Surviving The Holidays

reduce stress and prioritize your mental health this holiday season

PRESENTED BY: House of Wise | StrongSuit | Bumo

I have always loved Thanksgiving. It signals the beginning of the holidays, and truth be told, it gives me the permission to start winding down at work. However, this season also comes with challenges, especially as a parent who wants to create perfect holiday memories for my family. I find myself thinking about holiday gifts for teachers, parents, nannies, family members, and friends. There is also the need to plan the perfect meals, dinners, friendsgiving, and thanksgiving. And there is more! The immediate need to purchase everything we can on #BlackFriday #BuyBlackFriday #SmallBusinessSaturday #CyberMonday and #GivingTuesday. Are you exhausted yet?

This is why it’s so important to be intentional during the holidays. I like to focus on how I feel vs. the expectations imposed by family and friends. Which means, I may need to say NO more often than not, and I may order apple pie vs. making it myself. We can’t do it all, and we don’t have to do it all. Personally, it has been a very weird year for me. I have found myself constantly revisiting why I started Mother Honestly to support women in the quest for better careers and happier homes, and how we are positioning our very first product Villo, a tech-enabled platform that connects you mamas to vetted and trusted helper’s on the home-front. If you are not on our beta list, be sure to sign up as we are kicking off beta before the end of the year. Being a founder and a mother is one of the hardest thing in the world and no one is talking about it. I am not sure how I will survive this holiday season where I have to map out Mother Honestly’s plans for 2022, fundraise, and execute all at once. So, if you are like me and you are wondering how to survive this season, I hope you can let go of the expectations. Take care of yourself first. Do what fills your cup first - exercising, sleeping in, and getting support.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ON THE HOME-FRONT

Most couples have never sat down and discussed how to divide up housework and childcare. Are you doing more housework than your partner?

Grocery prices may be rising, but compared to the rest of the world, American groceries remain affordable. If you want to know more, you can see the affordability of groceries for every country here.

More than 20% of the nation’s child-care capacity hasn’t reopened due to the pandemic. Big providers aim too fill the void. These big providers—with hundreds of centers across the country and thousands of employees—represent a sliver of the $40 billion-plus U.S. child-care industry.

Can Silicon-Valley build a better baby formula brand? Millennial moms are gaga for Bobbie, a “European-style” formula company founded by two ex-Airbnb employees.

HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ON THE WORK-FRONT

House passes bill including paid family leave. Advocates call it a ‘once-in-a-generation change.’ The measure could run into opposition in the Senate, particularly from Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who said he opposes it.

The pandemic has forced Tyson to become a more humane employer. To stay competitive, the meat-packing giant now offers child care benefits, wellness perks, and better wages.

Work from home works until you need a time off. How do we “take a day to stay home” when we’re already doing everything from home?

A mom went from a $4,000 paycheck to making up to $85,000 per transaction investing in crypto. She breaks down how she got started, and shares her advice with beginners.

HEY DAD!

Dads are doing less at home again. Researchers who've been studying parental roles during the pandemic say dads worry their careers would be hard hit by devoting more time to home duties. They felt more pressure to get away with what they could, rather than be upfront about their needs with employers.

GET AHEAD OF YOUR STRESS THIS HOLIDAY

You can take control of your stress ahead of the holidays with luxury CBD and wellness brand, House Of Wise. Amanda shared openly the stress she’s faced as a woman, founder, and parent. Her story resonated so strongly with me especially as we head into the holidays where many of us have made some promises to our children, partners, co-workers, managers and more to get XYZ done, and the anxiety starts building up. House Of Wise is offering all Mother Honestly readers 20% OFF, use the code MOTHERSUMMIT.

REDUCE THE MENTAL LOAD

Because we know that certain moments, like Christmas, can amplify the mental load, our friends at Strongsuit launched the Strongsuit Christmas Playbook, an online app that you can access through your web browser, aimed at helping during the most joyous and often most stressful time of year. The goal is to help folks keep all the holiday magic and let-go of all of the stress, overwhelm and judgement.  
You can access to the Christmas Playbook (a $39.99 value) for FREE using the code HONESTLY.

BIG GIFTS FOR YOUR LITTLES THIS HOLIDAY

BUMO is offering our community an opportunity to try a free month of ANY BümoBrain monthly subscription! You can use the code MHBUMO - valid until December 15, 2021 :) 

LET’S BRING IT HOME FOR PAID LEAVE!

This week, leaders of Chamber of Mothers were called into an urgent briefing with PL+US and Paid Leave for All.  We learned that the next two weeks are a matter of life or death for the paid leave bill. Mothers: this is our moment to lean into our experiences and power as women and caregivers.  We can save paid leave in a way that no one else can. Here is a message we are sharing to save paid leave ahead of thanksgiving.

LEAVE WORKSHOP

Join Hustle Hunters, Paid Leave U.S, and TiLT as they workshop leave options and policies for your early stage start-up or small business. The topic of paid leave have been mainstream for a few weeks now, and a critical benefit employees are looking for. Hustle Hunters is leading by example by searching for answers and asking all the questions with the nation’s leading experts on paid leave and leave management. Who Should Attend? Startup Founders and other HR, operations, leadership teams who have the power to do this important work in their organizations. Register here

YOUR CHILDCARE OUTLOOK FOR 2022

With the childcare shortage still very much an issue, what are your plans for 2022? We’d love to hear what our readers have planned in caring for your loved ones as you head back into the office or continue working remotely.

Send your etiquette opinions to hello@motherhonestly.com and we’ll share them in a future edition of this newsletter.

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YOU GOT THIS!

This newsletter was written by Blessing Adesiyan, Founder & CEO of Mother Honestly. My best wishes for a safe and exciting thanksgiving week. Send any home and workplace news, and virtual networking invitations to hello@motherhonestly.com. Get the most out of Mother Honestly by learning more about Villo, and becoming a paid subscriber.