Fred Rogers
I hope that your holiday season has been calm and happy so far. This has been the best holiday I think I've ever had, and it has been super low key so far. That's what makes it so wonderful. Yesterday, I had the priviliege of spending time with a good friend. A glass of wine by a beautiful river, great conversation, and a day off from the hustle and bustle of December.
One of the stressful things about the holidays is the anticipation of that one climactic day. House has to be clean, food has to be cooked, gifts have to be wrapped, you have to be up and dressed by sunrise. Why on earth do we do this to ourselves?
Tip #3 for having a stress free holiday:
Create new traditions with your friends and family. Who says, Christmas needs to be crammed into one day? I was reading that the traditional celebration of the Yule Tide was actually a 12-day event. If your family does a big dinner on Christmas night, consider having a pot luck style dinner on the 20th. That way, you're not getting the full extent of the expense for the dinner, you don't have to stress over cooking all day, and the dishes will be minimal afteward. You can have family members bring the recipe for their dish to share. This is a fun way to exchange recipes and fill your belly. If you all gather on Christmas morning to open gifts and have breakfast, consider exchanging gifts with those that live outside of your family on the 23rd. Leave Christmas Eve for any religious celebrations that you enjoy attending. Save the 25th for relaxing at home in your sweats with your family. Or, just escape the whole thing and take a mini vacation for a couple of days instead of doing the whole commercial gift giving, money sucking exchange. Studies show that experiences are more powerful memories than gifts anyway. There is no right way to celebrate love and family. New traditions can be even more powerful than the ones you have celebrated for years, because your children and loved ones can help design them.
Be calm and holiday on, my friends!