The holidays are meant to be a joyful time, but for many of us, they've turned into a stressful race to an imaginary finish line. Between parties, baking, shopping, and entertaining, there always seems to be one more thing that needs to get done. And all of this holiday stress affects our pets, too.

Cats especially are creatures of habit and don't like to have their routines disrupted, but all pets  pick up on our stress, and your stress can actually make your pet sick. I highly recommend managing your own stress during the holidays and take some time to enjoy the season rather than constantly rushing through the days - your pets will thank you for it.

Here are some tips to help your pets have a stress-free holiday season:

Try to maintain regular routines as much as possible. Feed, walk, cuddle and play with your pets at the same time you always do.  

Give extra cuddles. Chances are, you'll be spending more time away from home, whether it's shopping, going to parties, or even traveling. Make up for this by spending extra time with your pets when you are home.

Give calming remedies. Spirit Essences offers Holiday Stress Stopper, a variation of their popular and highly effective Stress Stopper formula, which has added ingredients to help cope with the increased hustle and bustle during the holidays. Composure Calming Treats may also help.

Create a safe room. If you're going to be entertaining and your pet is not the social kind, create a safe room for her where she can be away from all the commotion. Make sure she has a litter box, toys, and water in the room with her. Periodically visit her in the room even while you have guests in the house, and reassure her.

Keep your pets safe from holiday hazards. Use common sense if you're putting up a tree. Pets and Christmas trees can co-exist if you take precautions. Mistletoe is extremely toxic to pets, poinsettas are also toxic. Christmas lilies are deadly for cats. For other holiday hazards, read More Toxic Than Poinsettas: Top 5 Holiday Pet Hazards.

To ensure that everyone will have a safe and happy holiday season, manage your own stress, and help your pets manage their stress. You may just find that by slowing down a little, you and your pets will enjoy the season that much more.  

(c) Ingrid King 2012  

I nabbed the photo above from Richard Branson's Facebook page because I loved the quote so much. And okay, I couldn't help embellish it a little, because how cool would it be if Allegra and Ruby actually got to hang with Richard Branson?

But back to the quote. I consider myself fortunate that I love what I do for a living, and much of my work feels like play. I love working from home, and being my own boss. But with all this freedom come some challenges when it comes to what is known in popular parlance as "work life balance." I can't remember the last time I worked an eight hour day, and I definitely can't remember the last time when I took an entire weekend off. But does it really matter, when I love my work?

Richard Branson's quote made me realize that it doesn't. Work or play - it really is all living. What does matter is that you do everything with a sense of joy. Robert Frost once said "When work becomes play, and play becomes your work, your life unfolds." This has certainly been true for me - and I consider myself very fortunate that I've been able to build this life for myself.

This does not mean that you should become one-dimensional. As much as I love writing and spending time online connecting with my readers, it can't be all I do. There is more to life than sitting in front of a computer. Ultimately, it is about balance. But perhaps, that balance is easier to achieve when you stop compartmentalizing your life, and instead, work on harmonizing all aspects of your life so that you don't have to think about it in terms of work or play, busy time or down time, time spent online or offline, but rather, you think of all of it as an expression of your soul's desire - and it all becomes living.

There are a lot of different ways to go about living your life with a sense of joy. Richard Branson has written numerous books about how he became successful in business and in life. Your definition of success may not be the same as Mr. Branson's, but his advice applies to more than just building a successful business. If you need a jump start to living a joyful life, consider the following quotes attributed to Mr. Branson:

• I enjoy every single minute of my life.
• The majority of things that one could get stressed about, they're not worth getting stressed about.
• I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive, then I believe you are better off doing nothing.
• There is noone to follow, there is nothing to copy.
• If you can indulge in your passion, life will be far more interesting than if you're just working.
• I love what I do because every single day I'm learning something new.

If work and play aren't quite the same for you, start small. If you could do anything, what would it be? Take one small step toward it. It may be as simple as connecting with one other person who is already doing what you'd like to be doing, and taking them out to lunch.

I realize that Allegra, Ruby and I will probably never actually hang out with Richard Branson, but hey, a girl can dream, can't she?

(c) Ingrid King, 2012. All Rights Reserved.