Did
you know that the Christmas holidays have also been called the season of
stress? In order to combat all the challenging situations, I give you some helpful tips
for coping with holiday stress this year.
Year
after year, we swear we’re going to get an earlier start, we’re going to plan
ahead and yet each year, Christmas is the same frantic holiday complete with a
breakneck pace of buying, wrapping, cooking, and parties all guaranteed to
overextend our time and nerves.
For
the kind of holiday you really desire to have, it takes a lot of planning for
each aspect of Christmas. From choosing the gifts (and getting them wrapped) to
all of the delicious meals, and the work related events, no wonder it can get
stressful! Add church gatherings and
special services and it’s enough to make even the jolliest person wish
Christmas would hurry up and just pass.
If
you’re dreading the overwhelming tasks ahead of you this holiday season, don’t
despair. You can have the kind of
Christmas you want without raising your blood pressure and without getting so
tired you feel like you just can’t function.
You
need a game plan to map out the holiday step by step and I can help you with
that game plan.
"Christmas
Is One of the Most Stressful Times of the Year"
You
would think with the beauty of this holiday that it would be a time of
reflection, a time to sit in front of a crackling fire and drink hot cocoa and
snuggle beneath a thick, fluffy throw - but that’s usually the scene on a
Christmas card rather than reality.
Reality
is we’re the ones behind the scene dragging in the firewood, lighting the fire,
shopping for the cocoa ingredients, unpacking the Christmas throws from the
attic, airing them out, giving them a wash…well, you get the picture.
We’re
busy enough already and life becomes even more hectic than usual when the
holidays arrive. Thanks to all of the business, we tend to overexert ourselves
and the ho ho ho can quickly become bah humbug!
With
all of the activities that center around the Christmas holiday, you need a plan
to keep your stress level down (as well as keep your sanity intact). You may
still be working at your day job, dealing with childcare issues now that the
kids are on holiday break and fretting about getting the house cleaned for
upcoming relatives as well as provide them with meals.
Because
the Christmas holiday encompasses so many different aspects, you need a plan
that will deal with each element individually so that they work together as a
whole to give you a great holiday season day after day.
The
season is almost upon us (can you believe how fast the year went by?) so you
can’t put off planning another day. You need to get started right now. Make a
list of what really must be done in order of importance and have a second
column for what you’d like to get done but can live without if you don’t get
around to it.
#1 and most important of all holiday
stress tips is not a surprise: get your Christmas shopping done early!
Every
year, it seems the circle of people we know and buy gifts for increases. But
you don’t have to rush around in the crowds and spend hours choosing individual
gifts for each person on your list.
Buy
the same item for multiple people, especially if they’re not in the same social
circle. You can give the same gift to your elementary child’s teacher as you do
your high school teen’s teacher.
You
can buy the same gifts for people in your place of employment as you do your
spouse’s. Some great gifts to buy in larger quantities include gourmet food baskets. The ones containing cheeses, meats and crackers make excellent ‘thinking
of you’ Christmas gifts as do the food boxes with coffees and jellies.
You
can buy decorative tins
(no wrapping needed) and fill them with an assortment
of hard candies. Just make sure you don’t put peppermint in the mix because it
flavors other candies.
You
can also purchase new Christmas ornaments commemorating the year as gifts.
Amazon gift certificates are always a hit since you get nearly everything there and you
can order these right from home without getting out into the crowds.
If
you know what your friends or acquaintances do as a hobby or a group of special
items they like to collect, you can pick those up well before the holidays. If
you choose to go with a personal touch and shop and send out gifts, don’t waste
your valuable time standing in line for half an hour to an hour at the post
office.
Never
go during a lunch break or right before closing. This increases your wait time.
Go early in the morning or a couple of hours after lunch break. Better yet,
don’t go to the post office at all. Have it come to you instead.
Right
from the comfort of your own home, you can buy shipping material (you can even
get some supplies free), print out the postage and arrange a pickup from your
home and the pickup is done at no charge to you. If you shop online and ship
online Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial
, (#ad) not only do you save time and beat the shipping crowd stress, but you
gain time you can use in other ways to celebrate Christmas.
The
number one tip to remember when it comes to gift buying is not to wait until
you have to get it done. Begin right now. Shopping early not only takes the
stress off by giving you more time, but it helps financially because you’re not
forking over large sums of money (or putting it on your credit card) all at
once and paying for last minute expensive shipping.
Make
a list of everyone you feel you should buy a gift for. Beside each name, jot
down an idea of something you know they like or might like. Starting today,
begin to pick some of those items up.
The right gifts for men are difficult to find! For last minute gifts, consider a downloadable black and white print. They are perfect for printing at home at any time.
If he loves historic racing cars, a vintage Formula 1 gift (a patent print of the famous Mercedes Silver Arrow for example) would be a very unique gift idea.
Some
family members are notoriously hard to buy for and instead of dealing with the
question of what to get them, ask them to give you a suggestions list.
Numbering from one to ten, have them write down what they’d like for Christmas
in order of importance to them. This idea works well with teenagers.
Have
a shopping deadline in mind. One way to beat the stress is to have a goal to be
finished with all of the prep work for Christmas meals and shopping by
Thanksgiving. It can be done if you start now.
#2 Tip on dealing with holiday stress is
much easier if you don’t wait until the last minute to plan your Christmas menus!
Nothing
can frazzle us more than trying to rush around cooking against the clock. That
frazzle factor goes up tremendously if we forget something because we didn’t
plan until the last minute. There’s a way to avoid the frazzle factor.
Figure
out ahead of time when all of the parties, church gatherings, special meals and
work related celebrations are going to be held. Take a large calendar - the
desktop ones work well for this - and in the large blocks, write down the
events by their due dates and the foods you’ll need for each event.
Then
once you have everything written down, you’ll know at a glance where you need
to be, when and what items you’re bringing. Purchase all needed food items at
the beginning of the month so that you can have them on hand. The best time to
buy ham or turkey for Christmas meals is at the same time you pick up your
Thanksgiving meat.
Unfortunately,
some hosts only give a two week notice that an event is going to take place,
but you can still work within that timeline. Two weeks before the event,
purchase all of the foods you’ll need.
Pick
out what outfit you’ll wear (right down to the accessories), make sure the
outfit has either been picked up from the dry cleaner or you drop it off as
soon as you know about the party.
If
you have to bring a home baked item, bake it now and freeze it. In airtight
freezer containers, foods can keep safely (and taste delicious) for months
prior to use. The trick with baking goods is that you can take one day out of a
weekend and bake enough goods to last the entire Christmas season.
You
can bake a batch of cookies or candies all at once for every party. You can use
store bought items to save the time it takes to bake, but if you do this, make
sure you remove them from their original packaging and freeze them so they’ll
keep, too. The night before the event, simply thaw out the amount of treats
you’ll need, slip them into a large, decorative Christmas bag and you’re on
your way.
Most
foods for any party - whether work or personal or church related - can be
prepared well ahead of time and frozen until needed. Stress comes our way when
we put off preparing the dish or treat and then scramble the night before the
event (or worse the day of) to get everything ready.
For
church events, don’t forget if you’re bringing food that has to be kept
refrigerated to make sure access to the kitchen will be available and that
there will be room for your dish – otherwise you might need to plan a different
recipe.
When
preparing food for any event, including your own Christmas Eve or Christmas Day
meal, you’ll want to start first with a guest list so that you can determine
the amount of food you’ll need.
Decide
who will be joining you and whether they’re adults or children because you can
figure in less food consumption for children. Categorize your holiday meal
according to the course - the main meats and side items and of course, the
desserts.
The
best rule of thumb to remember when buying meat for guests is to figure a half
a pound of meat for each adult and a quarter of a pound for each child. Make as
many side dishes as you can one to two days in advance of the Christmas Eve
meal.
The
reason most people get overloaded with cooking for the holidays is because they
try to make the entire meal either the night before or the same day and then
they’re too worn out to enjoy the company or the festivities. So plan ahead and
don’t be shy about asking for help in the kitchen from family members!
# 3 Tip on managing holiday stress is
about the Christmas decorations which can be spread out over time.
Tradition,
for most people, involves putting up the Christmas tree and all of the indoor
and outdoor decorations either right after or within a week of Thanksgiving -
but there’s a better way for those who feel overwhelmed. The best way to
decorate inside or outside your home for the holidays is to do it a piece at a
time, a room at a time, a yard display at a time.
Don’t
start in your kitchen, dining or living room. Those are considered to be the
rooms where the majority of decorating takes place. Begin in another room
instead. If you change bed linens and quilts to match your holidays, do it by
the thirty day rule.
Thirty
days before the actual holiday, change all linens, quilts and decorative
pillows. That way, you get to enjoy the holiday flair. It’s often the
expectation of the holiday that gives us the greatest sense of excitement as
well as the actual day.
Change
the little decorations, the flowers, the floor rugs, etc. Replace any everyday
candles with holiday colored and holiday scented ones. Within a day or two, decorate the bathrooms.
Hang
holiday towels and rugs, change over any nightlights and hang holiday themed
shower curtains. Remove and store any regular counter and wall decorations and
replace them with your holiday ones. Replace bath rugs with holiday ones.
Once
the bathrooms are done, take a break and then start on the kitchen. In the
kitchen, put out any holiday cookie containers, change over any oven mitts or
towel sets and if you switch curtains, do that as well. Put out the holiday
stove burner covers and wash any holiday place settings - including
tablecloths, runners and place mats.
The
next day in the dining room, make room for your holiday decorations. Take off
any everyday chair pads and backs and replace them with the ones you have in
holiday reds or greens. Cover the table with the holiday runner or tablecloth.
Take
a day off and then do the living room. Set up the tree, hang the decorations
and wrap the base with the skirt or decorative cloth you use. Hang the
stockings on the fireplace.
Change your wall art with the changing season, you can do this very inexpensively with digital, printable artwork.
The
next day, set out any ornamental villages. Put the decorative pillows on the
sofa. Change over the ordinary lampshades for a red, green or gold one. Set the
Christmas decorations on end tables. Some people display a bowl of pine cones or
a bit of greenery such as silk holly leaves and berries. Never use real berries
where small children can reach them.
When
you’re ready to get started on the outside, do the roof lights and decorations
first. That's usually the biggest job and this way, you’ll get it out of the
way first. The next day, string any bushes or trees with your choice of
Christmas lights. If you use more than one yard display, work on one or two
displays a day until you get them all set up.
Lastly,
hang a wreath on or by the door and you’re all done! Since it’s not Christmas
yet, this should leave you plenty of time to relax and just enjoy the season
and the decorations you’ve created to instill a sense of seasonal warmth to
your home.
#4 To avoid holiday depression and
stress is to remember the meaning of Christmas and to enjoy your planning efforts!
It’s
so easy to want that gorgeous, spectacular Christmas because we chase perfection.
It’s human to want to put your best foot forward but believe it or not, it’s
not always rewarding and it doesn’t always give you a sense of fulfillment.
Sometimes,
we can get so caught up in all the planning and all of the activities that we
forget the entire meaning of Christmas. The season is not about getting the
perfect gift or wrapping it to look like a work of art. It’s not about having a
meal so delicious it’ll go down in family history.
Christmas
is a time for each of us to understand the special days we have with the people
who mean the most to us. It’s a celebration of Christ and what this life is all
about. During the holidays, we get a chance to make the most of those special
days.
Everyone
is so busy working during the year, and this is a time we can step back and
reconnect with friends and loved ones. We get to relax and laugh and reminisce.
We get to celebrate life together and hand down traditions from one generation
to the next.
It’s
important for children to see the dynamics of a family unit - the way we laugh
together, love together, the way we cherish those special holidays. Remember
that your children won’t be as impressed with the beautiful wreath as they will
if you take time to sit down and play a holiday game with them.
The
meaning of Christmas is the way we give to one another, the way we take the
time to appreciate all that we have in life and focus on the good in one
another. Christmas is about reaching out to our circle and beyond.
It’s
about slowing down, taking a deep breath and holding fast to each and every
special moment that comes our way. It’s about letting the good within us spill
over into the lives of others.
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I
hope with the given tips on coping with holiday stress in future your Christmas time is
more stress-free and more enjoyable than ever before.
Wishing
you a healthy holiday now and ever!
