Day 17: Know When To Say "NO"

At Christmastime there are TONS of activities to do, parties to attend, events to partake in. And while you might want to do everything, trying to get you and your family to every single event, while more than likely battling bad weather and large crowds, is NOT going to put you in the Christmas spirit.

My advice is to get a calendar and log all the activities that are going on in your neck of the woods. Look at the library's website, the chamber's website, the visitor's bureau website, your mom's groups calendar, your church's calendar and any local parenting guides--these sites should all have updated lists of what's going on around town for the Christmas season.

Then highlight the events you REALLY want to attend. Figure out if it's going to work according to your family's schedule and work from there. Remember, it's better to have one FANTASTIC outing to get the family Christmas tree, than attend three or four parties during bedtime hour and end up with toddler meltdowns!