SURVIVING THE HOLIDAYS By:  Jacqueline McLaughlin Hale

     The holidays are here again!  That time of year for joy and happiness and an appreciation for

                         The “joyfulness” of the holiday season, it seems, comes with a price.  And that price is more:
                         holiday cooking, holiday parties, holiday shopping, holiday housecleaning (after all, it’s got to
                         be clean for the parties) holiday decorating, holiday wrapping, etc., etc., etc.!  It never seems
                         to stop!  YOU never seem to stop.  The demands on your time are enormous.  You’re tired,
                         exhausted and stretched to your limits.  All in all you’re less “joyful”.  And some of you,
                         although too embarrassed or ashamed to admit it, may even hate the holidays!  Do they
                         HAVE to be this way?

                         NO THEY DON’T!  And this year, you can take control.  With a few suggestions and a little
                         planning you can make them far less stressful and a lot more fun!

                         1. Understand that you are normal!  I don’t know any woman who actually enjoys the

                         holidays.  So relax.  It’s not just you!

                         2. No matter what make sure you get enough sleep every night!  All of this extra activity is

                         hard enough so how can you expect to feel good without adequate sleep? Seem
               impossible?  Keep reading!

                         3. Start your Christmas/Hanukah shopping now!  Believe it or not the stores and the parking

                         lots are significantly less crowded BEFORE Thanksgiving.  And who needs crowds to
                         add to the stress?  Besides if you finish your shopping before Thanksgiving, you can go to
                         the malls just to enjoy the decorations!

                         4. Go shopping ALONE!  Get a babysitter for your kids, ask your neighbors to help with

                         them, do whatever you have to do.  The time you save by shopping more efficiently will                          be well worth the price, whatever it is.

                         5. Shop Monday through Friday between 8am and 5pm (except for lunch hours).  If you have

                         to take a vacation day from work to do it—do it!  Once again, the time you save and the
                         efficiencies you’ll gain by shopping when the stores are less crowded are worth it.

                         6. Shop from catalogs and from the Internet as much as possible.  And if you’re purchasing

                         gifts for those outside your city or state have the gifts shipped directly to the recipients.
     It will save you even more time from standing in line at the post office to ship holiday
     packages out. Believe me, Toys R Us.com can be a real lifesaver!

                         7. Wrap as you go.  When you purchase gifts, come home and wrap them immediately.

                         Don’t wait until the last minute to do all of your wrapping at once.  It’s too overwhelming.

                         8. Just say no.  Say no to parties that you don’t want to attend.  Say no to commitments that

                         you’re not excited about fulfilling.  Say no to decorating that you don’t want to do.  Say
     no to baking.  Say no.  You’re entitled to take pleasure in the holidays too.  So begin by
     saying no  to those activities that do not bring you joy!  You and your family come first.

                         9. Don’t do it the way your mother did it!  So often we try to make our holidays just like they

                         were when we were kids.  But our mothers lived in a very different time.  So think about
     what  you’re doing before you do it.  If it works for you and your family and you enjoy it,
     then do it.  If not, don’t.  You don’t have to entertain with the good china and crystal if it’s      more work than it’s worth to you!  It’s okay, really!

                         10. Create your own family traditions.  Traditions are an important part of our lives.  They’re

                         ritualistic, ceremonial and consistent, year in and year out.  They can help create some
     stability in an ever-changing environment.  Family traditions are one thing that can always
     be counted on.  So create your own.  They don’t have to be elaborate.  They can be as
     simple as reading “The Night Before Christmas” every Christmas Eve or watching a
     certain holiday movie as a family on the same night ever year.  It doesn’t matter what they
     are.  It doesn’t matter how small or how large, how elaborate or how simple they are.
     All that matters is that THEY ARE!  Create some family traditions this year and you will
     create memories for a lifetime!

                         Whatever you do,however you celebrate, remember that the holidays are not about parties
                         and food and shopping and gifts.  They’re about the people in your life.  They’re about your
                         family, your friends, and your loved ones; they’re about those who have made a difference to
                         you.  So whatever your faith, whatever your beliefs, the holidays are really about sharing your
                         love, being thankful for all you have, giving without the expectation of a return, and hope for
                         the future.  They’re about the very best in humanity…
 

                         Jacqueline McLaughlin Hale is a CPA and the editor of  “The Balanced Woman” a monthly

     ezine.  She is also the author of The Woman’s Guide to  Resumes and Interviewing, Lessons
     From a Toddler and 100 Ways to Pamper Yourself.  All of these publications are available
     through AJAY Publishing
Home    Articles    Parenting  Work  Hints    Money    Tax Tips   Ezine Archives .