Bust Holiday Stress!
The holidays will be here before you know it. Clear the way for greater joy, love and meaning this year by "busting" these sources of holiday stress:
1. TOO MUCH TO DO IN TOO LITTLE TIME
This week, set holiday priorities with your family. Discuss what traditions to keep, which to discard, and which 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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."
6. BILLS
Decide on a holiday budget for entertaining and gifts.
If credit cards make overspending too easy, stick to cash for holiday purchases.
7. 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 or www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=FL00055.
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.
8. 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. 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.
© 2004 Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC
Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC, specializes in helping working mothers create balance. She offers workshops, teleclasses and individual and group coaching. She also edits "The Balance Point," a free e=mail newsletter. Visit http://www.NormaSchmidt.com to learn more.
Latest News
Early Sales May Not Mean Strong Holidays, Group Says (Update1) Bloomberg - 1 (Bloomberg) -- A post-Thanksgiving bump may not be enough to rescue what might be the worst holiday season for US retailers in six years. ... Holidays still a boon for Alaska retailers Black Friday Results: Holidays off to a Good Start Shoppers Search Out Black Friday Deals |
Animoto brings the holidays to video CNET News, CA - According to the company, the new holiday feature will use a snowscape to set the scene for the greeting and with the help of its new text feature, ... Animoto Announces Animoto Holiday Greetings; Video Creation Site ... |
Extra Cash for the Holidays or Anytime With the Launch of Diamonds ... MarketWatch - Extra cash just in time for the holidays or anytime has never been so easy, with the online system put in place by the subsidiary of Gold & Diamond Source ... |
ReliaTech Rings in Holidays With Deals for Its Bay Area Customers MarketWatch - This holiday season marks the accomplishment of several goals at ReliaTech. "We are especially gratified to have had such a successful year, as ReliaTech's ... |
 HispanicBusiness.com | E-tailers expect 8% bump for holidays Atlanta Journal Constitution, USA - By Bob Keefe If there’s any good news for retailers this holiday season, it may be online. While retailers brace for declines in sales at traditional ... Video: Online Retailers See Monday As Black Friday Online spending forecasted to be flat through Holidays Cyber Sales Mark 2nd Launch Pad for Holidays |
 BBC News | Holiday firms prepare for package tour slump by slashing summer ... guardian.co.uk, UK - Chief executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said deep industry-wide cuts in the number of holidays offered in Britain, combined with the collapse into ... Thomas Cook confident consumers will still go on holiday Travel Firm Hot Prospects Thomas Cook reports profits rise |
Just in time for holidays, top chefs release tomes San Francisco Chronicle, USA - With people returning to the kitchen to save money, these recipe and reference books make ideal gifts for the holiday season. ... |
Hero Astronauts Offer Out-Of-This-World Club for the Holidays MarketWatch - Unlike other 'flavor-of-the-month' services, the Astronaut Autograph Club makes for the perfect gift that will be long-treasured after the holidays and for ... |
Cellular South Welcomes HTC Touch Diamond in Time for the Holidays MarketWatch - RIDGELAND, Miss., Dec 02, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Cellular South, a leader in wireless solutions and innovation, today announced the availability of ... |
AMA Phoenix Invites Valley Residents to Celebrate the Holidays at ... MarketWatch - -- Good music -- Piping hot hors d'oeuvres -- Fine wine from around the globe. There will be a wine-tasting of three- to-four specially selected varieties. ... |
Resources
-
DIY Gift and Craft fun shape box Templates for every Holiday
Unique gift wrapping and creative craft ideas with fun shape box templates for birthdays, Holidays and occasions. Fun printable, versatile and economical do it yourself solutions for kids of all ages. Free craft template project here.
-
Holiday Fitness Tips, How to lose weight during the Holidays
How to lose weight and stay on your fitness program throughout the Holidays.
-
Mixed drink recipes for the Holidays
Champagne punch recipes, mulled wine, stylish bar drinks, eggnog recipes, flaming coffee drinks, festive jello shots, and homemade liqueur recipes including kahlua, Irish coffee, apple, blackberry, apricot, cranberry and more.
-
onlinestorebiz - Online Gifts and Collectables
Our website offers gifts and collectables for various occasions such as Holidays, weddings, birthdays, wedding anniversary, graduations, kids and other special occasions.