
As a result of cutbacks at work, I have every other Friday off unpaid. And although it has been an adjustment to the reduction in salary that came with it, having the extra time off has definitely been a plus. I thought my Fridays off would be a great chance to spend some time with my son and get some things done around the house, and they have. But surprisingly, many of them filled up with visits from friends and family and other activities that sometimes still leave me wondering on Sunday night, "where did my weekend go?" Some weekends have been filled up with errands and cleaning, which leaves me grumpy. Some weekends have been filled up with fun activities, which leaves me stressed the rest of the week because I'm trying to fit in laundry and groceries and errands after work. With a little planning and organization, though, I think I've figured out a few ways to help maximize my weekends:
Weekends (or any time off from work) are very important for any family. It's the time to reconnect and recharge our batteries, as well as accomplish necessary tasks to make the work week go more smoothly. And even though the weekends never seem long enough, even if they are 3 days, with a little planning and balance, I can maximize my time off and make the most of it.

The holiday season has hit the stores full force and it's time to start thinking about my budget for gift giving. It's not exactly a fun exercise; I always end up wishing I could spend and give more this time of year. But I've learned the hard way from past experience that if we don't come up with a budget for what we can afford to spend, we'll regret it in January. Here are a few things we typically do when coming up with our holiday budget:
The first few times we did a holiday budget, my husband was resistant. Like most of us, he enjoys buying nice things for friends and family to show how much he appreciates them and felt restricted working within a budget. But after a few years of us overspending, he saw the benefit of budgeting in advance. Now he helps me set the budget and stick to it; it definitely makes January more enjoyable for both of us.

Holiday season is coming up and we're starting to make plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas. As our son gets older, he gets more and more excited about the holidays. And this is the first year that he really remembers the holidays from last year, which makes it more fun for all of us. I'm excited to share our holiday traditions with him and create some new ones with him.
Traditions can be very enjoyable to share with your family, but what if you don't really have any traditions? Or what if your traditions aren't really that fun, but you keep doing them because you've always done them? I say just make some new ones. For years in my husband's family, everyone bought presents for everyone else. That meant we had to buy gifts for his parents, grandparents, his two siblings and their spouses. Every year we stressed about how to afford to buy so many presents and what to get everyone. Every year it took hours to get through the opening of the presents, and it left most of us feeling drained and overwhelmed. After a few years of lobbying, I finally convinced them that we should start a new tradition. So instead, we draw names and each buy a present for only one person. And we also each buy one exepensive, fun present or gag gift and have a "white elephant" exchange. Now the opening of presents is more fun and doesn't consume the entire day. And the pressure is off of everyone to spend a lot of money. This is the fourth year of our new tradition and everyone looks forward to it.
So many traditions for the holidays involve food; if you're trying to minimize that, why not start a new tradition that incorporates exercise? When my husband and I lived in Colorado, we used to go snowboarding on Christmas morning and then go home for dinner in the evening and presents. The slopes were typically empty in the morning and we felt better about eating a big meal after we had been so physically active. Lots of cities have Thanksgiving Day races. Maybe you could start a new tradition and walk or run in a race with your family on turkey day.
Traditions should be fun and meaningful for the people who participate in them. Don't be afraid to change traditions that fall short of that. And come up with some new traditions that your whole family enjoys. You might be surprised at how quickly and easily they embrace a new tradition.
Marla
My name is Marla, and I'm a working mom with a wonderful husband and a very active toddler. With my hectic schedule, it seems like I always put... Read More |
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