Holiday Stress Reduction Tips

Ahhh the Holidays. When we were younger the beginning of the Holiday season meant family, presents, food, and memories. Now that we are adults it means the same thing only now we are responsible for brining all those factors together. This, understandably, can cause a lot of Holiday stress.

If we are not careful, our once beloved Holidays can turn into what feels like torture. There are some common reasons why people experience a high stress level in the Holiday season. There are also some very easy ways at combating the stress and returning our Holidays back into what they were meant to be...enjoyable.

Financial Obligations

It is no secret that one of the biggest contributors of stress is money. During the Holidays we find ourselves with financial obligations that we're not used to. Just think of the long list of people that you have to shop for this year. With overspending comes guilt and anxiety and ultimately stress. There is no way out of getting gifts for all these people. What do you do?

Have a game plan. Instead of just having a list of those you need to buy for, create a list of what you will be purchasing them prior to you going out shopping. This will take a little research on your part. But that is what the internet is for people.

Start your planning early. Just take a few minutes each day and think of that perfect gift idea for everyone on your list. Now that you have the idea, start looking on line to find the best deals possible. By preparing for your shopping this way you will know beforehand exactly how much your gift giving will cost you this Holiday season. This will take the unknown out of your financial obligations this Holiday season which will in turn cut down on the stress of it all.

Family Obligations

The Holidays are about getting together with and enjoying our extended family. But what if your relationship with your family is not what you would call "perfect"? Anticipation of being around family for the Holidays is a big stress driver.

A good tip is to think back to past Holidays and try to see exactly when things stopped being cozy and started being dreadful. If you have relatives that are particularly hard to deal with around the Holiday season the best thing to do is to limit the amount of time you spend with them. Plan this out beforehand. If they are coming over your house on Christmas day, there is no need to get together the week before Christmas also.

Everyone wants to be able to come together with their extended family and enjoy the Holidays. By being realistic about how much you can honestly take, you will find the time that you do spend together to be a lot more bearable.

Time Demands

A lot of stress around the Holiday is derived from the sheer number of things we think we are "obligated" to do. We want everything to be perfect. We want to bake our own deserts and make our table's centerpiece and don't forget about sending a Holiday greeting card to everyone we've ever known.

This stuff starts to stack up quickly and before we know it we are running around like crazy people trying to squeeze things in where the space does not allow. Have you ever heard of cutting corners?

Here are a few things you can do. Send greeting cards only to the people that you actually stay in contact with or start an every other year rotation of sending them/not sending them. Another tip for that is to not include a personal note in every single card you send. This will cut down on the amount of time it takes to address the cards.

As for the cooking? Buy your deserts at the store to cut down on the amount of cooking time that will go into your Holiday meal. There are even stores now that precook the entire meal for you and you pick them up the day before the Holiday. They are fabulous and no one would ever know that you didn't prepare the meal from scratch.

A good idea is to plan out your time on paper. This will give you a realistic idea of what you are able to do, and how much time you will need to get it done. This way you can be sure that you are not over extending your time.

Get Back To The Basics

A lot of times, the stress that we feel around the Holiday season is due to the fact that we have lost sight of what the Holidays are actually about. We spend more time worrying about buying all the gifts, creating the meals and trying to make everything perfect than we do enjoying ourselves.

Try to step back and remember why we are doing all these things. Figure out what the Holidays mean to you. Stop thinking of everything as an obligation and get back to the idea of why we keep the traditions alive.

It seems that there is a trend involved in limiting the Holiday stress...planning.