The problem is that there's never enough time to do everything that needs to be done -- nor is it possible to live up to everyone else's expectations -- including the girlfriend who invites you to a cookie exchange and expects you to bring something edible and homemade (not one or the other!).
Receiving just such an invitation was definitely a holiday low point for Winnipeg mother of two and writer Charlene Thompson. "The cookies that I made for my friend's cookie exchange turned out like hockey pucks," she confesses. "My three-year-old has made better things in her Easy Bake Oven."
Enjoying the holidays at your pace, on your terms and in the company of those you care about is the best way to immunize yourself against after-the-fact holiday regrets, says Catherine Marion, co-host of The Life Network's The Mom Show. She's big on avoiding the holiday "shoulds," enjoys attending a few dress-up affairs where she can indulge her self-admitted addiction for shoes ("the dressing up part is fun -- pure self-indulgence"), but refuses to overload her holiday schedule.
"The season flies by too quickly as it is, and it's my favourite time of year."
And as for the crazy rules we invent for ourselves -- like the rule that says that you have to buy a different gift for each person on your gift list -- do yourself a favour and lose that rule, too, says Ottawa mother of two Danielle Donders.
"If your sister-in-law, your best friend, and your aunt Jen live in different cities, they'll never know you bought them all the same gorgeous gold pashmina, adorable kitten poster, or box of Godiva chocolates," she insists.
So rather than turning the holiday season into a multi-week guilt-fest, declare a statute of limitations on guilt that extends well into the New Year -- even longer if you dare. And enjoy your happiest, most guilt-free and most enjoyable holiday season ever.
Ann Douglas is the author of The Mother of All Pregnancy Books and The Mother of All Parenting Books. She can be contacted via her website at www.having-a-baby.com.
