How to organise the school summer holidays.

Let’s create an easier way of doing the school summer holidays….

Is the anxiety already creeping in?….

I know – it’s a looooong holiday, and it’s right around the corner. Let’s organise the school summer holidays… because gaining some structure with a little bit of planning can help you ditch some of the holiday stress.

Do you normally find yourself panicking with one or more of the following –

• How will I juggle everyone at once? (especially children with vastly diferent ages – like mine)
• How will I stop my house turning to a shit show?
• How will I find time for myself?
• How will I afford all the activities and food?
• How will I stop them from fighting?

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Ok mama, let’s breathe. I hear you. It’s all the things.

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BUT

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What if there was an easier way? What if you felt calmer and more in control?

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To do this you need to first address the root cause of your stress, write it down – and look at things differently. Think of this like cleaning the fridge before you put the fresh groceries in – no one wants fresh groceries in a messy fridge right? That just feels wrong from the start!

So – get quiet and think about what’s making you anxious, then tell yourself a different story.

For example – “I feel stressed because my house always becomes a total mess and nobody helps me clean up! This just makes me snappy and irritable.”

To:

“I let go of my anxiety around the house being messy and I’m open to a new way of approaching things.”

Then have a quick brainstorm – could you declutter pre holidays to create more space and lightness? Could you sit the kids down and create an area each to keep tidy and all agree on a rewards system – like extra screen time? Create a more powerful thought around this – write it down.

“I am worthy of an unclutterd and comfortable space – my family are on board in supporting me with this.”

Your words have power. Your beliefs create your thoughts, your thoughts create your actions – this creates your reality – so it starts with reframing your perspective. I find this helps before you delve into the more practical holiday organising strategies. Just like cleaning out the fridge.

Once I’ve done this I have a simple process that helps me feel more in control and free to actually enjoy the holidays – instead of the anxiety and stress I used to feel around them. Like the days were running me rather than the other way round.

• I set the intention for the holidays and write it down. The vibe I want to craete, how I want to feel, what needs extra attention. What I want to make time for, the types of places I want to visit – how I want my children and home to FEEL.

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• Then I individually ask each child the same thing – what trips out would they like to do? Do they want to relax or go all out crazy fun? What have we done before they’d like to do again – whats important to them. This gives me an idea or want they are feeling, and stops me organising a busy week when all they want to do is eat popsicles in the garden!

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• Once I’ve got everyones thoughts and ideas, I spend an evening sitting down and looking at the diary. I try to pour some wine and make it fun, rather than a stressful thing… You can use a planner or google diary – whatever works for you. Then I input in everything thats already booked like special days out, birhdays and holidays, or important stuff like hospital appointments and car MOTs.

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• Then I look at local listings for ideas of things happening locally that they might enjoy and are do-able for me when handling everyone alone. What free events are happening? Which rstaurants have offers? What movies are on etc – I write these down and the dates somewhere seperate.

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• Next step is to book anything we definately want to do and might sell out – and look at days and events where I might need extra hands or childcare and try to organise that. For example if there’s a movie on my eldest would enjoy – could the in laws help look after the youngest two?

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• Once I’m this far I then prefer to organise on a weekly basis to allow for wiggle room and see how everyones feeling. I tend to sit down on a Sunday night or Monday morning when everyone is asleep and get the following week straight in my head. Theres nothing worse than waking up in the morning on the holidays to the chourus of “what are we doing today?!” when you have no idea yourself and you can’t think because there’s noise everywhere.

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• Set a weekly budget!

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• It can be helpful to then plan your meals around the weeks activities – so for days you are out all day you can pop something in the slow cooker in the morning, or are you eating out? I plan the less fiddly make in advance foods for the busy days, then I might prep a little bit so there’s some ready made rice or salad good to go. Order online anything else thats needed (hint, all the snacks).

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• This can then maybe all go up on a magnetic fridge planner so everyone can see whats going on and not keep asking you incessant questions about whats for dinner or what you’re doing.

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• This year for the first time, now the younger two are a little older – I’m going to sit down with everyone and organise chores and areas to keep tidy, and gentle explain that this is a home not a hotel – and brainstorm rewards and consequences together. For example extra or less screen time. This can help with the feeling that you are constantly nagging and saying the same thing on repeat like “am I the only one that picks things up around here!?”

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Some helpful things to remember:

1. Let go of the stress and expectation – everyones entertainment is not just your responsibilty. Everyone has off days, not everyone will be having fun all the time. Not only is this ok, its entirely normal.
2. Being bored is not the worst thing in the world, sometimes this is when they become they’re most creative.
3. Not everyone will get along all the time, they are human, its normal – real life is not TV or pinterest.
4. Try and schedule some weekly time for yourself and make it non negotiable. A run, meet a friend, a trip to the cinema by yourself. Running yourself ragged won’t do you any favours! Find joy and relaxation where you can, dip your toes in the paddling pool, make yourself your favourite dinner, get up early for a quick yoga session. Start a new tv series to binge in the evenings.
5. Keep a bag ready to go with outfit changes, first aid, baby wipes etc so getting everyone out of the door isn’t the crazy hassle it can be.
6. It’s also helpful to keep some supplies in the car – clean clothes, buckets and spades, balls, picnic blankets, water, snacks etc.

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Let’s ditch the idea that the summer holidays need to be a stressful shit show, they won’t be perfect – and that’s ok. You are worthy of enjoyment and peace, and with a teeny bit of inner work and planning – you can help ease some of the stress and overwhelm. You’ve got this!

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To get on the waitlist -( and gain bag a sweet discount) DM the word Stress to my instagram @twinsandthings13 and I’ll make sure you are the first to know about the release! Eep.

Let me know what areas of Mum life you are struggling with too xo
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If you are not sure where to start? Snag my FREE Download – The Mum Mindset Toolkit, its packed with tips, journal prompts, affirmations and other juicy stuff designed to help support you through motherhood – especially through seasons of overwhelm. Just click on the pic below to grab yours.

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Speak soon Mama, have the best day.

In your corner, always, Maria xo

Psssst – wanna hang out? Come join me over at instagram… @twinsandthings13​

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