How Can You Deal With Your Holiday Stress?
When traveling with your family, it should be a wonderful
spending time together. Sharing and caring with loved one sounds
wonderful, but often there is an undercurrent of tension that
can make this a difficult and dreaded time for some. Why does
this happen, after all the holidays only come around once a year
and we deal with family tension all year round.
Families, who don't normally spend a lot of time together
because of work/school commitments or because of location, are
now spending all of several days together. People fall back into
old patterns of behavior, old arguments still simmer and issues
that have been avoided have a way of coming to the surface.
Those involved can feel angry and unappreciated, which in turn
cause more tension and so the cycle begins.
Add to the mix a host who is exhausted from weeks of shopping,
planning and decorating, teenagers who resent the invasion of
their space and time, young children who just know how to
capitalize on the fact that you have company and you have a
recipe for disaster
If you are hosting a family holiday event, you may find that the
stress of trying to create the perfect holiday season for the
family begins many weeks before the holiday actually arrives.
Eliminating holiday tension and stress would require a lifestyle
change that very few people really want to make. You can however
make it more manageable.
1. Accept that the holidays will come and there is nothing you
can do about it, be determined to be flexible and not sweat the
small stuff.
2. Acknowledge that this is not an ideal world and that people
don't change just because it is the holidays. Your in-laws may
snipe at your decor and your cooking, your teenager will want to
hang with friends than be stuck with family and everybody else
will still be the same. In the grand scheme of things it does
not matter, keep it in perspective, remember the "perfect
holiday" is different for everyone.
3. Don't shop till you drop, instead make a list and stick to
it. Holiday spending can easily get out of control and leave you
with a financial headache for the New Year. Determine your
budget and stick to it, be ruthless.
4. Don't let guilt or a misplaced sense of obligation force you
into attending parties and activities you would rather not go
to. Pick events you know you will enjoy and that means something
to you and you will have a great time.
5. Consider your expectations of others during the holidays.
When it comes to the family photo, family functions, holiday
activities, do you expect your spouse and children to be shiny
happy people for all such activities and events. Don't let a
tense situation develop just because they are not behaving the
way you think they should. Consider what they want to do and
talk about it. In summary, you should be realistic, focus on the
people you love, don't overspend, keep your sense of humor and
you will keep your sanity. Life is short and time is precious,
consider every holiday you spend with family and friends as a
wonderful gift. Most important of all...Enjoy.