Holiday Hustle Hacks for Moms

Feeling the holiday chaos? 

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Whitney and Ashlie dive into the whirlwind of holiday prep, gift-giving, and balancing work, family, and sanity during the busiest season of the year. 

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From wrapping presents to managing school parties and planning for the new year, they share relatable stories, clever strategies, and heartfelt reminders about grace and gratitude. 

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With a perfect mix of humor and wisdom, this episode is a holiday survival guide for working moms and anyone trying to stay grounded in the festive frenzy.

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Listen For:

3:21 Escaping the chaos of holiday obligations

5:00 Who gets credit—Santa or mom?

14:55 Planning ahead: A secret to holiday sanity

21:57 Strategies for staying present during the holidays

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Holiday Hustle Hacks for MOMS

The holiday season is a magical time, but for many, it’s also a whirlwind of stress, to-do lists, and endless obligations. In Episode 21 of The C-Suite Chicks Podcast, hosts Whitney Ramirez and Ashlie Marshall dive into the holiday hustle, unpacking what it’s really like to juggle work, family, and festive traditions without losing your sanity. Whether you're a working mom, a busy professional, or just someone trying to stay grounded during the madness, this episode offers candid insights and practical strategies to make it through the season with grace and gratitude.

For Whitney and Ashlie, the holiday chaos hits differently. Whitney opens up about how she avoids the typical seasonal frenzy by intentionally simplifying her schedule and finding small joys to keep herself grounded. Ashlie, on the other hand, shares her late-night gift-wrapping adventures and how she balances the pressure to give meaningful presents with the reality of managing multiple moving parts—kids, work, and all. From debating who gets credit for the “big” gifts (Santa or mom?) to sorting through mountains of teacher presents, they offer a relatable and humorous look at how moms and professionals alike survive December.

The key theme? Organization and presence. Whitney credits her planner with keeping her sane, outlining her week to ensure she stays on top of everything. Ashlie agrees, adding that preparation the night before is a lifesaver for smooth mornings. “If I can prepare the night before,” Ashlie explains, “it helps avoid the chaos—and my frustration—in the morning.”

The pair also touch on deeper challenges, like finding joy during a season that isn’t always easy for everyone. Whitney acknowledges that the holidays can be a tough time, even for her, and emphasizes the importance of setting up small things to look forward to. Self-care and therapy, she says, play a big role in keeping her centered amid the rush.

In addition to reflecting on the holiday hustle, Whitney and Ashlie share their approach to year-end planning. Whitney starts thinking about the next year months in advance, focusing on personal and business goals. She notes how rewarding it is to see growth—not just in revenue but also in how their customer base evolves and how their team develops new skills. Ashlie highlights the power of conducting a year-end review, where she examines her calendar to identify where her time was well spent and where it could have been better utilized. Both emphasize that starting early can make the process less overwhelming and pave the way for a successful new year.

As the episode winds down, Whitney and Ashlie share a heartfelt reminder: grace and gratitude go a long way. The holiday chaos may feel overwhelming, but taking intentional moments to breathe, stay present, and find joy in giving can help shift the focus back to what really matters. Whether it’s being fully engaged with your kids during car rides or simply cutting yourself some slack when things don’t go as planned, they remind listeners that the best gifts we can give ourselves are patience and kindness.

So, if you’re feeling buried in wrapping paper or stretched thin by all the festive obligations, take a moment to tune in to this episode of The C-Suite Chicks Podcast. Whitney and Ashlie will leave you inspired, reassured, and ready to tackle the season—chaos and all—with a little more grace and a lot more gratitude.

Merry Christmas from the C-Suite Chicks! 🎄

Whitney Ramirez (00:00):

A lot of people do struggle with the holidays and it's not a happy time for everyone. And that is true for me too. And so I'm often trying to find things to set up for myself to look forward to. Have you wrapped all your gifts yet?

Ashlie Marshall (00:26):

Funny you should ask that question. I am exhausted today because I was up until 1:00 AM

Whitney Ramirez (00:32):

You did it last night.

Ashlie Marshall (00:33):

We wrapped some Dwayne and I, we buy stuff for three or four months and then I stash it in a hiding closet. And how

Whitney Ramirez (00:47):

Do you not give your kids just a random gift?

Ashlie Marshall (00:52):

It's really hard.

Whitney Ramirez (00:53):

Yeah,

Ashlie Marshall (00:54):

Because just last night when I was going through stuff, I had bought Harley some slippers, but they're not really slippers. They're like Slide on shoes. And

(01:05):

I bought, they were kid shoes, but I can wear kid shoe sizes, so I bought a pair of tan ones for me. I was like, oh, these would be perfect for the cool weather. Slide my feet in. I'm just go, right. And they really comfortable. Well, Harley was like, oh, I love those. And then they have them in pink. And so I was like, oh, okay, well, do you want 'em in pink? She was like, yeah, well, I ordered them. But because it's that time of year, every package that comes to the front door, we just shove it in the closet. We don't even open it. We don't look at it. So then last night was the night that we pulled everything out because we're a few days out and so I need to, are they even, do they have the same stuff or not the same stuff, but the same number of things and is it equivalent? Are they going to like it? And then I have five days to go and buy whatever else I need to buy. And last night I was like, oh, I'm not going to give her these for Christmas. She legit picks them out. I'm just going to go put 'em on the stairs. So I put 'em on the stairs as she found 'em this morning and she was like, look at these.

Whitney Ramirez (02:02):

Yeah, I had to bribe around with an early gift to take his antibiotics. So I was like, let me find the smallest of gift. And so I was like A sonic cup. Let him take it to school.

Ashlie Marshall (02:14):

He's into Sonic, huh?

Whitney Ramirez (02:16):

Yes. Yeah.

Ashlie Marshall (02:18):

I love it. I love it when they're into something. It makes shopping for it

Whitney Ramirez (02:22):

Way easier. So

Ashlie Marshall (02:22):

Easy. And you have a boy and I have a boy and man, my boy is so hard to shop for. It's like today I was walking through Target this morning around seven 30 this morning trying to, what can I get him? But he doesn't play with toys, so it's a whole thing.

Whitney Ramirez (02:40):

Anyway, he has such a passion for soccer though, you guys. I mean to spend the big bucks on why he wants, but girl, he's going to love

Ashlie Marshall (02:49):

It. His shit is so expensive.

Whitney Ramirez (02:52):

I know

Ashlie Marshall (02:53):

The stuff he wants. Rome's pretty

Whitney Ramirez (02:55):

Easy.

Ashlie Marshall (02:56):

I know right now I've missed the days of easy. Harley's easy. I could buy her any Doll Barbie accessories. She'd love it. Well, in talking about the holidays, my goodness, just outside of the Christmas shopping, how, on a scale of one to 10, how hectic have you felt the last two months to be?

Whitney Ramirez (03:21):

I feel like I don't get the chaos of Christmas that most people get just because I have no, I don't have anything every year like, oh, I have to go here, here, here. I don't have anything pressing to do. And so yeah, it's not chaotic for me. It's actually pretty calm and I just have to find things to keep myself busy, get excited about, and just keep myself in balance in a way so I don't get the chaos of it. And so it's just not spinning my wheels or anything.

Ashlie Marshall (04:09):

Sometimes I think back to before I had kids

Whitney Ramirez (04:13):

And

Ashlie Marshall (04:14):

Before I had kids, it was like that there wasn't a ton of chaos. Like, oh yes, I need to get something for so-and-so or this or that. And even when Dominic was little, Rome is right at that age where he still kind of doesn't get it. He might get it a little bit, but he doesn't kind of get it. He likes Santa,

Whitney Ramirez (04:38):

He Doesn't know what's something new,

(04:40):

What Santa does or anything. And I'm like, okay, well, I feel like I've kind of made my set mind towards it's the coolest and the biggest gifts that's coming from me. Santa is not getting credit from this. So sorry.

Ashlie Marshall (05:00):

That's funny that you say that. We'll talk about that in a minute. But when they're littler, it's less chaotic. When they understand what's going ons,

Whitney Ramirez (05:13):

Then it's like, oh my God, the pressure's on.

Ashlie Marshall (05:15):

The pressure's on. And two in school now they're in school, right? So then you have to get the teacher a gift and then you have to,

Whitney Ramirez (05:24):

Oh, I forgot about that.

Ashlie Marshall (05:26):

You have to make a card. You have to be ahead of the game. You have to, okay, let's write a little merry Christmas card and let's get them a little gift and okay, let's 'em a gift card and oh, let's do this. And it almost multiplies your to-do list. I think

Whitney Ramirez (05:42):

That'll be good for me in a way, it's like it'll give me something to, okay, check this box and you do this. And honestly, giving gifts is my favorite part of Christmas and my birthday right next to Christmas and Taylor Swift's birthday is on the 13th of December, and I remember one video she was saying her favorite thing to do is give other people's gifts. So every year she has a Christmas theme to birthday party and she gives other people gifts because that's what makes her happy. And I'm like, wow, that makes so much sense. I feel the same.

Ashlie Marshall (06:23):

Yeah, no, that's true. At home, growing up there was always ample giving. My grandfather was really big into giving. My mother is really big into giving over the top ridiculous amounts of things and it's way too much. But that's her love language is to

Whitney Ramirez (06:41):

Give.

Ashlie Marshall (06:42):

And so I try to rein it in because I know that I have that right. I know that I want today walk you through Target. I was like, oh, I should get them scooters and I should get them the thing too much. Jean. And I would come home with that and Dwayne would be like, what are you doing

Whitney Ramirez (07:01):

Swimming? And it's like you have to remember everyone else is getting them stuff and it's like, oh my goodness, I actually don't need to do too much. Because it's like, wow, I forgot that they have all these grandparents.

Ashlie Marshall (07:13):

Well,

Whitney Ramirez (07:14):

Or if you get all the

Ashlie Marshall (07:15):

Things this year, what the hell are you going to get 'em next year?

Whitney Ramirez (07:17):

So

Ashlie Marshall (07:18):

You have to space it out,

Whitney Ramirez (07:19):

Especially

Ashlie Marshall (07:20):

Certain years and when they get older it'll be different. And so back to all the additional things that I feel like the chaos becomes amplified when there are more moving parts. And this year is the first year for us, Dominic was in a heavily, his sport got a little bit more competitive. Harley's sport got a lot more competitive. She got put on an all-star team

Whitney Ramirez (07:50):

And she won championships.

Ashlie Marshall (07:52):

She's won twice. Yay. That's exciting. Three times. And she's only

Whitney Ramirez (07:58):

Freaking what?

Ashlie Marshall (07:59):

Five.

Whitney Ramirez (08:01):

That's insane.

Ashlie Marshall (08:02):

But her schedule is so much more demanding. We still have three major competitions left that are all out of city. None of them are here at home. And so that's hotels, that's food, that's coordination, that's schedules. And then on top of that, you do team things. Oh, we'll bring a little get. Last night was a bow exchange. Totally cute. Loved the bow exchange. It was so fun. But that's just another thing that I had to make sure I had something for with a bag and tissue and a card. So it's like I am definitely not complaining at all. I am entirely grateful for healthy children who are capable of having extracurricular activities and doing things and going to school and having friends. But that's where the chaos comes from. That's why people get to feeling like the holiday rush is because you're no longer just trying to give to just your knit of core people.

(09:02):

You're now having to focus on all the outside, the teachers and the coaches and all the other people that pour into your kid all year long. You want to make sure that you are giving back to them and showing appreciation through a gift. And that just adds to the chaos. And that's just home stuff. And I feel like as women working, women working moms, that chaos can feel a bit more amplified because that list grows, but your list at work does not shrink. No, especially not for us. We've got whole team to give to. We've make sure all things are paid up for the end of the year and

Whitney Ramirez (09:54):

Planning for next year. And it's a lot. And we're kind of lucky in the sense that the agency, everyone's kind of winding down having a slower month because everyone's doing the same closing out end of year planning for next year, but then the shop is crazy busy during this time year. So it's good. You always have something to stay busy with and it's always a good thing. But yeah, it's so many factors and it just feels like the month goes by so fast. I can't believe it's December 18th.

Ashlie Marshall (10:38):

I know Christmas is next week. Dominic was talking to me today about how many days to Christmas. Well, of course we're in third grade, so mom has to turn it into a math problem. So then I'm like, okay, well what's 24 minus 18? The 18th? And he was like, oh, that's how many days are left. And I'm like, yeah, he's, that's only six. I was like, I know you better get your together. Yeah, for real. He was trying to be a jerk this morning and I was like, do you want to think about that again?

Whitney Ramirez (11:08):

That's funny.

Ashlie Marshall (11:10):

It's like going from mom mode to work mode in a matter of five minutes sometimes.

Whitney Ramirez (11:17):

Pretty much. There's all the school holiday parties. Santa's coming to Rome's class on Friday. So

Ashlie Marshall (11:25):

Same. We've got a Christmas party tomorrow and a Christmas party on Friday, but guess what? I still have to make sure that I run payroll and pay all the invoices. And so it's like you still have to show up for your kids. You don't want to, don't want to not, and you want them to see you work, but you also want them to see you make priorities, right?

Whitney Ramirez (11:49):

Oh yeah, definitely. You've got to

Ashlie Marshall (11:50):

Teach them how to do that. But the best way to teach them is to show them,

Whitney Ramirez (11:54):

Just

Ashlie Marshall (11:55):

Like at work, the best way for us to lead the team is to lead by example through our actions and our thoughts and our words and how we handle situations. Not always then the best way sometimes, but we do our best. We're still human, but in the holiday time, I mean Dwayne works. We both work and his chaos is different than my chaos. And I think that it's true for men and women. A lot of times people are always saying, well, the moms do everything. The moms are always preparing all the things and doing all the cooking and getting all the gifts and so on and so forth.

Whitney Ramirez (12:37):

May that love never find

Ashlie Marshall (12:39):

Me, but I think that men experienced their own chaos in a different way. We were just talking to our podcast producer prior to this episode about how he had to put up Christmas lights and his wife was talking about how she exaggerated it saying he only had 20 minutes train games, but still that's on his list of to-dos. Like his to-do was to put Christmas lights up. And that's a different type of chaos than the mom who's checking off the Christmas gift list to make sure everybody's got a gift. My example was Dwayne was the one physically wrapping while I was the one sorting and putting all the things that are going to be from Santa away and wrapping the things that are not, and he's physically doing the wrapping and I'm telling him what to wrap. So it's like men have their own level of chaos in these situations and we definitely don't want to stomp on that or diminish that, but at times, as a working mom, good grief,

Whitney Ramirez (13:48):

It's a lot, but it's a good a lot.

Ashlie Marshall (13:52):

It's a good a lot because it's doing for others, which I think mothers do all the time.

Whitney Ramirez (13:59):

Yeah,

Ashlie Marshall (13:59):

Leaders do All good. Leaders do all the time, do for others. What about getting prepped for the next year? I mean, we've been having conversations about next year for three and a half months now for a while, maybe longer

Whitney Ramirez (14:13):

Than, and I think that helps too because it's like if you start, I mean people will get into June and they're like, oh, I have six months, whatever. But it's actually a lot less stressful if you start thinking of what do I want next year? What do I see for next year? The earlier you start thinking about that, the less overwhelming it's going to be when you actually sit down. You already have ideas, you've already been thinking about it. So it's like now you can focus on the execution and how that's going to work logistically. So yeah, I feel like it's always better to start about things before you feel like you need to.

Ashlie Marshall (14:55):

No, agreed. This year when school started in August when we got two weeks into school and there was a structure to life again, that was when I was like, okay, we've only got four months, five months, what am I going to do with those months? And then how is that going to prepare me to jump into the new year? I've heard a lot of, as I listen to other podcasts all the time,

(15:31):

And

(15:31):

There's one in particular that I've listened to where she has talked about how she sets aside time at the end of December to go through her year. And what she does is she pulls up her, she pulls up her

Whitney Ramirez (15:46):

Calendar a yearend review,

Ashlie Marshall (15:47):

And I put this into practice late last year, like color coding my meetings. And she looks at her calendar and she looks at how much time she spent in each category, each type of meeting had in color code. And she even puts her personal time how much time she put into herself. That was one thing I did not do. So if I had time that I did for me, I didn't put it on my calendar, but she reviews all of that and then tries to take that to apply what she wants next year to look like where she felt like her time was well spent and where she felt

(16:26):

Like

(16:26):

Her time may have not necessarily been wasted, but it could have been used in a more productive manner. And then looking at that word, productive, what do you want to be productive at? Do you want to be productive in your business? How do you quantify that? What does that quantify to you? I know for me it's different than for other people. I quantify that by seeing others improve. How did I pour into other people? How did my efforts, my attitude, my leadership build other people? Some people want to see how much money they made. It's different for everybody. What is it for you?

Whitney Ramirez (17:11):

I think partially because I am so sales and marketing centered, it's more so the growth of the company is not only in revenue, but in how our customer base expanded, how our customer base shifted, who is our ideal client changed. That's a big one over the last year, and that's something that's really cool for me to see and something that I think about. I also think the same in terms of how has our team grown in terms of new skills, how has our team grown in confidence in culture and seeing that as a whole. So I think that it aligns with my responsibilities as a CEO, because I'm really focused on the change and the positive change both internally and externally and making sure the efforts that I put in are always reflected in how we're changing as we grow.

Ashlie Marshall (18:37):

Being able to make sure things are scalable, like putting structure in areas that feel chaotic, whereas there is always something that feels chaotic, but making sure that there is internal structure and structure provides foundation for growth. Without structure, it's very difficult to

Whitney Ramirez (19:02):

Grow.

Ashlie Marshall (19:03):

You can have rapid immediate growth, but it definitely will. It'll drown you. It'll cause

Whitney Ramirez (19:11):

It'll drown you if you don't have the foundation in place.

Ashlie Marshall (19:16):

So those are the things that I think about. Those are the things you think about at the end of the year. So then you add all of those thoughts into a chaotic schedule with a much more robust to-do list. And it's no wonder people feel like they needed a vacation after Christmas.

Whitney Ramirez (19:35):

Also, what I've noticed too is now that I live in Tulsa, oh my gosh, I can tell how many people are in town that are usually not in town. And I'm like, this traffic is actually going to make me insane. Why does it take, did it take me two hours to get home? That's so crazy. The other day I wanted to lose my mind. And so I can't even imagine what it's like in Houston because it's already insane there without all of your out of counter coming in. What's

Ashlie Marshall (20:06):

Crazy about that is you're used to it. Oh, well, yeah, kind of to an extent. I'm not used to. It's certain

Whitney Ramirez (20:16):

I hate

Ashlie Marshall (20:16):

It. Where I live, I live in an area that is a bit removed from the city of Houston. It's further north. It's a suburb and it is a community of sorts. And there's a certain area that has all the shops and the mall and restaurants, and there are other smaller areas that have restaurants and small boutique shops. But as long as you stay away from the highly condensed shopping area, I feel like the traffic is not as bad. Now, when that will change is the end of this week because all the college students that are not home, they're away at college, they're finishing up today, tomorrow, their finals are over, so they're going to start traveling home and then it will seem to be a bit more people. But on the reverse of that, school gets let out. So when school is on holiday, traffic is, oh my God, it's so amazing. Not as much traffic. This summer is lovely. And then August hits and you're like, oh my God, that's what you look hard to, I don't want to get in my car. Oh man. So yeah. What are some really effective ways you have found that have helped you deal with, you said you don't feel the chaos, but in terms of balancing making it a good Christmas for Rome and making sure things at work don't slip, what are some really great strategies you have found work for you?

Whitney Ramirez (21:57):

I definitely think my planner is my way of setting myself up for success for the week. That always helps me, but I've also found that, which a lot of people do struggle with the holidays and it's not a happy time for everyone. And that is true for me too. So I'm often trying to find things to set up for myself to look forward to and to make sure that I can be excited and happy for the holiday forum. So definitely self-care is part of that. And shout out Bonnie, my therapist. She's really amazing. So yeah, I definitely try to take care of myself a little bit more during this time. It's not always happy. And so I am grateful for a really busy work season at the shop during this time because it keeps me busy and I've set myself up for things to look forward to. And so that way I'm not drowning in grief or anything during this time.

Ashlie Marshall (23:22):

What about you? I think the biggest struggle for me, I kind of mentioned it a little bit before, was Christmas parties for the kids show up. They're going to be out of school this week, next week. I still have work tasks to get completed, but I also know that they're out of school and I want to spend time with them. I've done a lot of things that at to try and prepare for that time so that I am able to spend time with them. But I think one of the biggest things that gets me sometimes is the, I am excited to give my kids gifts. And I'm also, we are heavily faith-based, so we talk heavily about the Christian side of Christmas and the meaning of Christmas and all that, and we talk through that. Sometimes I feel very guilty that there are certain aspects of that that I don't push as hard as that was pushed when I was little.

(24:22):

Not that I think there's anything wrong with that, but I still get swallowed up by the chaos. So the things that I have found that have helped me is similar. The planner. The planner helps me tremendously. We've talked about that in the past. Writing down the to-do list, checking it off, looking at it, I'll write it down all day long, but sometimes I forget to look at it. So looking at it is a big thing. And reminding myself to give myself grace that as long as I am in the moment when I'm in that moment and I'm mentally present, there's no guilt to be had there. And what I mean by that, for example, when I pick up my kids from school,

Whitney Ramirez (25:11):

Yeah,

Ashlie Marshall (25:12):

This is just one example. I try, yes, that's mom's favorite part of the day. Dominic's favorite part of the day.

Whitney Ramirez (25:20):

You make it good.

Ashlie Marshall (25:20):

I try to not be on the phone, not be have my mind somewhere else. They get in the car, they fight over who's going to talk to me first about their day, and we sort that out. And then actually listening when they talk to me, your mind goes and you think about the

Whitney Ramirez (25:42):

So many places, it's like, oh my gosh, I forgot to a scene a hundred

Ashlie Marshall (25:44):

Percent. I work in car rider line. So if I don't get to everything, then I'm like, oh, I got to remember to. But I have to turn that off. I have to make an effort to turn that off. And so when I'm in the moment and I'm making an effort to spend time with the kids, even if it's just an hour, I make an effort to be present with them in that hour. And being intentional with that

(26:11):

Helps lighten that load of guilt, that mom, guilt that you feel when you're doing multiple things at the same time, especially during the holidays. So being present and being intentional about being present, utilizing my tools, which is planner calendar on the phone, reminders, set reminders for yourself, prepare the night before. We have extra practice today for cheer. So last night I didn't find out about what we had to wear until Harley was already asleep, but I snuck my butt into her room and pulled the clothes out of her drawers and put 'em in her backpack because if I didn't, then the morning I've been like, don't forget this. Don't forget that, don't forget that. And then I can't talk to Harley. He was like crazy. I want you to do this to my hair today. And I'm like, then I get short and annoyed and then it just turns into a bad morning. So if I can prepare the night before, utilize my tools like my planner, be intentional and present, those things have really, really helped me. Putting 'em into practice and making sure I can consistently practice it. Because you'll slip right back into bad habits.

Whitney Ramirez (27:24):

Yeah, that's a good point.

Ashlie Marshall (27:26):

So for all of those who are, as statistics, tell us working moms experience increased stress levels on the holidays and many feel overwhelmed and guilty and all the added responsibilities, family coming in town. That's something we don't experience, Whitney and I, but I know other people experience family members traveling in or you having to travel away and packing all the gifts and doing all the cooking and getting all the food. Remember to take a breath and remember to be grateful for what you do have

(27:59):

And give yourself a little grace. Give yourself a little grace. And from Whitney and I, we hope that you have the best Merry Christmas and that you get excited about the new year just like we are. And thank you for listening to us. And if you like this episode, hearing about our chaos and our ridiculousness, please share this episode with a friend and leave us a review about what your chaos looks like. We would love to chitchat about that. So drop us a line, leave us a review, share with your friends. We love y'all and we're grateful for all of y'all for listening. Thank you.

Whitney Ramirez (28:49):

Merry Christmas, y'all.

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