12/25/2025
We put so much pressure on ourselves at Christmas because somewhere along the way the season got hijacked by comparison.
We measure our worth against curated photos, overflowing trees, matching pajamas, elaborate meals, and the illusion that everyone else has it figured out.
The nervous system doesn’t know it’s “holiday magic”… it just feels deadlines, expectations, spending, and the quiet fear of not being enough. So we hustle for joy instead of letting it arrive on its own terms.
A lot of this pressure is ancestral and emotional too. Many of us are trying to recreate moments that once felt safe, warm, or whole… especially if those moments are gone now.
We chase nostalgia like a drug, hoping if we do it “right” this year, we’ll finally feel what we’re supposed to feel. When reality doesn’t match the fantasy, we blame ourselves instead of questioning the story we were sold.
There’s also a deep cultural lie wrapped in tinsel: that love is proven through productivity, spending, and self-sacrifice. Especially for women and mothers, Christmas becomes another performance where rest is optional and burnout is normalized.
We abandon our own needs to keep the peace, keep traditions alive, and keep everyone else comfortable… then wonder why we feel resentful, exhausted, or empty.
The truth is this: peace doesn’t come from keeping up. It comes from opting out. From choosing presence over perfection, nervous system safety over spectacle, and meaning over momentum.
Christmas was never meant to be a test of worth. It was meant to be a pause… a remembering… a soft place to land. And you’re allowed to make it smaller, quieter, simpler, and truer to who you are now. That isn’t failure. That’s wisdom.
Just my 2 cents for whatever its worth..
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and remember less is more...remember the spirit...and the reason we are celebrating...
🎄🤶🎅❄️🌲
