If you’re like me, you brought in the new year with high hopes and anticipation of all the things you and your family will do together in 2025. When the calendar hit Jan. 2, you could no longer avoid the pile of laundry left to finish, the dishes from your holiday party still stacked, and the new toys and electronics scattered in different parts of the house while you try to figure out a new place for everything.
On top of some organized chaos in the house, you may also be trying to navigate preparing the kids to head back to school while you try to get back to your own routines. What is normal anymore?
Here are some tips to help you with the post-holiday hustle.
1. Let go of the need to return everything to normal at once
Give yourself permission to tackle one room at a time, one or two errands a day, and plenty of time to catch up on rest and self-care. Maybe the year started with some residual chaos from the holiday season, but remind yourself that it won't always feel that way.
2. Ask for help
Leading a household involves so many decisions! Your family wants to help and contribute to returning things back to normal, but they may not always ask what needs to be done. It can be easy for your kids -- at any age -- to assume that you are a superhero because you always take care of it all. Let your family in on the secret to maintaining a clean and functioning household-- teamwork.
Assign some age-appropriate tasks to each member of the household and check in with them to see how their assignments are going. Maybe the tasks won’t look how you would prefer, but this is where letting go of some of that perfection comes in.
3. Schedule some family time
Here at The Parent Watch, we like to keep you in the loop with family-friendly movies and TV shows to enjoy. You may feel like you watched too much TV over the holidays, so it’s okay to take a break, and then come back to see what’s new and upcoming. Whether your family is craving some time at the park or an action-packed movie, take time to put it on the calendar so that you won’t miss it! If you are ready to catch the latest family-friendly movie, some great options include Sonic, Wicked, Moana 2, and Mufasa.
Here’s to taking away the pressure to do all the right things at the right time. You are doing a great job, and it’s going to be a fantastic year for you and your family!