Our Blessings Count! #ourblessingscount

Christmastime is my favorite time of the year but it is also my most stressful time of the year.  Between buying gifts for the oodles of people I have to shop for as well as trying to figure out exactly what to buy for them, cooking for the holidays, planning our schedules, last minute work before the new year and everything else I am trying to squeeze in, I stress out more than I probably have too.  I know I need to learn to stop and take a breath.  

The problem with stressing too much is that the holidays seem to blow by and I don’t even feel like I got to enjoy them.  This year though I have come up some things I am going to do to make sure I don’t loose sight of what is important this holiday season.  

Not baking a million cookies!  Every year we end up going overboard with cookies (many end up going to waste) and I end up stressing on making too many varieties.  We are still going to make cookies this year but maybe only a few varieties instead of a bunch.  I enjoy the time with my kids baking and am going to take it slow with them to really appreciate the time together.  

Having at least one day where my family and I spend the whole day together with no social media.  Believe me that is hard for me and one thing always leads to another when I am on the computer.  I want a whole day of playing with our new presents, watching movies and just cuddling on the couch!  Maybe we won’t even get out of our pajamas that day, which my kids would absolutely love!

Call my family members that I won’t see for the holidays.  Usually I dread sitting on the phone with my family but I know its important to reach out and spend the time talking with my family members who are somewhat alone this holiday season.  I always feel better after I talk to my grandma and I know she really appreciates it.  

Making lists.  With a lot going on, I am making one big list and crossing things out as I go (and adding to it) so I can see my accomplishments.  I need to stay organized, which in turn will hopefully be less stressful.  

Donating.  I realize we are very fortunate for what we have and want to give back wherever I can.  At least once a week I have been running bags over to my local donation center.  I have also brought a few new items over to the Toys for Tots boxes because every child deserves a new toy for Christmas. I look around our house and I know there is more I can give so I am going to make it a team effort with my family and have all of us pull some of our items for donating.  I want to teach my boys how important it is to give to others so they grow up with that feeling.  

Mercy recognizes the stress we put on ourselves and our families over the holidays. They want to remind us that ‘Our greatest blessing is to see others blessed.’ One way we can do this is to pause, list our blessings, and share them with others. Let’s count our blessings together at www.ourblessingscount.com.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Mercy. The opinions and text are all mine.