The Holidays Aren't Just Busy

The Holidays Aren’t Just Busy — They’re a Nervous System Event

The holidays are often portrayed as joyful, magical, and filled with connection.

And sometimes… they are.

But for many families, educators, and caregivers, the holidays feel overwhelming, exhausting, and emotionally charged. Routines disappear. Expectation—sensoryensory input increases. And nervous systems — adult and child — are pushed well beyond capacity.

If the holidays feel hard, it’s not because you’re doing something wrong.

It’s because your nervous system is being asked to do a lot.

Why the Holidays Can Feel So Dysregulating

From a nervous system perspective, the holiday season brings a perfect storm:

• Disrupted routines (sleep, meals, movement)
  
  
• Increased sensory input (noise, lights, crowds, smells)
  
  
• Heightened emotional expectations
  
  
• Social pressure and transitions
  
  
• Less time for regulation and recovery
  
  

For children, this often shows up as meltdowns, hyperactivity, shutdown, or sleep challenges.

For adults, it may look like irritability, anxiety, exhaustion, and guilt.

This isn’t misbehavior or failure.

It’s biology.

Regulation Comes Before Celebration

We often try to push through the holidays — hoping everyone will just “hold it together.”

But the nervous system doesn’t respond to pressure.

It responds to safety, rhythm, and connection.

When regulation is supported:

• Children feel safer in their bodies
  
  
• Adults respond instead of react
  
  
• Joy becomes more accessible — not forced
  
  

Regulation doesn’t mean calm all the time.

It means having the capacity to move in and out of big moments without overwhelm.

Small Shifts That Matter During the Holidays

You don’t need more activities.

You need more regulating anchors.

• Protect small routines
  
  
• Build in movement before and after gatherings
  
  
• Lower expectations — connection over perfection
  
  
• Name what’s happening in the body
  
  
• Regulate yourself first
  
  

Even one regulated adult changes the entire tone of a space.

A Different Way to Measure Holiday “Success”

Success isn’t perfect photos or packed calendars.

It’s fewer power struggles, faster recovery, and moments of real connection.

The holidays don’t have to be something you survive.

They can be an opportunity to slow down, reconnect, and restore.

🌿 Ready for Support That Actually Fits Real Life?

Move Into Calm is a neuroscience-informed program for parents and children that supports regulation through simple movement, breath, and connection — especially during high-stress seasons like the holidays.

You’ll learn:

• How the nervous system drives behavior
  
  
• Simple daily practices that support calm and focus
  
  
• How to regulate with your child, not against them
  
  
• Tools you can use anywhere — before, during, or after holiday stress
  
  

No perfection.

No long meditations.

Just practical, body-based tools that meet you where you are.

✨ If the holidays feel heavy, you don’t have to do this alone.

Move Into Calm is here to support you — one small shift at a time.

🧠 Calm Isn’t a Behavior — It’s a Nervous System Skill

If the holidays feel hard, your nervous system may need support — not more effort.

Move Into Calm offers practical, body-based practices for parents and children to reduce overwhelm and build calm from the inside out.