The stress of the holidays can often wreak havoc on more than just your wallet. Physical exhaustion, anxiety and stress come to mind.
The holidays are meant to be a time of celebration and joy, embracing the spirit of friends and family. Instead, they are often filled with long to-do lists, packed schedules, short fuses and unrest. It is enough to tie your stomach in knots.
Dana Hilmer, the creator of LifestyleMom.com, knows a thing or two about navigating the busy holiday season. The mother of three young boys juggles school, errands and sports practices on top of being a wife, friend and successful business woman.
Now toss in the annual tradition of mailing out holiday cards and cooking a feast for family gatherings and Hilmer, like many other mothers, can get a little overwhelmed. The mommy blogger recently partnered with Dulcolax Balance for the “Balance Brigade” tour and recently visited the Seattle area to share her tips for de-stressing during one of the most stressful time of the year.
“I had the brilliant idea this year to get my boys involved in the mailing of the holiday cards,” she explained. “Instead of taking the large task on all by myself, I had my boys help me stuff the envelopes and put stamps on them. It was a small gesture, but took a lot of the pressure off of me and got them involved.”
Hilmer began blogging as LifestyleMom a year ago and revamped and relaunched the Web site this month. LifestyleMom is an online magazine with a mission to inspire, entertain and motivate women – in the trenches of motherhood – to create and live a life they truly love.
Hilmer decided to launch her blog after publishing her book, Blindsided by a Diaper, in 2007. The book examined how relationships change between men and women after having kids. From there, she saw a real need to address what it means to be a mom and a woman at the same time.
“I realized women are putting their dreams on hold. A lot of us grow up with the notion that you can be Superwoman. I think we place too high of expectations when entering motherhood. Becoming a mom doesn’t mean losing who you are as a woman.”
For Hilmer, this means prioritizing her time.
“Now that my boys are a little older and in school, I have three days that I call my premium days,” she said. “This is the time I use to concentrate on myself and grow my passions.”
Hilmer’s next venture is LifestyleMom Radio Cafe, which launched Jan. 5. The show airs live at www.latalkradio.com on Tuesdays, at 10 a.m., (PST). You can download the show from: LifestyleMom.com, LATalkRadio.com and iTunes.
Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425-453-4602.
For more information visit www.lifestylemom.com.
Hilmers Top Four Tips For A Stress-Free Holiday
1. Push the pause button: Look at what you’re trying to create. Examine what is most important to you and focus your concentration on that, whether it’s starting a new family tradition or mailing out holiday cards.
2. Delegate your master to-do list: It can be such a relief to pass some of the tasks off to other family members. The holidays are about the joy of giving. Engage them in the gift giving process. Have them help with making holiday cards or making gifts for their teachers.
3. Go ahead and cut corners: We all have an image of what the house and the food needs to look like. It’s okay to buy store bought food and not have the house projects perfectly done.
4. Take care of number one: Healthy living is important. Women do such a great job taking care of everyone else, they forget about themselves. Eat healthy food, exercise and take supplements for balance.
