Do You Hate Christmas? How to Be a Holiday Survivor

Google "hate Christmas" and you'll get almost 2 million hits. Google "holiday blues" and you get just under 1.5 million hits. If the hype on Christmas aims to have us believe that the holiday season is as pretty as a vintage Christmas picture, then why all the stress and anger and depression and petty (or not so petty) hatred? There's something wrong with this picture. Could it be that all the hype on Christmas is just that: Hype?

If the Christmas season seems to be depleting your reserves of good will towards your fellow human beings; if you catch yourself thinking uncharitable thoughts about George Bailey or Kris Kringle; or should you experience the urge - however fleeting - to pull the plug on Rudolph's bright red bulb, it is time to take a deep breath. You can make it through Christmas. You, too, can be a Christmas survivor.

And here is how:

Make a budget: Always budget for your weekly and monthly expenses, especially during the Christmas season, when things can so easily get out of control. Money problems will cause frustration and depression. You don't want to spend the new year trying to dig yourself out of debt. Avoid the money pitfall by planning your holiday spending and sticking to your plan.

Got your budget? Cool! Now pare it down: There's always room for less spending (and more savings), and you can still enjoy the fun of the season. For example: Take a look at your Christmas card list. Do you have to send a card to every single person on that list? If you do, does it have to be that ultra-flashy musical card for 6.99? Maybe the one for 1.99 will do. Or maybe you could make this Christmas special by designing and printing your own cards. Sound a tad Scrooge-y to you? Believe me, it's not. After all, Dickens tells us that Scrooge renounced avarice and embraced the spirit of Christmas, not that he went bankrupt while he was at it.

Don't underestimate semantics: There is a big difference between "need" and "want". Do you really need that bauble? And that knickknack? Are you sure? Would you like to put them on your wish list for now and see how you feel about them a couple days later? Impulse spending can add up faster than you think. Are we pinching pennies here? Yes, as a matter of fact. Pennies, remember? The stuff dollars are made of?

Dare to swim upstream: Avoid crowded malls. Avoid last-minute shopping. Does all that pushing and shoving and panic buying have anything to do with peace and charity? Don't shop like a maniac under the stress of enforced cheer and deadlined obligation. Take the time to think about the people you cherish and what would be an appropriate gift for them. Plan early. Plan lovingly. Spend thoughtfully.

Lower your expectations: Are you fretting about how nothing in your life can ever compare to the picture-perfect image of blissful, wrinkle-free, smudge-free, dirty-dishes-free Christmas in TV ads and movies and magazines and what-have-you? Stop now! There is no such thing as a perfect anything. Christmas is what you make of it and it is up to you to decide what niche of this vast cultural edifice you and yours want to occupy. And then forget about idealized conceptualizations of Christmas and just live it and enjoy it. This is one of those cases where lowering your expectations is actually a good thing. Go back to the very beginning. It all started with a baby in a manger, not with the latest fad in plush toys.

Sources:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/35124.php
http://counseling.suite101.com/article.cfm/christmas_depression
http://www.firstscience.com/home/articles/humans/christmas-winter-darkness-stress-and-depression_40181.html