The sparkle in the eye of a child at Christmas time doesn’t come without the sweat on the brow of the parent.

Christmas, while magical, joyous and full of celebration, is also a hectic time for parents and caregivers. You are not a scrooge for acknowledging that all the gift buying, food making, and candy hiding is taking a toll on you.

You also do NOT need to introduce every one of the 10,000-holiday tradition ideas Pinterest gives you or bake your crescent rolls in a fancy Christmas tree shape to prove your festive. Just breathe.

Your kids do NOT need 30 presents under the tree or EVERY toy that clearly had the best marketing team on the planet to push it just in time for the holidays…(baby shark do do…).

Here I’ll pause so you can finish that little ditty…

While you’re out shopping for your kids, their teachers, your in-laws, nieces, nephews, the mailman, the grocery store clerk and everyone else you’ve squeezed onto your ever-growing Christmas list, pick up some bath bombs and a bottle of wine…FOR YOU.

Goodness knows you deserve it. Keeping the Christmas magic alive is a full-time…no a guaranteed over-time job! Here are a few tips that may loosen your reigns just a bit…

• If you forget to move the Elf… don’t panic. Just tell the kiddos he wasn’t feeling well and needed to rest, or he suspected they’d done something naughty and so we decided to stay put to keep an extra close eye on them!
• To a child, Santa is EVERYTHING!! You are not evil, and you will not scar your child for life by using that as leverage for good behavior! Use it!
• Don’t overstress about that spot on the tree the kids decorated. Sure, it may be gaudy, but laugh about it and make it a great memory.
• Cookies, candy canes, chocolate, pudding…just accept it will be added as a regular daily food group during this time of year. You WILL NOT cause permanent damage by allowing a few extra sweets.
• It’s okay if plans don’t go accordingly. In fact, with kids, odds are they won’t. They will fight, cry, and forget to say thank you. Do your best to address their behavior, but don’t let it ruin the Christmas spirit for YOU! These are the stories you’ll share years down the road…and smile when their kids behave the same way, or worse! =)
• You DO NOT need matching family Christmas pajamas to be in the holiday spirit. You just don’t…
• Don’t overstress about finding the cutest Christmas tags or spending extra money on your child’s favorite TV/movie character wrapping paper. Truth is, they don’t care about the wrapping and will rip right past it!
• Don’t worry about catching every single moment on camera. Better than posting your Christmas adventures on social media is being present and living them!
• You DO NOT need fancy dishes and silverware, or a dramatic table display for dinner. Paper plates work fine, and the food can be your centerpiece!
• A difficult person to buy for on your Christmas list? You DO NOT take away the excitement or portray that you don’t care by just handing that person a gift card. Trust me!

Overall, have fun and truly enjoy these moments, they WILL go by fast…