Do you breeze through the Christmas holidays, especially the first 3 weeks of December leading up to Christmas day, or do you quickly feel frazzled and find the Christmas holidays too stressful?
Right about now you are probably still feeling pretty good about Christmas. Heck, its weeks away. You have plenty of time, right?
Or do you?
Have you heard of the 12 Pains of Christmas?
If Christmas to you means spending lots of time entertaining, cooking, cleaning, decorating, shopping, wrapping gifts, and so on, then you may find the month of December to be a bit overwhelming.
You may even find yourself singing the 12 Pains of Christmas throughout the next few weeks.
Do Women Feel More Overwhelmed Then Men at Christmas?
More often than not it is women that feel stressed and overwhelmed throughout these next few weeks.
Why? Because typically women manage the household and that usually includes managing all of the holidays.
When you ask men if they feel stressed about the holidays how often do you hear them say no, as well as“I only shop for my wife and she does all the rest”?
As Charlie Brown would say “am I right, am I right?”.
Whether you are a man or a woman, here are some quick tips to help you breeze through the Christmas holidays.
Ways to Breeze Through the Christmas Holidays
Take a Break
Take a bit of me time every day. Soak in a warm tub, read or listen to your favorite music. Put your feet up and close your eyes, and clear your head, even if it is just for 10 minutes. You will feel relaxed and refreshed and you will be ready to continue on with whatever needs to be done that day.
Create a Plan
Grab a calendar and plan out what you need to get done and by when. Make a list of any appointments you or your family members have between now and the end of the year, such as doctor or dentist.
As well, include on your schedule any parties that you will be hosting or attending, shopping that you need to do, baking, cleaning, and so on. Remember to include events or Christmas pageants at your kid’s school.
By writing it all down and scheduling things for specific days, you can rest easy (and sleep at night) knowing that you’ve got everything covered, and that it will all be done in plenty of time.
Delegate
If you are looking after a large family and managing many of the tasks associated with Christmas you do not need to do everything on your own.
Delegate as much as you can when it comes to house cleaning, cooking, even gift wrapping. Let the rest of your family contribute to the holiday preparations so you do not feel like you are doing it all yourself.
Sleep
I remember as a kid, when it came time to wrap Christmas gifts in our house, we would pull an all-nighter.
At that very moment it was fun to stay up really late and wrap gifts. My mother had a knack for making nice big bows for the gifts too.
But then the next day very little got done because we were so tired and worn out.
Instead of doing that, plan your schedule so that you do what you need to do while still getting a good night sleep each and every night.
Stay Active
At this time of year it is more important than ever to maintain some balance in your life.
Add some time into your days to go ice skating with your friends and family or go see a good movie.
Take your significant other out on a fun date.
If the weather is nice where you are, go for a jog or a nice hike.
Go out for a walk at night and check out all the neighbor’s Christmas lights and decorations.
Go dancing or meet up with friends for coffee.
Travel Plans
If you are traveling this Christmas, either as a vacation or to be with family and friends, make sure to organize everything well in advance.
This trip may be different than other trips because you may be taking Christmas gifts with you as well as nice outfits.
Do your clothes need to be dry cleaned? Take your clothes in the first week of December instead of the week before you leave just in case they are busy and behind schedule.
If your gifts are big, consider shipping them ahead of you instead of trying to pack them in your luggage.
Eat Well and Drink Lots of Water
Eat on a regular basis and be sure to include fruits and vegetables at most meals and snacks.
Eat well both at home and at any parties or luncheons you attend throughout the month of December.
If you let yourself become too hungry you may feel angry, lonely or tired and bad habits will kick in.
As well, eat before you go to the mall so that you aren’t spending tons of money on food court food that is full of salt and carbs, because that too will make you feel tired and cranky.
Be Smart When You Attend Christmas Parties
Do you attend many business or work related Christmas parties?
If you do, are you careful when it comes to how much alcohol you drink?
I remember one of the work related Christmas parties that I went to many years ago. It was hosted at a local sports bar and it was right after our annual performance reviews. One of my co-workers was upset because he had heard that some people on our team received promotions and he didn’t.
He used our party as an opportunity to get drunk and then out of the blue he began yelling at one of the managers that was sitting with us.
The point of this story is to always be cautious when you attend work or business parties, especially at Christmas.
I know you want to relax and have fun, but at the same time if you feel frustrated about work, or the holidays, a Christmas party is not the time to drink too much and then tell everyone how you really feel about your boss and the company you work for.
In the end it will only make you feel worse.
Car Maintenance
Ensure your car maintenance is up to date and that you always have a full tank of gas.
The last thing you want is to come out of the department store late a night and not have your car start.
Double check your wiper blades and windshield washer fluid to make sure they work properly.
Are your tires appropriate for the season? Now is not the time to get stuck in snow because your tires aren’t good, so get that looked after as soon as you can.
Give your car a good once over and make sure that everything is working well.
Most importantly remember that the Christmas holidays will come to an end and that everyone will get back to their normal routines soon. If something does not get done the way you wanted it to, don’t stress about it. Chances are good that no one will even notice. And if they do, put them in charge of it next year.
