How & What to Delegate This Season

You don’t have to do it all yourself. While there are lots of things to do this season, from fun and amazing to humdrum and harried, there is one thing you don’t have to do: all of it on your own. Learn what you can delegate for the holiday season.

apple ornament with faithfulness tag on tree.

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When my kids were young and I was young, I thought I could do everything. Correction, I thought I should do everything.

Systemating was nowhere on my radar because I was obsessed with being the perfect wife and mother doing all things perfectly, including the holidays. I didn’t know that all that striving would wear me down and make me decidedly less than perfect.

Perfect isn’t perfect if you’re too tired or crabby to enjoy it. Perfection is in many ways another form of bondage.

When I learned the EADS principles, I got such a dose of personal freedom, it was truly amazing. Applying it to your holidays will be a game-changer. I promise!

So far in this series, we’ve talked about:

Of course, you know today, we’re going for… Delegation at the Holidays.

All the things you could do is a lot!

But first, let’s review some typical holiday tasks that may or may not be on your radar:

sending Christmas cards
shopping for charitable organizations
giving gifts to neighbors, service people, and co-workers
planning holiday events
attending holiday events
planning family activities
decorating the house
participating in concerts and other community performances
attending said concerts and performances
observing Advent
making or buying gifts
wrapping gifts
shopping for holiday clothes
baking holiday treats

These are just the main line items. Each of these tasks can be broken down into many smaller steps.

Or rather, each of these tasks involves more than meets the eye.

viking santa gnome cookie jar with bottle brush trees on table with mirror behind.

The list is bigger than it looks.

For instance “sending Christmas cards” involves:

creating a list of people to send it to
designing or choosing a card
taking the family photo (which also includes finding appropriate clothing and booking a photographer)
printing the photos
picking up photos and cards
buying or ordering stamps
addressing and stamp the envelopes
writing a personal message inside each one (why bother if you don’t?)
mailing the cards

That one line item just translated into 9 to 11 distinct tasks. My original list of 14 things is bigger than we think!

The good news is that many of those smaller tasks are ripe for delegation!

You can do it all or try to do it all, but I recommend that route only if it’s all really important to you and you don’t have anything else to do this month.

Delegation is key this season.

To do your regular daily tasks and those extra fun holiday things, something’s gotta give. Once you’ve pared the list down to what’s most important and automated what tech can do, it’s time to delegate or let someone else take the load off.

Consider these tips for sharing the load this year:

table set with wrapped presents and advent candles.

Delegate what anyone can do.

Look at your list and see what does not need your personal attention or is not important to you to do yourself.

You may want to write a personal message in the cards, but maybe you can have the kids address and stamp the envelopes. It can translate into a fun evening as a family, especially when your kids ask who all these people are that they’ve never met!

If you say, “there’s nothing to delegate,” it may be time to relax your standards a bit. Where can you stretch outside your comfort zone to let your spouse, children, in-laws, or friends help you?

Keep on the list the things that absolutely need your attention or that you really, really want to do yourself. Again, be reasonable.

You can delegate:

ironing and/or folding napkins
wrapping presents
getting guest room ready
setting the table
loading/unloading dishes
sweeping the front porch
lighting candles
watering the tree
….a host of other things if only you’d let go control!

Let them do it their way.

Unless you’re paying.

If someone is doing something because they love you and/or you’re related to them — ie without monetary gain, give some basic guidelines and/or requests, but also give as much wiggle room as you can so that they’re free to do it their way.

You don’t need to micromanage how the envelope is stamped.

Remember, you want the thing done! As they say, done is better than perfect.

Set them up for success.

Make expectations clear, but also make it easy for your people to comply with the request.

If the kid doesn’t know how to address envelopes, you’re going to need to take some time to show him how.

If your husband is going to grocery shop for you, be clear on what ingredients you want. Writing ham on the list is not helpful. Be specific.

If your mother-in-law offers to buy drinks, let her know specifically how many bottles you’ll need and whether or not you have the ice and cups already on hand.