Why Moms Should Take This Holiday Season Off

Here is a thought: Moms should go on strike and take this holiday season off.

Now before you go on ranting and raving about the holidays being a magical time and needing to make the best of it for our kids, especially in light of this crazy year … hear me out.

I don’t think I have to explain how 2020 has been a rollercoaster ride of stress and emotions. I mean, did we really have to deal with 10 years worth of events in one single year? The pandemic, social justice uprisings, a historic presidential election, virtual schooling, out of control wildfires, and so much more. I am pretty sure we can all agree that this year has been a shit show and we are just hanging on for dear life trying to ride these last couple of months out.

With many of us virtual schooling, working from home, and having everybody up under each other 24/7, the load on moms’ plates has reached overwhelming levels, to say the least. We have been multitasking at unrealistic rates, cleaning nonstop, hiding piles of laundry in various nooks and crannies around the house and have cooked at least 9,372 meals. It feels like a never ending Groundhog Day. And I don’t know about you, but I am emotionally, mentally and physically drained.

And now we are supposed to summon the energy to make some magical holiday season happen? I don’t think so. I just don’t have it in me, and I know I am not alone.

If you have ever dreamed of taking the holiday season off … this is the year to do it! There won’t be any school performances to suffer through or class parties to volunteer for. Work potlucks are canceled and you have the perfect excuse to not attend or host any family gatherings. The mail is too slow to get your holiday cards delivered on time, so don’t even bother. You don’t have to worry about standing in long lines at the mall to get that one terrible picture with Santa. And, if you haven’t figured this out already, you can do all your shopping online from the comfort of your couch.

And frankly, it’s time for dads to step up and take some of the pressure off of moms. Most of the things this pandemic has doubled down on has landed on moms’ plates. I know so many moms that have been spending their days toggling between attempting to get work done, monitoring school work, cooking meals and dealing with technical issues. Meanwhile, the dads are quietly tucked away from the chaos because they have to “focus” or have been going into work, leaving it all to Mom.

Moms need to take a breath and put their feet up. Let dads pull out the Christmas trees, put up the decorations and be in charge of wrapping all the gifts. Who cares if it looks like a hot mess because that goes right along with the theme of 2020, right? And besides, who’s going to see it anyway? The point is something is getting done — and for once, it’s not being done by you.

And don’t force yourself to fill the holiday break with tons of DIY crafts and activities because you feel guilty about the amount of screen time your kids have consumed this year. Cancel the apple picking, avoid the Christmas tree farms, and stop telling yourself that baking and crafting with your kids is fun because we all know it’s a frustrating mess. Just let everybody ride the rest of the year out binge watching their favorite shows, playing too much Xbox and streaming YouTube 12 hours a day.

I can hear the audible gasp from some of you reading this because you are planning to go over the top for the holidays to make up for the shit-tastic year it has been. I know you have been counting down the days to start pulling out Christmas decorations and that dang Elf on the Shelf. Good for you and more power to you. But I am freakin’ exhausted and I am throwing in the towel this year.

Bottom line … we mommas need a break. And if you sprint through the holiday season like you normally do, you are going to be crawling into 2021 a haggard mess. And let’s just be honest … this is not going to be over by January. Do you really want to head into another year of this completely burnt out?!?!

You don’t have to make it your burden to make this the most magical time of the year. Believe me, the bar has been set significantly lower this year. So for once, use this terrible turn of events that came with 2020 to your advantage and make it the reason you are taking this holiday season off. Do nothing, expect nothing and enjoy every minute of it. If there is any year to do this and get away with it, it’s definitely 2020. Besides mommas, you earned it!