Girls Night # 316: How to Set Yourself Up for Delight (Not Disappointment) this Christmas

Girls Night with Stephanie May Wilson

Stephanie May Wilson

Society & Culture, Health & Fitness, Relationships, Mental Health

4.9 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Welcome to Girls Night! We’re down to the final few episodes of the year, and today we’re diving into something so many of us feel this time of year but rarely say out loud: 👉 Why does the holiday season sometimes feel like one big “This is not what I ordered”? Maybe you thought you’d be spending Christmas with someone special this year, or reaching a goal you’d hoped to hit by December. Maybe family dynamics are messy or complicated, or your little family doesn’t look the way you imagined. Or maybe you had big dreams for a magical, cozy December… and somehow you slid into the holidays exhausted and overwhelmed, wondering where the magic went. If any of that sounds familiar, this episode is absolutely for you. Today we’re asking two big questions: ✨ How do we set ourselves up for delight — not disappointment — this holiday season? ✨ And how do we make Christmas magical… when we’re the ones responsible for the magic now? We’ll talk about the moment you realize you’ve gone from experiencing Christmas to creating Christmas, why so many of us approach December like college finals week, and the gentle, intentional steps we can take to build a season we actually get to feel and enjoy. We’ll walk through: ⭐️ noticing the expectations we’re carrying ⭐️ choosing the few meaningful things that matter to us ⭐️ putting them on the calendar so they actually happen My hope is that this conversation feels freeing, grounding, and hopeful — like a deep breath in the middle of a busy month. You deserve to experience the magic you’re so faithfully creating, friend. Let’s build a December that feels more like the one our hearts have been longing for. Mentioned in this episode: 💛 Love Your Single Life [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/singlelife] 💛 Just Married [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/justmarried] 💛 Becoming Mama [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/becomingmama] 🛒 Stephanie’s Journals & Guides [https://stephaniemaywilsonshop.com/] Stay connected: 📸 Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/smaywilson/] 🌐 Website [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/] 💌 Join the Girls Night Community [https://stephaniemaywilson.com/email] Podcast Sponsors: - ⁠Antique Candle Co. ⁠ - ⁠BetterHelp⁠ - ⁠NIV Application Bible⁠ - ⁠Piper and Leaf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey friends, welcome to Girls' Night. I'm so glad that you're here today, especially because we are down to the final few episodes of the year before I take some time off to rest and be with my family for the holidays.
0:16.5	All season long, we've been talking about these moments in life where you look around and think, this is not what I ordered.
0:22.8	Those moments when expectations and reality don't quite match.
0:26.5	In motherhood, in marriage, in our relationships, in friendships, in careers, in the quiet in between seasons.
0:33.8	And the holidays, more than almost any other time of year, can be full of,
0:38.3	This is Not What I Ordered, moments.
0:45.3	For example, maybe you thought this would be the year you'd get to share the holidays with someone special,
0:53.7	your own
0:54.2	hallmark Christmas love story. You pictured walking through Christmas markets, hand in hand,
0:59.5	cozy nights by the tree, a magical December montage, but you're still single, or single again,
1:06.4	and the gap between what you hoped for and what actually is feels wider than ever this time of year.
1:13.3	Or maybe you had a goal you really wanted to have reached by Christmas.
1:17.0	A job change, a financial milestone, a move, a relationship conversation, something in your personal growth.
1:22.6	And it just didn't happen.
1:26.2	And now the season that's supposed to feel hopeful, feels tinged with disappointment.
1:31.5	Or maybe the struggles with your family.
1:34.4	You have this mental picture of how families should be at Christmas.
1:38.7	Peaceful, warm, connected, like something straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
1:45.6	But your family of origin,
1:52.2	they're a little more griswold than Rockwell, a little more chaotic, complicated, unpredictable,
1:58.2	and less like the holiday card version you wish you had. Or maybe it's your little family,
2:02.2	the one you're building right now, that doesn't look or feel the way you hoped it would this year.
	...

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