Holiday Stress

In case you haven't noticed, the Yuletide season is on the horizon. For many parents this time will be accompanied by a whirlwind of frenzy, fatigue and frustration. So how do you get a grip on and joyfully celebrate the holidays without letting it run you aground? How do you budget your time, energy and finances?

I am a local journalist currently working on an article on stress-less holidays and would love to hear your suggestions and tips. But please do so quickly as my deadline is approaching! I look forward to hearing from you soon!

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Don't Shoot The Puppy - Free Life & Style Game from AddictingGames

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c'mon guys, just answer the questions if you can...thx

for me, the holidays are ridiculously stressful, i'd rather not get all into it...

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Philly Sports

Simplify, simplify, simplify.

I recently wrote this regarding the holidays:

The Christmases of my childhood were marked by two overwhelming characteristics- preparation and tradition.
My younger brother Mike and I would sit for hours poring over the Sears Wish Book and JCPenney’s Christmas catalog, making detailed lists of the items we wanted to see under our tree on Christmas morning. Our elaborate lists were precursors of the Excel spreadsheet- multiple columns detailed the exact color, size, and model of each item, along with the listing price and catalog page it could be found on. Although we were undeniably greedy, we were also incredibly industrious.
Looking back as an adult, I can’t even remember if I received any of the things I asked for. I’m sure that there were plenty of Cabbage Patch Dolls and Barbie Dream Cars waiting for me under the tree. I’m sure that I played with them for a bit until they broke or fell out of favor, but decades later they’re not the things that have stayed with me.
Instead, I vividly remember the handmade red jumpers and ties that my Mom sewed for our family to wear. I remember watching A Christmas Story as a family so often that I could probably recite it line for line this very minute. I remember the gifts that were labors of love- volumes of scrapbooks Mom had spent all year making and boxes filled with crafting materials that I still use to this day.
As I grew older, I realized that the things I love about Christmas aren’t tangible. I love the anticipation of the season, and the feeling that I get when our family is all together. I love the traditions we carry on, and those we create each year. And I love the feeling that for a small window of time, people take the opportunity to be a little kinder to each other.
Keeping this in mind, last Christmas my husband and I challenged each other to simplify Christmas. No more waiting in insane lines to buy gifts at the eleventh hour. No more six hour wrap-a-thons resulting in aching backs and numb fingers. No more spending the entire month’s pay on a single holiday. With the economic downturn and prices of almost everything soaring, it seemed like a wise thing to do.
It ended up being one of the best Christmases I’ve ever had.
We drove around and looked at Christmas lights, decorated the house with our hand-me-down decorations, and made a gingerbread house. We watched old black and white Christmas movies as I made cookies to give to our mail collector and friends.
For our family, we bought baskets and filled them with small, inexpensive gifts that suited their personalities. For one sister who is an emergency room nurse, we put together an Overnight Shift Survival basket, complete with an eye mask, gourmet coffee, and snacks. For another sister who travels frequently for work, we made the Traveler’s Companion basket filled with a travel journal, crossword puzzle books, and other road trip items. We picked up all these items throughout the year, so it didn’t put a strain on our wallets or our sanity, and everyone seemed to enjoy looking through their baskets and checking out all their goodies.
During the time we would have spent looking for a parking space, waiting in line, and trudging through the mall, my husband and I volunteered for the Salvation Army. I volunteered to work a shift at the Angel Tree in the Christiana Mall through Wilmington Trust, and was so overwhelmed with the kindness of strangers that I stayed on. My husband and I worked several shifts during the month. We met so many people and heard their stories, some of which moved me to tears. Taking time out of our busy schedules and spending time together to help others made us both appreciate what we have so much more.
On Christmas morning, before we got ready to go to church and then on to a big family dinner at my parents house, we exchanged the only gift we bought each other – a single ornament that symbolized something significant from the past year. Each year, a new ornament will have a place on tree, and remind us of Christmases past.
So this holiday season I’ll be making those lists again, but this time it won’t be of things that I want for myself, but things that I want to do for others.
A challenge to simplify Christmas to make our season stress-free and affordable turned in to a discovery of what the holiday season is all about, and I now know it’s not anything I can get from the Sears Wish Book.

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No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

That time of year isn't that stressful for me. I start shopping early and I finish early before all the crowds start. As to money - our family picks names and puts a $50 limit on the gift, so we don't need to spend that much. Yes, we don't get as many presents, but spending time together is more important to us.

I am skipping Christmas this year

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The holiday season doesn't stress me at all. I think about how easy it is to lose focus of what the season is really for. Getting together with family and getting friggin hammered! I hardly even buy gifts. I don't go all out and make sure my kids get everything under the sun...

My son and daughter gets only one thing that they want. They get stuff from me all year long. My parents get dvd's from me. I just get a few movies that they want. The misses get stuff from me all year long as well. So we buy our own gifts.

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A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine. - Thomas Jefferson