Thanksgiving can be a stressful time for anyone. Who is making the dressing? Do we have enough seats at the children’s table? What am I going to wear? Do we deep fry the turkey or go with a healthier option and air fry it this year? Before the week is done and over with, these and other Thanksgiving dilemmas can tire the average person out, leaving them exhausted… yet full. 

For the classroom teacher, starting the week following Thanksgiving feeling exhausted can add more stress to the sure to be chaotic and challenging week ahead. Every teacher knows that when students get out of their schedules as a result of a student holiday, that following week seems to be more unpredictable than usual. However, teachers never complain about the time off. It is always a welcomed break. Even so,  the holiday season should not meet us with stress. Everyday that we get to spend time with our families and loved ones should be valued and we should use that time bonding with them to help alleviate stress. To help with this, here are a few Thanksgiving prep tips that can help reduce teacher Stress during this season and as we return back to the work the following Monday after Thanksgiving break.

Tip 1. Plan Ahead of Time

The same way we complete lesson plans ahead of time, planning our Thanksgiving festivities early can help to reduce stress. Waiting until Thanksgiving week to get needed items can add more stress. If you wait until the last week most likely, the grocery stories will be out of some of the items that you really want. You will be surrounded by more people than usual and crowds of unhappy people who have to wait in longer than usual lines can definitely affect your mood. Avoid all of this by planning ahead of time and shopping sooner rather than later.

I also suggest planning your lessons for the return to work after Thanksgiving ahead of time. Many teachers plan their lessons during the weekends. We will talk more about eradicating bringing work home in our series on time management, but if there is one weekend not to bring school work home, it would be Thanksgiving weekend. This should be a time to spend quality time with your family, and to refresh and refuel yourself for the week ahead.

Start this week by spending a little time each day to create your lesson plans for the week following Thanksgiving. This will prevent you from trying to cram everything in during your last days before the holiday and bringing home everything that you wanted to complete, but never did. Starting two weeks early will give you the time needed to get everything done and double check for accuracy.

When you have a goal, it helps you to stay focused. Set a goal at home to plan for Thanksgiving and get all the items you need starting now. Also set a work goal not to bring any school work home by get your lesson plans completed before you go on this break.

Tip 2. Share the Wealth… Work

Whether you are planning to celebrate Thanksgiving with a few family and friends or if you are the family who invites the entire neighborhood, this is a time to share the work and allow everyone to contribute in some way. That could be having every family bring their most popular dish or making them in charge of games, clean-up, or any other needed task or activity. Everyone feels more valued when they can help out.

If you are celebrating with your immediate family and you are responsible for most of the cooking, you can have your young children help to a safe degree. This can be a new family tradition! The way children spell love is T-I-M-E. Spending quality time with our family is more important than what is on the table. Having the opportunity to sit back, laugh and relax will create memories that are priceless. 

As I think back to when I was growing up, all of the food was amazing, but the thing I cherished the most is the time I spent with my family. Those times of feeling secure, loved, and a sense of belonging can never be replaced. 

If needed, cut back on how many dishes you make. Sometimes we forget about what these times should be all about. Focus on “thanks” and “giving”. It has become a tradition for my family to go and volunteer at a soup kitchen around these times. It is great quality time for my family and it helps us to focus on what is really important. After spending the day with people who are less fortunate and my entire family is able to help others, ten items on our table doesn’t seem that bad after all. One of the best things for me… not slaved over a hot stove all day or having to wash two sinks filled with dishes. We were able to spend quality time together and really appreciate what we have.

Remember this tip while you are at work as well. Students love to help the teacher. The fact that you need them or want their help makes them feel valuable. Sometimes students need a few minutes to take a break to get back on track. I remember having my students clean off their desk with shaving cream right before a break. All of the decorative art work etched in shaving cream showed me that they actually enjoyed this more than they would admit. You can have them take down your Thanksgiving decorations and put up the decorations for the next season. Be creative. The students just want to help.

This cannot take up your entire class period, but these are also relationship building activities that can give your students a sense of value in the classroom.

Tip 3. Plan to Take Some Time for Yourself

During these times many of us are trying to provide the best experiences for our families that we don’t take time for our self care. In the past, I have felt so guilty about spending so much time at work or involved in work related activities at home that I would try to make up for it during the holiday season. Often my desire to do that was counteractive. I would plan to make all of these memories and then be too tired to participate. What did that teach my family? 

Now I understand that it is important that I take time to be mentally and physically my best. When I do this, I am more alert and engaged in family activities.  

This also teaches your children to practice self-care. We are their role models. We do not want to teach them to ignore their health, but to honor it by valuing their body’s need for rest and relaxation, fresh air and nature, balance and joy.

If you have not, schedule time to practice self-care during our Thanksgiving break. Sleeping because you have overexerted yourself and you cannot do anything else is not self-care. That is reactive and a result of self neglect. Scheduling to take a nap before a family activity is self-care. You have evaluated the upcoming events and are planning to be alert and engaged in them when you are proactive with your self-care. 

This Thanksgiving season is not the season to sleep less to get more things done. This is the time to start a new sleep regimen of getting 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night. Starting it during your break can set the pace so that you can keep up with this routine when you go back to work the following week. 

This break is a good time to start incorporating more health and wellness strategies into your life. Share the strategies with your family. Sit down with them and share why it is important to be mentally and physically healthy. It may encourage them all to participate and you can make it a family affair! 

Tip 4 – Keep Things Simple 

From planning your Thanksgiving holiday to returning to work on November 29th, do not overdo it by putting more stress and pressure on yourself. Keeping things simple helps:

Free up your time

Avoid added stress

Put your energy for what is really important

Decrease overthinking

Reduce the possibility of errors 

Alleviate unneeded pressures

Ways to keep it simple include writing all of your tasks down on paper. We may see everything that we must do clearly in our head, but it never takes the place of writing it down. Writing all of the tasks that you must complete helps you to organize your thoughts better. When you see it you can better determine if you need to remove a task to keep from overexerting yourself.

Automate as much as possible. Use timers when cooking food. Timers that will turn appliances off are best, but if you do not have access to any, use your cell phone’s timer or the stove timer. Automate clean up by using paper and plastic dinnerware. Stores now sell decorative disposable dinnerware. I am not a supporter of using disposable dinnerware regularly, but using these products this one time a year works for me. You may think that it is a waste of money to spend $20 on disposable plates, bowls, spoons and forks but $20 or even $30 for my peace of mind is well worth it to me. This will make clean-up a snap and help the germaphobes relax for a chance ! Using disposable dinnerware may be a “no no” for some. If it is for you, wash dishes as you go so they do not all pile up.

Speaking of “no no’s”… learn to say no. It feels good to say no when you are prioritizing what is really important. Practice it with me. Let us all say it together, NOOOOOoooooooo! Every time you say no to tasks that do not help you meet your goal you should feel empowered! Do not allow someone to add more tasks to your day that may increase your stress. If their idea is a good one, ask them to take the lead in completing it. If they are not willing to do that, I guess the task was not that important after all. 

Tip 5 – Plan to be in the Moment

It is important to keep things simple in your classroom around this time of year. Do not assign lengthy projects or create extravagant lessons before or as soon as students return. Remember, you will be the one stuck grading all of this! Many times teachers want to go all out with their holiday themed activities. That is nice, but if it is adding more stress to your life, this is something you can control. You can still plan a fun lesson, but when your administrator comes into your classroom to evaluate you, they do not care how cute the activity is. If it is not focused on the standard you will be penalized and rightfully so. We must put first things first then go from there. Consider the time commitment, classroom management/student behavior, financial cost, and your health and wellness. If any one of these will be compromised I would consider scaling additional activities down a little so that I do not overexert myself in any way. We already know how students get right before a break and how they return to school after a break. I would make sure I am planning to be ready for that. Not being prepared for those times can send your stress level through the roof! You can still keep things simple and have fun with your students. My suggestion is moderation.

Do not feel guilty if you do. Teachers are under so much stress and pressure that Friday is seen as a day of hope. Friday is the last workday before we can recoup our energy by being away from work for two days. However, we must find the beauty in every day. In education, no day is like another and it is important that we make memories that we will have for a lifetime. It is important for teachers to be in the moment as much as possible. Don’t take work so seriously that it adds stress to your life. Enjoy work as much as you can and your students will enjoy you. They can feel that negative energy. They can tell when you are not “keeping it real”. Find moments everyday to genuinely smile and laugh. Remember how it feels to be a kid. Give your students your best out of your abundance and do the same for our family during your time off. In order to do that we must be at our best. Planning helps us do that. Use these prep tips to reduce teacher stress and truly enjoy your time before, during and after this Thanksgiving break.

Share your prep tips that you have found helpful during this time of year.

Have a Happy and Stress-free Thanksgiving!

Teachers, watch our “Thanksgiving Prep to Reduce Teacher Stress Live Episode on Facebook in our Teachers Only Group.