It is December and that means that the holidays are just around the corner. For most people, it is the most wonderful of the year, but it can also be the busiest time of the year. Everything has to be perfect, you want to buy the perfect gifts for your friends and family and you want to organize and make the best Christmas dinner. You have to think about what you are going to wear because you also want to look pretty. But life is already pretty busy without Christmas, so it can be a little bit stressful and overwhelming when you have to take care of those things too. These are my tips for less stress during the holiday, so you can still enjoy this beautiful time of the year.
Tips for less stress during the holidays
Plan
Doing everything last minute is not a very good idea because there is always a chance you will forget something. So at the start of December, make planning for yourself. Write down when you want to start buying gifts and what you are going to buy. Plan when you are going to the supermarket to get everything for Christmas. This will give you less stress. Because if you do everything last minute, you might feel overwhelmed. And you might forget something. But when you start early, it is less overwhelming and that means less stress and anxiety. So start planning now for a stress-free December so you know what to do on what day.
It does not have to be perfect
Sometimes on social media, it seems everyone has the perfect Christmas ever. They have the best gifts and their Christmas dinner looks amazing. But on social media, everything looks perfect because they don’t always show the less perfect things. But that can give you the feeling that you have to step up your game and organize the perfect Christmas parties but that is not true. Christmas is all about spending time with your family and friends and not about how perfect it is. If you have family and friends around you, Christmas is already perfect. So stop putting pressure on yourself and just do what feels good to you. I think there is too much pressure to make Christmas perfect. But we are human beings and it is impossible to have the perfect life including having a perfect Christmas.
You don’t have to do it alone
When you are organizing a Christmas party, you will not be the only one at the party. That means you can ask for help. I think it is kind of crazy that there is only one person that has to do every single thing and the rest is just sitting on the couch. Christmas is also about helping each other. So give everyone one task so everyone can enjoy Christmas. Most of the time mothers take care of everything, so if you are a mother ask for help. If you are not the one in charge of the Christmas party, just ask if you can help. Maybe the person will be so happy and relieved you offered to help. One can make dessert while someone else is taking care of the decorations while someone else takes care of the drinks.
Take time for yourself
You don’t have to be productive all the time. Especially when you are feeling stressed, it is a good moment to step back and just breathe. It is completely normal to recharge yourself and do something for yourself. Because if you don’t take time for yourself, you will feel exhausted or even feel burned out on Christmas day. So while you make plans for this month, don’t forget to schedule some me-time too. Take a long bath, book a massage or read a Christmas book. It is not healthy to work non-stop. If you feel stressed take a step back and do a meditation or a breathing exercise, this will help you to relax and see things from a different perspective. Meditation is something I would recommend no matter what the situation is. It has a lot of benefits.
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Do the things YOU want to do
There are trends for everything, even for Christmas. This year, for example, the colour blue is very trending for your Christmas tree. But guess what? You don’t have to buy blue Christmas decorations because it is trendy. I prefer the traditional colours like Red, gold and silver but I don’t like blue for a Christmas tree (my taste and opinion). So I won’t buy blue things for Christmas. And everyone dresses up very nicely, but you don’t have to if you don’t want it. If you spend the day with your family, you can also wear something comfortable like Christmas Pj’s if you want to. And while everyone is having the perfect Christmas dinner with turkey or chicken, maybe perfect for you means eating pasta.
Enjoy
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year and as long we are stressing about things, we can’t fully enjoy it. So stop stressing (I know easier said than done) and just enjoy this beautiful time of the year. How? The best way to enjoy something is to be more present. The present is all we have. We have to stop worrying about the past and our future. All that matters is the present. If you spend more time in the present moment and be more mindful during the day we can start enjoying our lives. I can recommend this to everyone because this does not apply to just the holidays but also to the rest of your life. Would rather be worrying about the future or past or would you rather enjoy the moment? Try to focus on the present moment by using all of your senses and if you get any thoughts, bring your focus back to the present moment. This will also help to relieve stress. And stress is a fun killer.
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Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash