Holiday Stress

It is about this time that used to fill me with a lot of stress. I was excited about being with family and I wanted to have everything perfect. I also had so much to do all at one time. Since I was overwhelmed, I tended to snap at my family and resent the time with friends because it kept me from doing all the things I had to do. I wanted to enjoy this time and just couldn’t seem to find the time to do it.

Then I realized I needed to take a step back and think about how I needed to enjoy the season and enjoy my time with family and friends. I had to remind myself that this was more important than things.

So what if everything wasn’t perfect? Who would remember that next year? Who decides what is perfect or not? I was putting this unrealistic expectation on myself. Early in December, I listed the things I wanted to do and wrote a schedule out to accomplish each task. Instead of doing everything all at once, I could do a little at a time and enjoy the process. This also helped me decide on what was necessary and what wasn’t needed.

If I had too much to do then I needed to simplify what needed to be done. Did I really need to do everything on my list? Could I ask others for help? I needed to talk with my family to decide what really was necessary or not. Many times I decided to do some kind of decorating that really wasn’t important to my family. Maybe I could rotate doing things each year so that I wasn’t doing everything every year.

Instead of isolating myself when dealing with gifts and wrapping, I needed to value the time I spend with others. This may mean I need to get an earlier start on buying or making gifts. I started using gift bags instead of wrapping things. During meal preparations, instead of trying to do it all myself, enlist helpers and enjoy the time together.

I also realized that I needed some downtime to rest and relax. There is so much excitement and overstimulation during the holiday season that rest is very important. I schedule at least one hour a day to just rest and relax without thinking of all the things I have to do. I might read a book or go for a walk and enjoy other people’s house decorations. I might take a nap or watch a movie. This rest time is a great way to recharge.

How do you deal with holiday stress? Please share.

Photo by Jodie Walton on Unsplash