Life Balanced

During the holidays we are suddenly faced with additional stress that we don’t normally experience during the rest of year. It can cause irritability and other issues during a time that should be spend enjoying the holiday season. This post is about some of the practical things you can do to reduce stress this time of the year. But first, let’s look at some of the causes of stress during the holidays. They include:

Illness - As the weather changes in the fall, colds and other illnesses seems to become more prevalent. Stuffy noses and hacking coughs make it difficult to get into the spirit of the holiday season.

Weight gain - On average, people gain 7 lbs between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. This alone is enough to make someone irritable and grumpy. Who wants to start off the new year with extra weight and tight clothes?

Over scheduling - If you’re anything like me, your calendar between now and the end of the year is filled with holiday parties, events and end-of-the-year get togethers with friends leaving no time for yourself.

Money issues - In addition to coming up with extra funds for holiday gifts, November and December bring many other expenditures including end of the year donations and property taxes. Entertaining costs also go way up on dinners out, gifts for party hosts or expenses toward the cost of throwing your own holiday party. Additionally, money is needed for gift wrapping, shipping presents, holiday cards, travel (if you’re going away for the holidays), Christmas trees and other decorations.

Company - While many people love to see relatives over the holidays, it can be very stressful to entertain, keep the house in order and generally tend to everyone’s needs. And for others, visiting relatives bring about strong emotions (no family is perfect!) requiring tremendous amounts of patience and self control.

Huge to-do list - The list of to-dos during November and December can easily be twice as long compared to the rest of the year. Errands such as holiday shopping, writing cards, mailing packages, gift wrapping, and making travel arrangements are exhaustive. And then there are the action items you procrastinated on during the rest of the year such as doctor’s appointments, updating addresses for holiday cards and more.

Time constraints - In between the shopping, holiday parties and everything else, there is little time to do the everyday activities that keep our life in balance. All the great habits we’ve worked on throughout the year get put to the side. Bring lunch to work? I can’t even find time to go grocery shopping. Go to the gym? Um…I might be able to fit that in at 5:00 a.m.!

OK, so we are knee deep in stress. Sure, we can plan ahead next year, but how do we deal with it now and successfully make it through the New Year with a relaxed smile on our face (not the intense, fake one that looks like our face is frozen)?

Holiday shop with a list - Don’t even think about hitting the mall until you have written out who you need to buy gifts for and what you plan on buying them. We’ve all been guilty of telling ourselves at one time or another, “I’ll know it when I see it,” or “I need to shop and get some ideas.” This just creates more stress and results in a lot of shopping and very little buying. The extra hour you spend thinking about gift ideas (or calling friends or family to get ideas) will save you hours of shopping later on. If you start asap, you can probably save a significant amount time by doing your shopping online. Amazon.com and Red Envelope are two good options. Another option? Gift cards are easy and enjoyed by most everyone (but not as personal).

Holiday card shortcuts - I’ve been known to send holiday cards every other year, but if you are set on getting something out this year, consider this:

• Send a New Year’s card after things have settled down
• Cut down your card list
• Send an ecard instead
• Keep cards with you and write out a few cards at a time - on your lunch break, during a plane ride, when waiting for an appointment or friend
• Rather than writing an individual note to everyone, write a single letter, make copies and send off

Just say no - Just because you are invited doesn’t mean you have to attend every holiday party. Skip a couple parties and use that time to relax, go to the gym, catch up on sleep or do something just for yourself.

Be proactive with your health. Before cold symptoms kick in, start taking a daily vitamin C and Echinacea pill. Emergen-C and Airborne are two popular powders/tablets that can be added to water and provide a ton of cold fighting vitamins.

Bundling - Rather then going to dinner and exchanging a gift with each friend separately, consider have a group dinner or meeting everyone somewhere festive for drinks. Another option - schedule those holiday dinners with friends after the New Year.

Reduce expenses - If money is an issue this season, below are a few thoughtful and affordable gift ideas.

• Give a framed photo from a memorable moment
• Make cookies or candy (no fruitcake please) and provide the recipe
• Create a gift coupon for an event in the future (i.e. movie night, massage, homemade dinner)
• Buy a book or a number of magazines related to the recipient’s favorite hobby

You can also save money by meeting friends for drinks instead of dinner. If sending gifts to family members out of town, buy smaller-sized gifts to save on shipping costs. Additionally, some online stores such as Amazon will eliminate shipping costs if the price of the gift is over a certain amount.

Holiday eating habits - Trying to cut out calories during the holidays is tough with the temptation of multi-course meals, alcohol and holiday cookies. Eating before the event is one way to eliminate the temptation to indulge. If you don’t have time to make a meal before a party or are going from work, consider keeping healthy snacks on hand that can be eaten prior to the event, and eat at home afterwards. Also, alcoholic beverages can contain a ton of calories depending on your drink of choice. Consider alternating between water and a drink. This also helps eliminate hangovers!

Keep company busy - By keeping everyone busy with activities, you can capture some extra time needed to take care of yourself (or the other 50 tasks that need to be done). Stock the house with DVD rentals, games and jigsaw puzzles. When anyone asks if they can help with anything, take them up on their offer. And if you have a particularly tough family dynamic, try this Law of Attraction tip. Prior to family members arriving, look at their picture each morning and visualize how you want the holiday to be like with them. Eliminate negative feelings and resentments and hold on to those positive thoughts and feelings each day. You’d be amazed, but it really works!

If you found some of these tips helpful, please click one of the icons below or subscribe to my RSS feed. Thank you and happy holidays!