PREVENT THE HOLIDAY STRESS
The amount of stress you experience not only affects you; but those around you as well.
It’s unrealistic to expect no stress at all during the holidays. But how can you ensure you don’t have too much stress, so that you can enjoy some of the Christmas spirit? If you know you are prone to stress, plan well ahead.
This week we will help you to prevent some factors that can create stress “before” the holidays. Next week, we will provide some pointers to manage the inevitable stress “during” the day of the holiday celebration.
PUT INTO ACTION
Share Your To-Do List! Remember, friends and family generally love to help. You may not be used to asking for help but get out of your comfort zone and try it. Receive the help gratefully.
Do Less! The spirit of the season can sometimes lead even the most practical people to overcommit their time. When you’re looking at your calendar or to-do list, be fair to yourself. Determine what’s most important to you, and allow yourself to say no to other demands on your time.
Communicate Your Financial Boundaries Clearly! Whether money is tight this year, you’re working toward a savings goal or you want to cut gift-giving costs permanently, be transparent with your loved ones about your spending expectations and that you want to change the way your family gives gifts. Sharing personal financial details can be uncomfortable, so it may help to start by suggesting a dollar amount that works for your budget. Be open to negotiation!
Start A New Gifting Tradition! It’s perfectly acceptable for your traditions to change over time and to create new traditions to fit the evolving lifestyle of you, your family and friends. Try one of the following Gift Giving methods:
- The Secret Santa where everyone in a group draws a name and anonymously buys a gift for just that person.
- White elephant gift exchange where everyone buys one present under a certain dollar amount, and on the holiday each person selects one wrapped gift from the pile.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (‘God is with us’). -Isaiah 7:14