The words “holiday” and “simple” aren’t often heard together in the same sentence. For most of us, the last few weeks of the year are a tornado of activity that saps our energy, stretches our patience, and leaves us winded and often literally sick after late nights and constant running compromise our immune systems.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could simplify your holidays so that you could actually enjoy them?

I can hear you saying, “Yeah, right.” You have too many obligations. There are too many people counting on you. If you don’t pull the holiday together, who will? I know, I know. Moms typically bear the brunt of the holiday to do list – the shopping, the baking, the cooking, the coordinating, the volunteering, the card-writing. You name it, we do it. We multi-task until we have multiple personalities. We put ourselves on auto-pilot as a matter of self-preservation, and end up missing most of the holiday moments we’ve worked so hard to create.

Do you want to know a secret? You are in control of your holiday.

I know it’s not necessarily something you want to hear, because it means you have the power to make a change. All you have to do is add one little word to your holiday vocabulary: no. Such a small word, but so hard to say. It seems easier to let the season beat us to a pulp and then recuperate in January, but the benefit of uttering this single syllable at just the right time is immeasurable. It can save your sanity, your health, your marriage, maybe even your life.

Simple is beautiful. Try to put things in perspective. Is the world really going to cave in upon itself if you don’t send handmade, personally addressed holiday cards? No. Will anyone convict you of kitchen fraud if the dessert you bring to the family dinner is from a bakery instead of homemade? No. Will you be kicked off your street if the lights aren’t hung just so? No. The holidays are full of magic and everyone – even moms … especially moms – should be able to enjoy the fun. The trick is in picking and choosing. Don’t try to cram three months worth of activities into three weeks. Rein in those loco reindeer and slow up the sleigh. Decide which holiday traditions are most important, make time for them; and then make some time for you. Keeping things simple not only frees up hours of your life, it also ratchets up the “specialness factor” on the memories you choose to create with your family.

So – what can you cut from your self-imposed holiday task list this year? How will you spend the time and/or money that you recover after saying “no” to these expendable parts of the holiday?