Five Holiday Stress-Busting Tips
This issue’s holiday tips come from Annmarie Kelly, a national keynote speaker and trainer, expert on women and leadership, author of Victorious Woman! Shaping Life’s Challenges into Personal Victories, and founder of Victorious Woman Month in May. Annmarie also writes the NAFE Success Strategies blog.
“Glad to see ‘em come, gladder to see ‘em go,” announced Mrs. Evans as she plopped, exhausted, into her seat in the lunchroom. The mother of five and second grade teacher said she was stressed out with all the shopping and Christmas preparations. I was a new teacher, single, still living with my parents. “What’s she talking about?” I thought. “Why is she being so ‘Bah Humbug’?”
Now I get it! What about you? With work, family, caregiving and concerns about the economy, isn’t it easy to forget about the meaning of the season? But it doesn’t have to be that way. Remember, you lead the way in your family. Here are five tips that will not only help you stay sane, but keep love and joy in the holidays and take you comfortably into the New Year:
Simplify: Dial down your gift-giving. Plan a Secret Santa with your family and friends. Give children and teens fast food gift cards. Most couples would love a date night: movie tickets with an offer to baby sit.
Budget: Too many times, the season becomes about buying someone’s love instead of really showing it. Set a spending limit and stick to it… No one is going to love you more because you spent $50 on their gift or gift card (or love you less because you spent $25) – especially this year!
Boost your energy: Stretch your body every day before getting out of bed and before going to sleep; Take a Vitamin B Complex daily; Plan to exercise a couple times each week (that means write it on your calendar!).
Play: Instead of dragging yourself to the crowded mall, take that old Scrabble game out of the closet or just use a simple deck of card to play games with your family. Games for fun lend themselves to talking, sharing and laughing - all great stress-reducers.
Outsmart temptation: Just before baking those Christmas cookies or going to the big holiday party, reduce hunger by eating an apple and a hard boiled egg (don’t ask how…but it really works) So keep baked goods, alcohol and other sweets out of the house for a couple weeks. Store them out of sight (try the trunk of your car or at your neighbor’s house). Save drinks and sugary desserts for holiday parties only.
Following these simple suggestions will greatly reduce your stress and fill your holidays with more of the proverbial good cheer we all enjoy. As Charlotte Carpenter once said, “If Christmas isn't found in your heart, you won't find it under a tree." And there’s an extra bonus: without the stress of a bloated budget or the angst of struggling with the zipper on your slacks, you’ll start the New Year strong, energized and focused. You won’t put off working on those New Year’s resolutions. Instead, you’ll be getting a jump on your goals and start making the New Year your best yet!
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