Holidays are a great time to relax, unwind and spend time with family. The most wonderful time of the year is often filled with high-stress moments from gift shopping, to hosting, holiday traffic, long queues at the mall, passive-aggressive family members, family fights etc. Then now there’s also COVID. A lot of the time, we’re usually quite busy on the days leading up to the holidays that we may forget to intentionally plan and make purchases then we end up being emotionally and financially overwhelmed. Holidays should be restorative and joyful so let’s give ourselves and others some grace this season by being intentional, planning ahead and making choices that you can easily live with. Here are my tips on staying stress-free during the holidays.
1. Have A Clear Vision Of Your Ideal Christmas
When I say clear, I mean CLEAR! Ask yourself all the questions. If you’re hosting, who are you hosting and for how long? If not, how long are you willing to be away from your home? Drinks and food menu? If you’re gifting people, what are you buying for each of them? Share this vision with your friends and family that you choose to spend the holidays with and ask them what they visualize so that you can choose to honor their desires if it makes sense for youIf something comes up that will jeopardize what you’d like, give yourself permission to say no.
2. Make Your List & Check It Twice
The holidays are notorious for shopping and gift giving. Make sure you have a detailed shopping and gifting list as well as a budget that accommodates this. Be sure to make planned and intentional purchases and if you’re buying something that might be in demand, shop earlier so that you don’t miss out.
3. Set Boundaries & Say No
Where you go, how long you stay and who you choose to spend your time with is up to YOU. Before making any commitments, be clear on what your limits are whether in travelling or hosting. How long are you willing to stay with your extended family or how long are you willing to have them over. If you have a spouse or significant other, make sure to talk things through with them and be on the same page. Remember that you can also say no. Say no to social gatherings you don’t want to go to, no to overindulgence and impulse spending that will make you regret come January, no to projects or tasks that will stretch you too thin or take more energy than you have.
4. Focus On What You Can Control
The only things you can control are your thoughts and actions. Anything else is beyond your control. Whether it’s unnecessary comments from passive aggressive relatives, or your kids’ attitudes. The sooner you realize and accept that you can’t control this, the easier it will be for you to reduce stress. Let go of what you can’t control and focus on what you can instead. It might help to write down a list of what’s stressing you and decide from the list what is within your control and let the rest go.
5. Stay Active, Buy Not Too Active
With all the holiday feasting and rest, your body can feel so heavy once we’re back from the holidays. While it is a time to rest and reconnect with loved ones, remember to keep your body moving so that you stay healthy and you’re not so badly off come January. This can be by taking a walk, playing games or swimming. Whatever you can do to keep your body active, do that and enjoy it.
6. Avoid Family Conflict
Y’all know nobody can press your buttons like family does. Since you know your family best, you know what actions and/or comments trigger you. Keep those in mind before you meet them and have a strategy to deal with that. It could be saying you don’t want to talk about it or even walking away. Your peace of mind is important.
7. Rest, Take Time Off Social Media & Remember Self Care
It’s the holidays, relax and don’t feel guilty about it! Take time to rest because you need it and you deserve it after working so hard all year long. Go on a social media or technology cleanse and reduce your screen time. Bond with family and spend time with yourself. And please for the life of me, don’t forget about self-care whatever that means to you and whatever is accessible to you -be it taking a nap, journaling, doing skin care, whatever it is, do it!
Happy Holidays my loves! And remember enjoyment -tis the season!