During the holiday season, everyone enjoys celebrating and consuming delicious food. However, it can also be a stressful time due to obligations like shopping and socializing. Stress relief isn’t as difficult as you thought to achieve. There are many different methods to achieve this, so you don’t need to stress out.
• Plan ahead – start your grocery list early, watch for sales, and buy a few non-perishables each week in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Don’t procrastinate.
• If hosting a holiday will be your tradition, make a master list that you can use year after year.
• Gift giving – for the person who has everything find out what their favorite charity is and make a donation in honor of them.
• Begin or continue traditions that focus on the meaning behind the celebrations and hold meaning for you and your family. There’s no need to carry on traditions “just because great-grandma did.” Remember the story of the ham in the oven with the end cut off. Finally one young adult family member asked the meaning to find out why everyone cut off one end of the ham only to learn that great-grandma did it because she had a small oven!
• Think about your expectations. Are they realistic? Don’t drive yourself crazy finding “the perfect gift” or planning “the perfect party.” Instead, lower your expectations, and overestimate — rather than underestimate — your time.
• Play your favorite music.
• Schedule time for yourself. People get so caught up in the holidays that they forget to take care of themselves. Seeking some solitude is both healthy and necessary to reduce stress. Don’t skip meals, get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water and stick to your exercise routine.
• Eliminate financial stressors. Every parent wants to buy that perfect holiday gift for their child, but big ticket items can take a toll on your wallet and your stress level. Make a budget when it comes to holiday shopping and stick to it.
• Consider hand-made gifts. Often a small gesture of your time is just as loved as the gift you spend a lot on.
• One of my favorites! Expect things to go wrong! The Thanksgiving turkey may get overcooked; your son may hate his Hanukkah gift; your daughter might get sick. The point is, things will go wrong. Appreciate the season for the time spent with loved ones and create new memories. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
• Don’t feel obligated to the “have to’s” = if going to a particular gathering is going to be stressful due to the time, the cost, the potential conflict, ask yourself if you could decline the offer.
• Learn to say NO.
