Mom, Dad, I know your holidays are busy.
You’re working frantically to get all the shopping, cooking, and decorating done so that all the holiday magic will appear to flow effortlessly at your house.
I know it’s a lot—especially in addition to everything else you do for your family—but let me tell you how much your efforts mean for a teen who’s just a few years from launching out of your safe warm nest.
In a turbulent, frightening world, the traditions you’ve developed over the years and the memories your family has built together will provide warmth and stability that your teen will hang on to and draw comfort from in many of the scary, uncertain, transitional seasons of life.
Even if this season is more of a struggle than a joy for your family, this still applies. As @JenHatmaker said on Twitter: “One kid is crying. Two are fighting. #decoratingtheChristmastree.” Everyone is having crazy, imperfect holidays—don’t worry. Everything you’re doing is still helping.
Thank you for all you’re doing. It matters more than you realize.
And whether you call them “holidays” or “holy days,” I’m hoping yours are filled with meaning and purpose and scattered moments of true awe and joy.
~Jeannie
P.S. If you have college students coming home for the holidays, here are some links to past articles from me that you’ll find very helpful this month!
Happiest College Breaks Start With These Boundaries
One Sentence That’ll Keep Your Kids From Living At Home in Their 20s
Must-Read Book For Students Ages 18–29
One of the greatest gifts you can give your kid is setting him or her up for successful college and career life.
I provide clear, step-by-step help for that in my book:
It’s a reference book, so nobody reads the whole thing cover to cover. Pick out what you need to read in it using the fast-paced, 10-minute video instructions here.
You can see hundreds of reviews of this book on Amazon by going to:
You can see why financial advising professionals love LAUNCH, here.
You can see the top 9 questions parents are asking me about LAUNCH, here.
Read just one chapter of LAUNCH every 1–3 months while your child’s in middle school and high school, and you’ll know every viable strategy for debt-free college at exactly the right time to implement it.
And if your child’s already well past middle school? That’s OK; you can run to catch up. But the process of getting your kids through college debt-free goes more smoothly the earlier you start it—especially if you’re not planning to save up any money to pay for college.
Take a step on this right now. Get regular, inspiring help from me—every Monday morning.
Subscribe to my free weekly email newsletter here. (You’ll especially want to do this so I can alert you to important FAFSA changes that will affect you in the future.)
Do you have very specific questions for me about debt-free college and career for your kids?
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Who is Jeannie Burlowski?
Jeannie is a full-time academic strategist, podcast host, and sought-after speaker for students ages 12–26, their parents, and the professionals who serve them. Her writing, speaking, and podcasting help parents set their kids up to graduate college debt-free, ready to jump directly into careers they excel at and love. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, USA Today, Parents Magazine, and US News and World Report, and on CBS News.
Jeannie also helps students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school at her website GetIntoMedSchool.com. You can follow her on Twitter @JBurlowski.
This article was updated on November 21, 2023. No part of this article was written using AI.