With Thanksgiving behind us and the sights and sounds of Christmas now all around us, it’s time for youth sports parents to plan for their final stretch of the season – as in the holiday season.

The weeks leading up to the biggest holiday of the year can be stressful for kids and parents as school and work responsibilities along with deadlines ramp up before the extended time off.

Add to this all to the decorating, baking, shopping, gift-wrapping and entertaining, and all of a sudden, the most wonderful time of the year becomes the busiest time of the year.

But don’t forget about youth sports.

The issue of practices, games and holiday tournaments are already surfacing in our household. When are they, who can be there, who will get them there, and are they mandatory or just “if you can make it” activities?

While many schedules are set for the holiday season – weekly practices often based on the availability of school facilities – others are to-be-determined. In our family, the dates of the holiday tournaments are set, but not the actual game times. Practices that might be held the week between Christmas and New Year are yet to be finalized and there’s no word on if, where or when they might occur.

In order to keep the stress level lower in our family, we have blocked out the tournament dates in terms of making other plans. However, we are not waiting for practice dates to be announced and instead are scheduling out the holiday as we see fit and realizing that there are bound to be conflicts. Our boys are not yet in high school, and so, the reality is that any practices held will be similar to others held during holidays – optional if family plans take precedence. We do realize that once they reach high school that might change.

For now, we’ve eased the stress by admitting there will be conflicts and we plan to manage them as they arise. As with many youth sports topics, communication with the coach is the key.

Our goal is simple: Not to let the spirit of youth sports interfere with the spirit of the season. And yes, whenever possible, not to allow the reverse to happen either.  

Jon Buzby has been involved in and writing about youth sports for the past 30 years with perspectives as a parent, coach and board member. Jon is an award-winning writer and his latest book, “Coaching Kids Made Easier,” is available on Amazon. Send comments or future blog topics you'd like to see to JonBuzby@hotmail.com and follow him @YouthSportsBuzz on Twitter.