Why Moms Are Secretly Losing Their Minds in November

Many moms in Simcoe County are now in peak November panic mode…

November is that awkward middle child of the calendar — not quite festive enough to be fun, yet somehow jam-packed with pressure, planning, and school emails multiplying like gremlins after midnight. 

RELATED: Are We Really Ready to Ditch These Christmas Traditions?

If you’re a mom who feels like you’ve aged five years since Halloween, you are not alone. Let’s break down why November is the true “Silent Night? Never heard of her.” month.

🎄 Holiday Prep Season Begins… Whether You’re Ready or Not

November hits, and suddenly the world expects you to transform into Mrs. Claus with a label maker. You’re supposed to:

• Start thoughtfully sourcing Christmas gifts
• Pre-order matching family jammies before they sell out (they already did)
• Make a holiday budget that everyone will ignore
• Pretend you’ll bake cookies from scratch this year (you won’t, and that’s fine)
  

Meanwhile, you’re still sweeping up Halloween candy wrappers and rogue glitter from last week’s party.

🤧 Cold, Flu, Covid, Mystery Daycare Plague: Season Premiere

November kicks off the annual Who’s Sick Now? tournament. 

Someone in the house is coughing, someone else is Googling “Is it strep?”, and your kid is bringing home germs like they’re trading Pokémon cards.

Moms spend half the month wiping noses, wiping counters, and wiping their own tears because they know they’re next.

📸 School Email & Fundraiser Apocalypse

If you missed one email or notification from the Schoo Days site in November, you’re done. Don’t miss the deadline for those grad hoodies. Case the teens down for sport team tryouts before you end up at the school the day of cause your kid forgot…

🧣 Outerwear Management: A Full-Time Job

November weather is chaos.
Morning = frostbite.
Afternoon = spring.
Evening = arctic tundra. 

Kids go to school in winter jackets, return home wearing only one mitten and a sock that doesn’t belong to them.

If you have teens, you spend most of the time trying to get them to wear a jacket.  They will wear Crocs all winter-be warned.

There is an unspoken November ritual: Moms spend 30 minutes daily hunting for missing hats, mitts, and snow pants, buying new ones, and then losing those too.

☕ The Social Pressure to Have It All Together

November is when every online post becomes a competition:

• “I finished all my Christmas shopping!”
• “My tree is already up and the house is decorated!”
• “We’re doing 24 days of holiday family activities!”

Meanwhile, most moms are just trying to find five minutes to drink a coffee while it’s still warm.

🧠 Mental Load Olympics

Behind every “magical holiday season” is a mom quietly memorizing:

• Which kid wants what gift
• Which relatives are they seeing
• Who is gluten-free now
• Where the elf on the shelf is currently hiding (and how to keep it alive for 24 days)
  

No wonder November stress hits early — we’re already mentally living in December.

✨ The Good News?

Moms may be one twinkle light away from snapping in November, but we also run the show, rally like champions, and somehow make the holiday magic happen every single year.

So if you’re stressed this month, pour a glass of wine, grab some Twizzlers, and remind yourself:

No one does November like a mom.

And if all else fails? The trick is to lower expectations. Of others. Of yourself. Of that Elf. Especially that Elf.