I have to keep life simplified during the holiday season to survive it lol. I go into full on "elf mode" with my doll/toy-making business and have to let a lot of things slide.

I used to go nuts during the holidays with baking, decorating, etc but when time constraints no longer allowed for such things I actually asked my family which traditions meant something to them. It was a surprisingly short list. And there were a lot of things I had always considered essential that no one really cared about.

These days I make sure we do the things that are important to my family and I skip the rest.