| |
Bust Holiday Stress!
By Norma Schmidt
Holidays days got you down?
Clear the way for greater joy, love and meaning this year by "busting" these sources of holiday stress:
TOO MUCH TO DO IN TOO LITTLE TIME
* In early November, set holiday priorities with your family. Discuss which traditions to keep, which to discard, and any new traditions to try.
* Make a holiday to-do list NOW and create a realistic schedule for when to accomplish each item.
* Avoid overscheduling.
* Ask family members for help with holiday tasks.
LONG LINES IN STORES
* Shop via catalog or Internet, and avoid stores on weekends.
* If you're shopping with small children, take along snacks, books, toys or other items to make waiting in line more pleasant. Or, if you're sufficiently uninhibited, sing a holiday song with your child.
* If you're shopping alone, use waiting time to relax and and center yourself with meditation or prayer. Try directing your attention to your breathing at your belly. Or practice observing the people around you through the eyes of compassion, without judging. Give thanks or pray for healing, peace, or other concerns close to your heart.
DIFFICULT RELATIVES
* Take some quiet time to develop a plan for taking care of yourself around relatives who "get your goat."
* Invest in yourself by using a therapist to help create a plan to protect your boundaries.
CRANKY KIDS
* Think "low key" for a happy celebration with little ones. Remember that your small child thrives on your undivided attention and has a limited capacity to adjust to adults' "needs" to hurry.
* Protect your child's naptime and playtime.
* Spend "floor-time" with your child every day.
COMMERCIALISM
* Create family traditions that involve giving to those in need.
* Focus on low-cost or no-cost holiday traditions.
* Help keep children's expectations realistic. For example, you might say "You'll get about the same amount of presents as you did on your birthday."
BILLS
* Decide on a holiday budget for entertaining and gifts.
* If credit cards make overspending too easy, stick to cash for holiday purchases.
LOSS
* If you have lost a loved one, the holidays may intensify your grief. Explore ways to cope at www.griefnet.org/library/articles/hfa-tips.html
* If "holiday blues" persist or seem particularly intense, don't hesitate to reach out for professional help. Your physician or clergyperson can give you a referral.
MAJOR ILLNESS
• Save your energy when purchasing gifts. If you can, shop by Internet or catalog to avoid tiring trips to the mall. Or, get all your gifts from one store. For example, you might do all your shopping at your favorite book store or gourmet food shop, or get everyone gift certificates to your local movie theater.
• If you're too tired or ill to put out all your usual holiday decorations, ask for help or limit your decorations to the few items that mean the most to you.
• If you typically host a holiday party or dinner for your family, consider letting someone else be the host this year. If you attend a holiday gathering, give yourself permission to arrive late and/or leave early.
POST-HOLIDAY LET-DOWN
* Spread out the fun at least through the end of school vacation by planning an outing or a fun time at home for each day.
* Consider having a "12th Night Party" to end the 12 traditional days of Christmas. Bring out the last of the cookies, pour everyone some eggnog, sing carols and invited everyone to tell what they loved most about your holiday celebrations.
A little forethought and planning can go a long way towards making you glad the holidays are coming - instead of just being glad when they're over. Your wisdom holds the key to holiday joy.
[ Submitted with ArticleSubmitter Pro - http://www.articlesubmitterpro.com]
About the Author
Norma Schmidt is a mother of two and a former Lutheran minister with experience as a pastor, campus minister and cancer center chaplain. She leads workshops on parenting and on living with serious illness. Get her free report, "55 Free and Low-Cost Ways to Have the Best Holiday Season EVER" and read her other articles at http://www.parentcafeonline.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/17649.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/17649.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| Some other articles by Norma Schmidt | |
| |
|
