“It’s the most wonderful time of the year….” While I can sing it, I cannot bring myself to believe it. Trying to stay up with work, making sure that I plan something to put on the table at night (thank goodness I have a spouse who steps up from time to time), checking in with my kids to make sure they are getting through their exams, and “Christmasing” the house has me completely anxiety-ridden at night. I am trying to keep all of the balls in the air with a smile plastered on my face and Hallmark movies as background noise.

I wrote a book on how important it is to learn to deal with failure, and I still find myself terrified to fail. What is the worst thing that can happen if I do?? As kids get older it becomes significantly more difficult to create the magic that goes with the holidays. It was easy when they were young kids, whether you were moving an elf around your house at night or arranging calls with the guy in the red suit, you could feel the prickliness of their skin when they were excited about the possibilities of what magic could do. As they get older, their Christmas lists get much smaller and yet three times more expensive. I find myself reminiscing about times in the past that I never thought would end up as “moments,” and wish that I would have embraced them more fully at the time knowing what I know now. But that is just it. We don’t realize the importance of the moment when we are in it. Maybe it is because we are trying to achieve the Instagram model of what the holidays look like. (I know I spent an extra couple of hours trying to turn our $65 Christmas tree into what I watched over and over on an IG reel, only to end up with a lot of burlap dust all over my floor). Again, the Pinterest fail model just isn’t what it is all about.

I have a lot planned for next year, and if I am able to do 1/3 of what I want to do to build this brand–I will be busier than the last three years combined. I think it is time to lean into the failure and enjoy the spoils. I know the time I will get with my family will stay with me a lot longer than the Instagram Christmas trees will.