Stress Free Holiday Tips....
The holiday season is a special time for enjoying our family and friends and celebrating traditions. However, it can also be a time for unrelenting stress.
Everyone wants and pictures themselves having a Norman Rockwell type of holiday celebration. It may seem picture perfect, maybe, but is it realistic?
Identify the special things that each of the family have contributed to make your celebrations special in the past that make it unique from year to year. These traditions can be the framework for keeping stress levels down. Whether it's assigning that special daughter-in law to make her awesome 'deviled eggs' or your moms' corn casserole, enlist those people to continue the tradition this year, so that no one person is expected to do everything, thus keeping it simple and stress free! Their part, no matter what it may be is a 'gift of themselves' that would be missed otherwise and add to the day's festivities.
Here are some tips for keeping a stress free holiday:
1. If sending Christmas cards is a priority, make it a family project. Write a Christmas letter requiring contributions from every family member. Have the grown-ups address the envelopes and the kids put on the stamps.
2. If you enjoy getting all the extended family together for a holiday meal, ask everyone to bring a dish. Also, consider purchasing all or part of your holiday meal from your favorite restaurant or cafeteria. Engage all family members in the clean-up duties.
3. If holiday treats are a priority, farm out the preparation. Fill pretty holiday tins with goodies from your favorite bakery.
4. Start early with holiday decorating. Consider putting the Christmas tree up right after Thanksgiving. You won't be so rushed and can enjoy it longer.
5. Make a gift list and utilize catalogs and the phone. Hire older kids to wrap your presents. Consider gifts that don't require shopping, such as magazine subscriptions or tickets to sporting events.
6.Open some gifts on Christmas Eve to keep the children from becoming overwhelmed on Christmas morning. If possible, exchange gifts with extended family either before or after Christmas Day.
7. After all the gifts are opened and the meal is now a memory, treat yourselves to the deserts and pastries by having an afternoon tea. The female members of my family love to gather together, while the men-folk watch the games or nap. After choosing a special tea cup from the collection, we sit, sip and chat and catch up with each other. The men soon begin to slip into the room and join us enticed by our laughing and talking! This is a great stress reliever for everyone!
8.Hire an Organizer before the Holidays to declutter and organize guest rooms, pantry, kitchen and storage areas!
9. Celebrate the true meaning of the season!
