December asks a lot from the average single parent. In addition to all the family holiday obligations, we often have work pressures and activities, our children’s schedules might fill up with parties and pageants, and we may have relatives and friends to contend with. Our budgets are stressed and our time is stretched. While I have written about planning and time management, I thought it might be helpful to remind us that it is often both flexibility and organization that gets a single parent family through the frenzy of the holiday season.
Advance planning and scheduling is good. Make those gift lists and to-do lists and definitely come up with a budget and a calendar for the month—BUT, flexibility is in order too. A child could very well get sick on the evening of a family party or the Sunday School pageant, or you could have a babysitter cancel when you are due at the office holiday party. These are the sorts of changes in plans that can make a single parent stressed and crazy. We need to be able to anticipate there will be hitches and while we cannot prepare for every single possibility, we can learn to ride them out and roll with some of this seasonal upheaval.
I think I have had some of my biggest melt-downs during the month of December and it has been due to watching as my best-laid plans and skin-tight schedule went up in smoke. For a single parent, it can feel like there is only one way to accomplish everything and when someone throws a wrench in our works—the whole machine is going to implode. But, that is not necessarily the case. We will survive and learning how to be flexible in the midst of holiday chaos can be the saving grace for many a single parent. Balance—it is all about balance—organize and plan, but be prepared to fly by the seat of your pants during December too.
Also: Watch the Stress and Diet This Time of Year
Single Parent Holiday Tip–Break it Into Do-Able Chunks