Preparing for a Stress Free Holiday!

Now that we are firmly into November and the holiday season is nearly upon us, I wanted to spend a little time talking about holiday stress and how to manage it! The end of November thru December is often a very exciting and busy time due to the multitude of holidays scattered throughout the season. With busy times often comes stress, and I for one am definitely someone who feels it this time of year. Sometimes the pressure of wanting to please large numbers of people, mostly friends and family, can just build up. This time of year isn’t cheap, we all want to buy presents for our loved ones and the purchases add up causing mental strain and stress on our purses. Then there are the gatherings, and I don’t know about you, but if you get more than two members of my family together at a time, conflict often arrises over the silliest issues! It’s my ongoing mission every year to manage this stress the best that I can, so that I can enjoy the season instead of stressing about things beyond my control! So, I put together some easy steps, tips really on how to manage the holiday stress before it begins and during the thick of it! Hope these tips help you as much as they help me!

#1 Have an Attitude of Gratitude

• Get your head in the right place before the stress begins!
• Make your gratitude list and keep it with you!
• Focus on what the season is really about- being grateful for your life, your family and friends and celebrating that together!

#2 Have a Plan

• Know what is going on when it comes to events, parties, obligations etc
• Don’t assume someone is going to tell you, make an effort to find information (people are busy after all, especially now!)
• Know who is doing what and what you are expected to be doing for certain events.
• Make lists for everything so you don’t forget anything.
• Review your recipes (if you’re cooking) and make a schedule for when you will start them!

#3 Be Flexible

• When it comes to getting large numbers of people together during the wintery months, understand that plans often change at the last-minute, so don’t get worked up about it if that happens to you!
• Don’t fight the change, just roll with it!

#4 Prepare Yourself

• If you know there are people, events or situations that will stress you out, avoid them or be prepared for them.
• Try to enter tough situations with a positive mindset, often your negative thoughts going into these situations can blow things out of proportion and stress you out much more than the situation itself.
• Don’t let anyone rain on your parade- these are your holidays too and you have a right to enjoy them!

#5 Spread Happiness

• Go out of your way to help others and make them happy.
• This sort of behavior will catch on and put those around you at ease as well.
• Pay it forward as much as possible!

I sincerely hope that these tips help you to manage your stress during this wonderful time of year! If you have any additional tips or tricks you think I missed, please let me know in the comments below! I need all the help I can get- that’s for sure!

xoxo,