The holidays can bring out both the best and the worst in people, but there are a few simple things you can do to keep your best at the forefront.
In these trying economic times, it can be hard to keep perspective on the spirit of the season. Regardless of your religious preference, the holiday season is meant to be a time of reflection, giving and good-will.
- Prioritize your gift-giving.When we make our giving lists, we can find ourselves overcome with a desire to give to every member of our family and community, stretching out to the furthest branches of our genealogy and social circles. Keep your gift-giving closer to home and focus first on the people who are closest to you – children, spouses, and friends you see on a regular basis.
- Make a budget and stick to it.Most of us only have a set amount of income to spend on any given expense, and the holiday season can stretch that income to the breaking point. Figure out how much you can comfortably afford to spend, factoring in extra food expenses for gatherings, and divide that appropriately among the members of your list. Don’t let yourself go over your limit, even a little!
- Avoid using credit as much as possible.The holiday high-spirits of December can be followed quickly by the sticker-shock of credit card bills in January and February. Limit your use of credit during your shopping trips to avoid paying for the season.
- Homemade is from the heart.While most hand-made gifts are normally started months ahead of time, baking cookies and other treats for family and friends should be left for the week before the holidays. Try to use the best ingredients you can – food is love! Decorative cookie tins can be purchased at a variety of discount stores.
- Don’t let yourself over-eat. One of the biggest stressors around the holiday season is at the waist-line. Just because a huge buffet or meal is laid out for a gathering does not mean that you are obligated to eat all of it. Try to eat proteins like ham and turkey only with vegetables, then wait at least an hour before eating anything with starch. Eating proteins and starches at the same time can crash your digestive system, leading to the dreaded “post-feast coma”.
- Keep Christmas Day low-key. Despite the desire to hurry through presents and then serve a big meal in the afternoon, consider taking a different approach: make a breakfast casserole the night before, put it in the oven during the opening of presents, and then determine to stay at home for the rest of the day, especially if you have children. The following day, Boxing Day, has traditionally been the time to go visiting friends and relatives.
- Ease up on the desserts and alcohol. While we associate the holidays with eating sweets and candy, it is not necessary to gorge ourselves on every confection that’s offered. An overdose of sugar in your system can actually create a depressive crash within a few hours, and that’s no way to spend the holidays.
- Keep the big difficult news for some other time. It’s a natural urge to want to use the momentum of the season to share big news with the family such as engagements, cohabitation, pregnancy and sexuality. Save it! Let the occasion be about family as a whole, and spring the big announcements later. Sudden emotional surprises and major family gatherings are probably one of the biggest reasons that so many people have odd emotional issues around this time of year.
The copyright of the article The Low-Stress Holiday in Relaxation & Stress Reduction is owned by Dawn Ellis-Lopez. Permission to republish The Low-Stress Holiday in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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