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reducing holiday stress

Enjoying Family Holidays with Less Stress: A Definitive Guide

The dynamics of a family play a critical role in determining how much the members will enjoy the holiday. While imagining holidays, people may picture a host of holiday parties, family squabbles, gift buying, and a lot more than unfold in any family holiday drama. The holiday can be stressful at certain times, taking the fun out of one’s experience. The days are long gone when the holiday season was highly anticipated and there used to be magic in the air. Having a high expectation also adds to the stress. There are many other reasons for this stress and following a few helpful tips might help the reader in Reducing Family Stress During Holidays thereby, turning it more lovable than the previous one.

Prioritizing things with family for setting out which traditions are important is a realistic approach towards holidays. Discussing the events, asking members to volunteer for different tasks can also help.

It is also a good idea to carry on traditions, be it the mothers cooking a full course Christmas dinner or anything else. The important thing that must be noted in this situation is that while tradition is good, but allowing oneself to be so occupied in traditions that it may consume you is not ample. A better alternative is to start one’s easy-going traditions.

Holidays are not the right time to push grievances or bring up old issues. It is better to ignore them for a while as everyone has their grudges and taking out those odd moments in a holiday will just add more stress.

Spending a whole lot of money on gifts during holidays is not a good idea. It is better to go for less commercial holidays by planning such things which are less expensive and more joyous. Many families go for drawing up names, giving to just one person, and offering a collective treat to others like going for a local theatre show.

Taking some events off the schedule also helps in reducing stress. Holidays normally include many social gatherings that look important to attend. It is better to say no rather than over-committing yourself.

Some holidays come with a lot of activities and anyone may find that fulfilling all the commitments is stressful. Being selective in these situations and investing your time in what is more important can help.

Predicting stressful moments and preparing for them in advance is also a good idea. Maybe there is stress due to a family member or during the preparation of the meal, determining how you will manage the stress in advance, is a helpful idea and can give a much-needed escape during such a situation.

There is a tendency in people to revert to old patterns of behavior when they get along with family members. It can include teasing the younger ones, displaying toxic behavior like verbal abuse, overeating, drinking excessively, emotional manipulation, etc. If one is mindful of these patterns, being prepared in advance will help in staying calmer and diffusing the tension. Setting boundaries on the time to be spent with them and going for more manageable doses might even stop the behavior.

It is challenging for anyone to take care of themself and others during busy holidays. The occupied schedule of the day can make a huge difference in handling the stresses. Eating healthy food and keeping the body hydrated not only keeps the body active but also calms the mind.

A few people depend on electronic devices to separate from discomfort and to stay away from stressful people. In place of being device-dependent, having a real conversation is more helpful.

Writing down positive things about the person due to whom you feel stress is also a good idea as this will make you feel more optimistic and happy.

Following these tips during any holiday is helpful in even Reducing Family Stress During Thanksgiving also. Just a bit of preparation and the whole holiday may turn from a stressful to a never forgetting one.

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