Make Your Holiday Celebration Less Hectic

The holidays are hectic. Everyone's schedule seems to get filled and the pressure to make lasting impressions can cause one to fret. The holidays should be about sharing, spending time together and enjoying each other's company. To do this, you don't need to buy an expensive gift or have everything just so to make a lasting impression. Take a deep breath and consider making a few changes this holiday season to ease the pressure and make it more enjoyable for everyone, including you.

Instead of having the pressure of cooking an entire feast for family and friends, consider making the meal a pitch in style. Assign different courses or food category to each family member. This way, all the work doesn't have to be done by one cook. Sharing in the enjoyment means sharing in the workload as well. Let people know you enjoy their dish and ask them to make it so everyone can know how great it is.

Buying gifts is often a pressure filled and pricey endeavor. This year suggest to everyone attending that you are going to play a gift giving game. Set a price limit and let them know the gift should be gender neutral. Each person should wrap their gift without a nametag and bring it to the celebration. Use a deck of cards and pull out enough cards, one for each member in attendance, making sure they are in numerical order. Shuffle the cards, each person picks a card, the highest number goes first choosing a gift. They proceed to open the gift. The next person can take that gift or choose an unopened gift. If the opened gift is chosen, then the original gift holder goes again. Continue until all gifts are given. This works well if you don't know the number of people in attendance until the last minute. You can also use gag gifts or white elephant gifts from home without having to purchase anything.

If you family is small and the idea of gift giving is rotating around a twenty-dollar gift each year, consider suggesting a new tradition. Why not celebrate together by donating the money to a charity and discussing the charities together as a family on Christmas. Even better, why not donate your time as a family to a charity. Being able to share with others will make the holiday much more special.

Does your family feel the need to give a gift no matter what? Try putting a stipulation on it. Like it has to be something you made. This could be an ornament or a food item if you aren't crafty. If finding the time to make something seems like too much pressure, consider giving gifts to each other from items you already own. Making the giving that much more special. If finding the time is a concern, set aside a family crafting night or even make Christmas morning the time to craft together. Spending the time together will make lasting memories.

Consider giving the gift of a compliment. Spend time on Christmas writing a letter to family members about why you appreciate them. Or maybe write on the topic of what their best qualities are. Giving the gift of love and appreciation will mean more than any object you could buy.

Finally, if you can't get by without buying a gift, consider suggesting a name trade for gift giving. That way each person is only responsible for one gift as well as receiving one gift. Making it less hectic by shopping for one instead of many.