize I am challenging you to do this after the seasonal chaos has already started. But it’s important that we take the first step.

Be the change you want to see in your holiday. Shake up the holiday labor dynamics. Start talking about how much effort goes into the traditions the rest of your family can’t do without.

Remember today's affirmation, take a deep breath, and decide to let go of steep expectations you put on yourself.

But most importantly, find a way to really, truly enjoy something this week. And remind yourself 21x/day:

The only purpose of this season is to enjoy it.