It’s okay to say no.
You cannot do everything and you don’t have to. There are so many opportunities to celebrate the season, but that doesn’t mean that all of them are good for your family even if it takes place in your home church. It would be awesome if each of us had unlimited energy and time. We don’t. We live in outer shells that are finite. Our children have more limitations than we do. We adults can listen to another carol and think deeply about the meaning and ignore our growling stomachs or yawns without collapsing on the floor into a meltdown (well, I hope we can). Kids cannot. They wear their insides on the outside. Children who come from hard places may need extra time to recoup from each outing. Give them the time. It is okay to say no for your family’s sake.