The holidays are a magical time. Family get-togethers, gifts, decorations, and delicious treats make for fun and festive memories. But creating these memories takes a lot of effort on your part, often leading to stress.
Whether it’s from extended family coming to stay, too many parties at your kids’ school, or just trying to get a beautiful Thanksgiving Day dinner on the table, stress can hit at all the wrong times.
Unfortunately, these tense emotions can easily ruin your holiday spirit, turning what should be a magical time into a time of chaos.
DEALING WITH HOLIDAY STRESS
It’s important for you and your family to learn to cope well with holiday stress in order to keep the spirit of the season alive. Here are some pointers for maintaining a peaceful mind no matter what.
BE REALISTIC
The first thing you need to do to minimize holiday stress is cut some things off your to-do lists. It may seem noble to volunteer for each school party, the church play, and bringing treats to hospital patients, but you must be realistic about what you can actually get done.
Just because it’s the holiday season doesn’t mean your regular day-to-day workload lightens. Consider your time restrictions and then volunteer only for those activities you’re easily able to fit in.
KNOW YOUR LIMITS
We all want to give our children everything they need and open our homes to friends and family whenever possible, but sometimes you simply have to say no.
Being aware of your financial and emotional limits is just as crucial during this time of year as knowing your time limits.
GET ORGANIZED
After determining what you can do concerning activities, gifts, and relatives, it’s time to organize your responsibilities. Make charts of when things need to be finished and then create smaller goals to achieve step by step, rather than attempting to get it all done in one day.
ASK FOR HELP
As much as you may want to do everything yourself out of fear of feeling like a failure, it simply isn’t possible. You’re only human, after all. Never be afraid to ask for help.
Remember those charts and goals you made in the step above? Take the tasks and divide them among family members. If you have teens of driving age, for example, let them help you with some of the shopping.
When it’s all said and done, your health and that of your family is the most important thing. Reach out to Amarillo Town Club to learn how you can stay fit and healthy, even during the holidays.
