Wishing for a Stress-Free Christmas

Does Christmas sometimes make you feel like this?

Can you imagine an entire Christmas season without stress?

It would be nice, wouldn’t it?

I can’t promise you a stress-free Christmas, but during December I’ll be sharing tips and techniques that can help you reduce stress and enjoy the season more.

This week I’m taking a look at the extra activities and expectations that can weigh us down. How can we reduce our stress while facing a month of Christmas obligations?

Practice the art of release

Closet organizing pros have a mantra: Don’t add something without getting rid of something. The principle applies to other areas of life too, such as our busy schedules. If we want to add something new we need to choose what to release.

Because something’s gonna give—and if we don’t plan ahead what gives may be our joy and sanity. Don’t allow your joy to be stolen by over-commitment and unrealistic expectations. Look for ways to let go of everything you don’t really need to enjoy the season.

In other words, we need to make trade-offs.

Every choice we make involves a trade of some sort. If we choose to eat a bowl of ice cream before bed we are trading our long-term fight with fat cells for the short-term happiness of our sweet tooth. If we choose not to put up all 18 boxes of Christmas decorations, we trade a perfectly decorated house for a less work and more time to enjoy family.

You get the idea.

Some trade-off questions:

Will buying this/attending this/doing this increase my happiness, or will it add stress? Is the stress of going beyond your gift budget worth it to buy that thing? Will taking the family to see the Nutcracker be a special treat or would they honestly rather stay home and watch a movie together? Do you love helping out with class parties or do you only volunteer out of duty?

Can I achieve much the same satisfaction with a simpler option? Pinterest is full of super-cute homemade decorations, but unless crafting is your thing, or you plan to make it a fun activity for the grandkids, skip Pinterest and be satisfied with last year’s decorations. Or consider only baking two types of cookies instead of six. Or serve purchased appetizers at the annual Christmas party instead of making them all from scratch.

How much will not doing this disappoint others? (And have you actually asked or are you just assuming?) Maybe during these busy weeks you have to release the expectation of eating together as a family. Or taking the extra time to bake from scratch instead of buying goodies. Or putting up those outside lights. Or attending your 14th high school holiday concert. Or making it to every basketball game. Or whatever.

Is it time for a change? Sometimes Christmas traditions are meaningful for a season, but then it’s OK to move on. The happy memories won’t be lost just because you no longer choose to repeat that activity. Don’t be afraid to release good things to make room for newer, better things.

What I’m releasing this year

• Writing two blog posts every week. I am giving up my Friday posts, and moving my weekly post to Tuesdays.
• Christmas cards. I’m still sending my family newsletter, but this year I’m sending it solo, rather than as an addition to a card. (I gave up writing personal notes to everyone years ago. I put my creative efforts into the letter instead.)
• Any expectation of decorating, baking, etc. before our big Christmas outreach event happens next weekend.

So, as you look through your December, where can you find activities or expectations you need to release in order to fully enjoy the season? I hope you can make a few strategic trade-offs and have a more pleasant December.

Stress-buster tip:

Not sure where to put all the decorative items you remove to make room for Christmas decorations?  Store them in the (now empty) Christmas decoration boxes.

Photo Credit: wolfsavard via Compfight cc