Stress Reduction for the Holiday Season

The Holiday season is fast approaching and for many it's a mixed blessing--Holiday Stress mixed with Holiday Cheer. Who isn't captivated by glittering store displays, excited children, and all the delicious cookies and candies everywhere? And a majo

The Holiday season is fast approaching and for many it's a mixed blessing--Holiday Stress mixed with Holiday Cheer.

Who isn't captivated by glittering store displays, excited children, and all the delicious cookies and candies everywhere? And a major high spot is organizing relaxed quality time with family and friends at Holiday dinners and gatherings. There are high expectations and multiple pressures to guarantee happy celebrations.

However, the reality of the season can be much different; it's an exhausting month, filled with time-consuming activities and social commitments, stress over finances and gift giving, crowded stores with no parking, over-excited children, and the challenge of preserving emotional and physical health. At times, just the anticipation of the Holidays can be overwhelming.

Blended families have added pressure that may involve spending time with ex-spouses and multiple sets of grandparents, visiting kids who may be lonely for the other parent, loneliness if your child is spending time with the other parent, step-sibling rivalry, competitive gift giving, and a group of children who may be over-stimulated and over-indulged transitioning between households.

Everybody is exhausted and spread too thin, preparing, cooking, working around conflicting family schedules, and organizing transitioning children. And this year, because money worries are a serious concern, there is even greater anxiety around creating a firm budget and being creative about gift giving.

The Holiday season is an emotional period that can make pressures more intense; even though everyone is supposed to be enjoying themselves and each other, tension and anxiety can take over and stress us out.

What is the secret to lowering Holiday stress and confronting common issues and problems as blended families come together over the Holidays?

The experts recommend several stress-reducing techniques including:

Planning ahead and prioritizing Keeping it simple Setting a budget and sticking to it, no matter what Asking friends and family for help and not being the martyr Agreeing on a Time Out for family issues and problems until after the Holidays Keeping children on a schedule and minimizing sugar overload, over-tiredness and meltdowns Maintaining emotional and physical health by getting enough rest

We also recommend treating yourself to affordable, flexible Blended Family group coaching to help decrease holiday stress around any of the above concerns or helping you prioritize and implement useful strategies to make this Holiday season your happiest ever.

Article Directory: http://www.articlecube.com

Sheena Berg, is a step parenting coach with Blended-Families.com. Take a minute to check out their Holiday Survival Guide for Blended Families at http://www.Blended-Families.com/stephero/holiday-stress.html to learn more.

WEB MASTERS: Use of this article requires links to remain intact.

 

Related stories:

• Skylights
  Commercial skylights are great way to not only let the sunshine in, but to reduce energy costs for your company as well. Skylights have been used in h

• The Worst Holiday Gifts Of All Time
  There are bad gifts, and then there are truly bad gifts. These ten gifts rank among the worst ever conceived in a boardroom. In a poll of 100 lifestyl

• The Gift Of Life Experience
  We often fret for hours on end on what we should give to someone. We look over catalogs, analyze their habits and try to determine what gift best exem