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Stress Relief for the Holiday Season
Hello and happy holidays to all of our digital followers! As the holidays rapidly approach, that old familiar feeling of happiness and panic simultaneously hit. The stress involved with the holidays stems from the chaos. From shopping, buying and wrapping gifts, to all of the cooking and baking and entertaining, so seeing relatives we don’t often see (sometimes for good reason), it can become a lot to deal with. The constant stream of activities and preparing can really cause a lot of stress during these months. This article is designed to give the reader a few tips on how to reduce stress and really enjoy your holidays this year.
Step one in controlling holiday stress is to have a plan. Make lists; if it works for Santa it will work for you. Make sure you know who you have to buy gifts for and what you are getting for them. Having this written out will not only make life easier once the shopping begins, but will also give you a sense of security before the madness. Having a list for your holiday cards is another good idea. Deciding on which spouse’s family to spend the holiday with (if either) is a great way to avoid holiday-time arguments. Another great way to avoid an argument is to set a spending limit and stick to it! I think that having a solid plan and sticking to it is the most effective means of controlling holiday stress.
Knowing when to say no, and picking and choosing your holiday activities is another important step. There is no way to do everything that everyone wants to. Weigh your options, and choose which ones offer the most fun for you and your friends/family/loved ones with the least amount of work involved. The less work the less stress is involved. Again, a list can be helpful. Often times we do what we do on the holidays just because it is what we have always done. Make a two-column list and on one side like “things I want to do” and in the other list “things I have to do”. If the “have to” list is longer than the “want to” it’s time to reevaluate your holiday priorities. This season is supposed to be about family and fun, not about burnt cookies and panic attacks.
My next piece of advice would be START EARLY! No one says you can’t start shopping in September or even earlier. You may miss out on some black Friday deals, but are the couple of dollars really worth getting trampled in a Wal-Mart? Decorations can go up in November. You will be the extra-festive house on the block. Also, most of the food for the holidays can be bought well in advance to free you up for fun activities when the holidays finally come around. Again, leave time for having fun and spending time with loved ones. Starting early can really help you free up time and relieve a lot of unnecessary stress.
My final piece of advice would be that there is no shame in asking for help. I know personally my mother tries to be super woman and do everything during the holidays. She wants to put up every decoration, hand wrap every gift, bake every cookie and deliver every present. This is probably why there is almost always a holiday nervous breakdown. There is nothing wrong with buying some cookies at the bakery, or having your presents wrapped in-store. No one will judge you and frankly no one will even know. Why not look into catering your next holiday? You might ask if that would be too expensive. But then you have to ask yourself how much your time (and sanity) is worth during the holidays. No one says you have to do everything yourself. Give out some jobs to the family as well, it doesn’t have to be a one man (or often one woman) show. Using the classic American business techniques of outsourcing and delegation can really lighten your load around the holidays.
Enjoy your holiday season people. It is supposed to be a joyous time with loved ones not an ordeal to get through. Using some simple time management skills that I have mentioned above can really help you to free up some time to enjoy yourself and cut down on the anxiety. If you can manage to get organized before the chaos hits, I promise you will really be able to enjoy yourself this year. And if not, add some extra rum to the eggnog and hold on tight, it will be a new year before you know it.
Posted:
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 4:15PM by
Christopher
Categorized under:
General Health
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