HOW TO HAVE A STRESS-FREE HOLIDAY SEASON

The holiday season can be a stressful period. The pressure of being a perfect host/hostess, planning and cooking elaborate meals, or even meeting up to the expectation of those around you can be breaknecking indeed.

In terms of finances, holidays can also be equally draining. The desire and anxiety to celebrate the way others are celebrating can plunge you into a financial fix that can crossover into the new year with you.

So, would you like to have a stress-free holiday season? How would you like to have an enjoyable holiday season devoid of the usual numerous holiday pressures? These 7 tips are sure to be of immense help;

KEEP THE CELEBRATION SIMPLE – It is normal to want an elaborate celebration for the Christmas break; to desire to go all out to make it memorable for our family and loved ones. However, the fact is that you do not need to have an elaborate celebration in order to make it fun-filled. Rather than choosing to prepare an eight-course meal, you can choose to prepare a two-course meal and yet make it memorable for both you and your family. The whole essence of the Christmas season is to take a much-needed break from the stresses of life. Heaving off these stresses only to replace them with the stress of taking on too much tasking activities for the season is surely not the way to go. But keeping it simple would surely go a long way in ensuring that you have a stress-free holiday season.

PLAN AND ORGANIZE YOUR TASKS – One common thing with the festive season is the numerous tasks that we have to attend to. At this time, it is common to forget tasks if not well-planned. Take a few hours to plan and organize your tasks for the holiday season. What do you plan to cook? Are there activities/events/parties that you plan to host or attend? What do you need to do to ensure a smooth flow of activities for the holiday season? Jot down your replies and work with them.

ASK AND WELCOME HELP – Most people find it difficult to ask for help or accept help when it is offered. Resist the urge to do this. In fact, it is encouraged that you include your family through the whole process, starting from decorating your home to the Christmas meals being prepared. Another upside to this is that you get to spend more time with your family even while doing the tasks.

DO NOT EXCEED YOUR BUDGET – Have you taken the time to create a budget for the holiday season? Have you pictured what you want the Christmas holiday to look like? Without a budget, things can spiral out of control and you find yourself incurring charges that you do not expect. To avoid this, make a point of listing your budget for each item or activity that you need for your Christmas break. Ensure you follow your budget to the latter. Choose to spend wisely.

SPEND TIME WITH PEOPLE, NOT WORK – It is the holiday season; the best period to spend adequate time with your family. Rather than spend this period cooped up alone in the kitchen preparing meals upon meals, why not settle for a simple dish, then sprawl on a settee and binge-watch your favorite movies.

Sometimes, simple can be more fun. At the end of the day, what makes more sense is not the lonely time you spend in the kitchen (except you intend to have your family pitch in as well), but the little laughter here and there; the teasing, the gifts, and the thoughtful considerations. Don’t get so caught up with all the tasks that need to be done that you end up not enjoying the people around you and the little moments.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE DOING – As much as Christmas is a time of giving and showing love to others, remember It is important that you show love to yourself first and foremost. If showing love to yourself means taking quick power naps, reading funny stories/books, biking or racing etcetera, then do it unapologetically. You need to protect yourself from withering off; from giving so much of yourself away that you have nothing left to give. You are better able to help others if you stop from time to time to recharge before continuing.

FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL – Truth be told, you may not get to have the perfect Christmas holiday that you pictured. Your family or even friends may end up driving you crazy – even the best ones do these anyway. The milkman or delivery guy may just disappoint. Your children may misbehave at the dinner table or your spouse may get antsy and yell for no apparent reason.

At these moments, what do you do? Do you allow the chaos and disorder to stress you out? Capital NO! You can do much more than that. You can focus on the things you can control and minimize stress. Always bear in mind that there are only two things you can ever really control, and that is; your thoughts and actions. You can put in your best efforts at training your children, but you probably can’t control their attitudes especially in such events. You will be doing yourself a whole lot of good if you refuse to be burdened by other people’s problems and let go of what you cannot control.

Read Also: 25 Ideas For A Fun-filled Holiday Season