Holiday Letdown

Ok so thats what I am feeling. House needs to be cleaned of Christmans. Son has been sick this whole vacation, my brothers are acting crazy, mom needs me more and more. My Fibromyalgia is in full force. I have not really enjoyed myself or had any fun in a while, I gained weight, tired, cranky....uugghjhhh. I am just sick of myself right now.
So I am making myself get out of my funk also. Today I am going to take off alone , join some friends for lunch. Catch up with everyone and do something I want.

Okay, first of all take a deep breath.
This happens to the best of us.
Tackle things one at a time. For example, return gifts later. Not now.
Turn on some upbeat music that YOU like.
Maybe put away a few decorations.
Clean the kitchen or living room (light cleaning) & tackle the deep cleaning later (like the bathrooms). Only do topical cleaning now.
Know that you are not alone.
It is natural to feel overwhelmed & letdown.
There was so much to do and so much hoopla.
DO NOT return gifts now. I repeat do not ret gifts now. Wait a bit.
Get them in order to return w/receipts. Plan out your map of stores to
hit but don't do it yet.
Exercise or go for a walk. It will boost your energy level & happiness by
kicking in your endorphins.
Give yourself a pass. A pass to feel a little relaxed, a little down, a little
post exhausted etc.
Then do something nice for yourself. Buy an inexpensive bouquet for
yourself at the market.
Call a friend for a 5 min quick pick-me-up conversation.
Then turn on the comedy channel & watch it for 15 mins to get a laugh.

Yes.

How do you manage it? You get to work. This is part of the deal. Somebody has to clean up and put away, and the grownups get to do it. But if you think of it as part of the fun, and not just an unwanted chore, it works a little better. You could make up some mental games to get you through the jobs. At least I do that.

But part of your situation is the need for REST. Take care of yourself, your husband, and your children. Do the put-aways and the cleanups a little at a time (set a timer if you must).

(You've done yourself a favor already by waiting to return gifts until now. You've saved yourself the December 26 hassle of waiting for - possibly - hours in line. So you're ahead of the game before you start.)

enlist help for taking down the decorations. Working as a team will knock the job out of the park!

get a babysitter & do all of those returns in a very methodical way....right down to planning your drive so you're not backtracking. Make sure to allow time for a nice/fun lunch....& reward yourself with a treat at the end of the day. I know this all adds to the expenses...but it will be Heaven instead of Hell. !!

I see the process of un-decorating as an opportunity to re-arrange things and give my home a fresh look. Think about how your home might look or run better by moving things around.
For now however, focus on getting your kids back on to their normal routines to quell the meltdowns. Your husband is sick and other members of the family might come down with it too so I would not plan too strenuous a day. You can get it done a little at a time.

We celebrate all twelve days of Christmas, so I do not feel any pressure to start returning gifts, or undecorating and putting things away. We will enjoy Christmas right through to Epiphany January 6th. We will do fun activities, as well as have some quiet time to rest and relax. We will open a gift at New Years and again at Epiphany. The holiday naturally winds down, and I can tackle the clean up when the kids are back in school. I start preparing for Christmas the first Sunday in December, so if I treated it as a one day event I would also feel tremendous let down. I say change your midset. Christmas is a twelve day holdiay, so just enjoy it until it is over. It will be easier to keep the kids happy if you are doing enjoyable activities together, clean up will be easier once the kids are back to school, and the stores will be a lot less of a hassle once the holidays are over.

I take it as a challenge Mommyloveskids!! I get to a point where if it gets bad enough and I get overwhelmed, I then get mad that it didn't turn out my way and come up swinging!!!!Take it with a grain of salt, pick yourself up and HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS (as I like to say). No one but you is gonna make it better....so pick yourself up and ......HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS MOMMA!!! LOL.....it'll all be ok!

Take it one day at a time... you needn't return everything asap.... try and pace yourself... that's what I am doing.... While you are working on the house and un-decorating it.. maybe put on some good music.. make a cup of tea or whatever it is you enjoy and take one task one by one..

Also, getting out and taking a walk helps me.. I just came back from one and boy oh boy did I need it... Christmas went fairly well but I also took two steps back when I ended up eating a lot of some chocolate for which I asked people NOT to bring.. it's been a huge setback for me in that I am 11 weeks into my OA program and had been doing so well..... Now, I am trying to get back on track and I am taking the steps above that I mentioned for you....

wishing you all the best

Oh, we all feel it at one time or another dear. I tend to get the after-holiday blues myself. With gifts, I would only return 2 to 3 at a time or limit going to a couple of stores and that is it. There really shouldn't be "any pressure" to take the holiday decorations down. There shouldn't be any pressure putting them up either. Society gives us enough pressure as it is. Give yourself time and a break. Maybe once the kids go back to school this next week, do a little at a time. Do segments at a time and really do set the timer; make a game out of it. I always find that I end up purging some stuff or get rid of some holiday stuff that just doesn't fit in our life anymore. Use January as a time of true renewal instead of post holiday let down. Purge things, re-decorate by moving things around or putting them in another room. It's amazing the Feng-Shui and new energy that happens when you do that. All The Best from a Mama who cares...