Finding Peace and Love During
the Stress of the Holidays
By Mikkie Mills
Whether it’s Christmas Eve and you’re struggling to get the presents wrapped in time or it’s months before and the stress and worries of Christmas shopping are eating away at your patience, it can be hard to be peaceful and calm as the holidays approach. The ironic thing about the season is that the message behind it is that there is love and joy in the world, yet it can be the most stressful time of the year. To make Christmas into what it is supposed to be takes preparation that takes place months before the actual holiday. This way you can easily sit back and relax with your kids and a mug of hot cocoa and let Santa take the night off.
1. Have Your Kids Write a List in November
One of the biggest stresses of the season is the shopping. You want to get your kids something special so that they can experience the same joy you felt as a kid when you unwrapped bright packages underneath a beautiful Christmas tree. There is something intensely magical about that moment and something that every kid should be able to experience. To let them experience it, you still need to go shopping. Have you kids write up a pre-list to Santa. Tell them to brainstorm ideas of things that they would be excited about finding under the Christmas tree. Then you can take that list out and get the presents early so you won’t have to deal with the late shopping madness in December.
2. Decorate for Christmas Right After Thanksgiving
After you’ve cleaned the cranberries off your plate from Thanksgiving, get your kids excited about Christmas Decorations. The best thing about this holiday is the atmosphere of it. Having Christmas lights strung up in the house has a magical and mystical feel. Get all the Christmas decorations out of the boxes and let your children run all over the house with them. Let the kids take control of the decorating and only do the bigger tasks yourselves. Once December starts, pull out an unlit artificial Christmas tree so that you can have the fun of stringing the lights and putting on the ornaments one by one. If you start decorating early and make it a family experience you will draw closer to your family, your kids will begin to feel the magic of Christmas, and you will feel the stress of decorating roll off your back.
3. Make It About Family
Christmas really is about family and love so make that the central focus of the holiday. Every weekend, plan a Christmas-centered activity that will help your family to bond. Get a gingerbread house kit and plan a fun evening where you can all sit around the table and build gingerbread houses. Make Christmas-themed sugar cookies with multi-colored frostings. As Christmas approaches, act of the nativity scene with the family so remind your children the reason behind the holiday.
4. Stay Healthy During the Holidays
There is sugar and candy and cookies around every corner you turn during Christmas time. Sometimes, it can be hard to stick to a diet or to even stay healthy at all. But to avoid stress, stick to your health. Make sure that you’re still getting out every morning or afternoon to exercise and don’t overeat the sweets that are lying around the home. Make a diet plan that allows you to splurge wither one time a day or for only one day a week. Make sure that you know how you’ll be staying healthy.
Remember that the most important thing during the holidays is your family. Your family will bring you more peace than any meditation technique, yoga class, or calming music. Your family should be your pride and joy and you should make them a priority especially during Christmas time. Feel free to take other measures to stay calm during the holidays but always make sure that you’re expressing your love and happiness to your family. To make the holidays special, you need to act happy for your kids to see. If they remember you as stressed then their memories of Christmas will be less exciting. But if you’re happy and put your family first, then your kids will be ecstatic for the holiday to come every year.
About Mikkie Mills: “I’m a Chicago native who loves to share her expertise about personal development and growth. When I’m not writing, I’m chasing the little ones around or rock climbing at the local climbing gym.” More articles by Mikkie.
