{"id":64784,"date":"2026-11-06T21:16:16","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T21:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/?post_type=first-things&p=64784"},"modified":"2026-11-06T22:10:32","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T22:10:32","slug":"holiday-stress","status":"publish","type":"first-things","link":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple ways to ease holiday stress with young children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Holiday stress can make an already full parenting day feel even heavier. There are plans to make, people to see and, somehow, still laundry to fold.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re raising a baby, toddler or preschooler, you may feel pressure to make the season special while keeping up with everyday needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to do it all.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can enjoy parts of the season and still feel tired, stretched thin or sad. You can love a family tradition and decide it needs to look different this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Start by asking: What can we make easier?<\/span><\/p>\n

Let some things wait<\/span><\/h1>\n

Maybe you pictured hosting your baby\u2019s first holiday gathering. Now there\u2019s a high chair where the extra chairs used to go, and getting through the day already takes most of your energy.<\/span><\/p>\n

If hosting is optional, it\u2019s okay to pass this year. You can mark a first holiday without opening your home to everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n

The same goes for extra outings, decorations and homemade gifts. Pick what fits your time, budget and energy. Leave room to change your mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Doing less is not letting your family down. It\u2019s making a plan that fits your life right now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early signs of stress & simple, realistic responses<\/span><\/h1>\n
    \n
  • When you feel your chest tighten over to-do lists<\/b>, pause, drop your shoulders, exhale fully and whisper: “Peace over perfection.”<\/span><\/li>\n
  • When you feel overheated or overwhelmed<\/b>, sip cold water slowly and focus on the cool sensation resetting your body.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • When your tone sharpens with family<\/b>, press both feet firmly into the floor and take one slow breath before speaking.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • When your jaw clenches from rushing<\/b>, unclench your teeth, soften your face and pause for a quick sip of water.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • When noise or social crowd gets too loud<\/b>, slip into a quiet room for 60 seconds, close your eyes and cover your ears.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • When your mind races with expectations<\/b>, place a hand on your heart and name one small thing happening in the moment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Say what works for your family<\/span><\/h1>\n

    You don\u2019t need a long explanation to set a limit. Try:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • \u201cWe\u2019re keeping things small this year.\u201d<\/li>\n
    • \u201cWe can visit, but we\u2019ll leave before bedtime.\u201d<\/li>\n
    • \u201cWe\u2019re not able to host, but we\u2019d love to do something together.\u201d<\/li>\n
    • \u201cThat\u2019s outside our budget for now. Let\u2019s find another way to celebrate.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Not every source of stress is something you can remove. Work schedules, money worries and family needs may leave little room to adjust. Focus on the choices you do have, even when they\u2019re small.<\/p>\n

      Keep a few familiar routines<\/span><\/h1>\n

      Holiday visits and outings can change your child\u2019s usual day. Keep meals, naps and bedtime as familiar as you can, without expecting every day to go as planned.<\/p>\n

      Before an outing, explain what will happen in simple words: \u201cWe\u2019ll eat with Grandma, play for a little while, then go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

      Make room for a quiet break together, too. Leaving early or skipping one more stop is an option, not a failure.<\/p>\n

      Ask for one specific kind of help<\/span><\/h1>\n

      \u201cLet me know if you need anything\u201d can be hard to answer when your mind is full.<\/p>\n

      If someone offers, try naming one task:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • \u201cCould you bring dinner instead of a gift?\u201d<\/li>\n
      • \u201cCan you handle the dishes while I feed the baby?\u201d<\/li>\n
      • \u201cCould you take care of the plans and let me know the details?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        If help is limited, look for one task you can skip, shorten or save for later. Rest does not have to wait until everything is finished.<\/p>\n

        You don\u2019t need to reach a breaking point to ask a parenting question.<\/p>\n

        You deserve support too<\/p>\n

        Arizona\u2019s Birth to Five Helpline offers free, confidential support in English and Spanish for families with young children. Call 877-705-KIDS (5437) to talk with an early childhood specialist<\/p>\n

        Ask a parenting question<\/p>\n

        For now, choose one thing to help lessen seasonal stress. Not a whole new holiday plan. Just one thing, for this year.<\/p>\n

        There is room for your needs in this season, too.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Learn how simple moments of reading, talking and connection can build early literacy skills and help your child develop a love of books at home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":64787,"template":"","tags":[22,86,313],"class_list":["post-64784","first-things","type-first-things","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-parenting","tag-family-support","tag-positive-parenting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSimple ways to ease holiday stress with young children - First Things First<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Holiday stress can feel like more pressure when you have young children. Find tips to keep the balance this season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Simple ways to ease holiday stress with young children\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Holiday stress can feel like more pressure when you have young children. Find tips to keep the balance this season.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"First Things First\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AZFirstThingsFirst\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-11-06T22:10:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/HolidayStress.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"393\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AZFTF\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Tiempo de lectura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"7 minutos\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/first-things\\\/holiday-stress\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/first-things\\\/holiday-stress\\\/\",\"name\":\"Simple ways to ease holiday stress with young children - First Things First\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/first-things\\\/holiday-stress\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/first-things\\\/holiday-stress\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/HolidayStress.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-11-06T21:16:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-11-06T22:10:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"Holiday stress can feel like more pressure when you have young children. Find tips to keep the balance this season.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/first-things\\\/holiday-stress\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/first-things\\\/holiday-stress\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/first-things\\\/holiday-stress\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/HolidayStress.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/11\\\/HolidayStress.jpg\",\"width\":750,\"height\":393},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/first-things\\\/holiday-stress\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Parenting Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/first-things\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Simple ways to ease holiday stress with young children\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/\",\"name\":\"First Things First\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"First Things First\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/firstthingsfirst_card_gray.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2018\\\/01\\\/firstthingsfirst_card_gray.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450,\"caption\":\"First Things First\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\\\/es\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AZFirstThingsFirst\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/AZFTF\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/azfirstthingsfirst\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/first-things-first\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/FTFArizona\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Simple ways to ease holiday stress with young children - First Things First","description":"Holiday stress can feel like more pressure when you have young children. Find tips to keep the balance this season.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/","og_locale":"es_ES","og_type":"article","og_title":"Simple ways to ease holiday stress with young children","og_description":"Holiday stress can feel like more pressure when you have young children. Find tips to keep the balance this season.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/","og_site_name":"First Things First","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AZFirstThingsFirst\/","article_modified_time":"2026-11-06T22:10:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":750,"height":393,"url":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/HolidayStress.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@AZFTF","twitter_misc":{"Tiempo de lectura":"7 minutos"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/","url":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/","name":"Simple ways to ease holiday stress with young children - First Things First","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/HolidayStress.jpg","datePublished":"2026-11-06T21:16:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-11-06T22:10:32+00:00","description":"Holiday stress can feel like more pressure when you have young children. Find tips to keep the balance this season.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/HolidayStress.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/HolidayStress.jpg","width":750,"height":393},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/holiday-stress\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Parenting Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/first-things\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Simple ways to ease holiday stress with young children"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/","name":"First Things First","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/#organization","name":"First Things First","url":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/firstthingsfirst_card_gray.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/firstthingsfirst_card_gray.jpg","width":800,"height":450,"caption":"First Things First"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AZFirstThingsFirst\/","https:\/\/x.com\/AZFTF","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/azfirstthingsfirst\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/first-things-first","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/FTFArizona"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/first-things\/64784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/first-things"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/first-things"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/first-things\/64784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64819,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/first-things\/64784\/revisions\/64819"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firstthingsfirst.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}