Oh, the holidays. We love them. We love being off of work. We love the festive spirit. We love celebrating. And, we love being with family and friends. But, the Holidays can be one of the most stressful times in your year. Your schedule becomes full very quickly, you are navigating in-laws, multiple family gatherings, trying to stay within your financial budget, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day. How do you balance all of this and your marriage? How do you eliminate stress and fights during the holidays? How you navigate each others family expectations? All of these are HUGE questions that can take away your “merry”. Here are a few principles for marriage and the holidays:
Create A Schedule
Like I mentioned, the Christmas and New Years season is extremely busy. You have work christmas parties, friend christmas parties, family celebrations, tree lightings, christmas light tours, you name it! There are so many parties and activities. Sit down with your spouse and your calendar together and create a schedule. If you have conflicting dates, decide together what is going to take priority.
Communicate Clearly
This leads me to communicating clearly. Communicate clearly with each other and others. Communicate not only about your schedule with each other but different expectations. Do some occasions expect a gift? Do some require you to dress up? Make sure your spouse knows what is involved with each party or activity. Then, be sure that you are both communicating with your individual families. Not going to be able to make it to Aunt Lou’s party, call and communicate with your family in advance.
Extend Grace
BIGGEST ONE! Extend lots of grace! Everyone seems to be in such a rush during the holiday season. Work is stressful, shopping malls and grocery stores are full. We are busy. We are stressed. Extend Grace. Extend grace to your spouse and grace to others.
Set A Budget
This is also a biggie. Christmas time comes with lots of extra expenses so be sure to set a budget with your spouse. List out each person you are buying for and put a dollar amount next to their name. Also, list out any activities that have a cost to be sure to include them in your budget.
Decide Together
Decide on all these things together. Determine your budget together. Decide on plans together. You name it! Make sure that you are also spending time with just each other to enjoy the season!
Thriving through the Christmas season can be difficult, however, being on the same page, communicating clearly, setting a budget and offering each other grace can go such a long way. Eliminate stress in your life and marriage this by talking out these 5 principles for marriage and the holidays.