The Holidays and Stress

Good grief!  Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is upon us.  Since November 9, I have had one illness after another and now I'm fighting bronchitis!  Why I haven't been posting.  Just doing what is absolutely necessary.  My house is a site for FEMA, the freeze and fridge are empty and all I want is to breath.  On top of my illness, my son has had to have one appointment after another for his teeth!  The boy is in for a world of hurt the next few weeks, poor kid.

Christmas is stressful enough under the best conditions, but add to that illness and you have yourself a plan for disaster.  So how does one get through it with their sanity intact?

The first thing is to just breath (someone, PLEASE bring me my inhaler so I can!). 

Come on, people, think!  Yes, it is wonderful to receive pretty and useful gifts that are elaborating wrapped, but do you really want the bills from the credit card company in January?  With today's economy, wouldn't it be great to not have the bills flowing in next month.  Set a budget.  Buy only what you have to buy for whom you have to buy.  In our family, we do the White Elephant game.  We buy a gift for the little ones, 12 and under, but over 12, if they wish, does the White Elephant game and man, in our family, it can get quite violent at times.  But, we have a blast and in the end, we all end up with what we wanted.

Instead of a huge dinner, try finger food.  Sandwiches are a great idea!  Add some chips, dips and a platter of homemade cookies and you are set.  The idea is to reduce your stress, not add to it, and creating a huge dinner is just going to add to the stress.  Or instead of dinner, try making breakfast/brunch.  There are some wonderful websites that have great ideas for make-a-head dishes.  Here is one that offers some great ideas.
Make-Ahead: Crockpot Breakfast Apple Cobbler sounds wonderful and anytime I can use my crock pot, I'm happy!

This is a no-brainer! Play some Christmas music.  I mean, really play some Christmas music..crank up the speakers and blast away!!  In the process, sing a few at the top of your lungs.  Who cares what the neighbors think, have fun, let loose and allow the stress to drift into the world of notes and chords.

Gather up the family one night and go look at the lights.  Every town/city has Christmas lights up, or has a parade.  Cook up a thermos of hot chocolate, bundle up and spend some time with the ones you love, looking at the lights.  It will give you ideas for next year, too.  OR, go to church and allow God to renew you.  And, take the family with you, this way, you all benefit from it.

There are many ideas, none of which are new, that a person can do to reduce the stress of the holiday.  Stress is going to happen no matter what you do.  But, you can attempt to reduce it a bit. And, when it does happen, laugh it off.  Is it really going to matter in 5, 10 or 15 years that the ham was dry and crisp?  Is it going to matter that a platter of whatever hit the floor and Fido had his dinner, too?  Is it going to matter, are people going to remember how your house looked?  Or will they remember the love, the friendship, the family and the memories that are made?  There really is no need to stress about the holidays.  The important stuff, the stuff that really matters is that you have fun, enjoy the moment, laugh, and above all, love the ones you are with.

Merry Christmas, everyone!