Christmas Trap - How to Avoid the Holiday Season Stress

Christmas Trap - How to Avoid the Holiday Season Stress
By Desiree Steinmann

Christmas is knocking at the door and everyone seems very busy buying gifts, planning meals, taking care of the various pre-holiday dates, visits, concerts and events. Trying to accomplish all these things creates a rather hectic time - a time which should be a time of reflection. Instead of experiencing this period as special, spiritual or as a time for personal relationships, it often means stress, hectic and from those arise impatience, disagreement and rejection.

We are out of balance! We have very high demands in this time during which everything should be perfect. The apartment is decorated in the holiday spirit, cookies should be self made, we search for that perfect gift for everyone in the family, the beautiful clothes, great meals (mostly too much food, which also takes us out of balance), and often we are surrounded by so much family, that it is indeed a special individual situation.

If you feel overly strained and stressed, find yourself a moment of peace and quiet and find a way out of the holiday trap.

Ask yourself:

What do I enjoy in how I celebrate Christmas? Keep that answer in your mind and focus on it!

How does Christmas stress me?

Here are a few helpful tips that might help you to relax better: Find an answer for that!

• Split up the tasks and ask the family for help.

• Plan more time just to be by yourself.

• If the gift situation overwhelms you, start to use a new model: for instance, buy only small gifts, only for children, or perhaps you have a family drawing of names, and you only buy a gift for the name drawn. Just be creative!

• If you lack time for baking, or simply do not like baking, ask around and find out who enjoys it, and perhaps you can find an answer that way.

• Does the volume of Christmas cards drive you to the edge? Just write up a review of the year and send it to those in your mailing list. For some recipients such a review could be more meaningful than the usual greeting!

  
  

Christmas can be a very special time,if one can recollect and focus on how to make this time special for your family and yourself. Do not allow yourself to be infected by the hysteria and stress, and just enjoy this time in your own way!

Desiree Steinmann is a Professional Life and Career Coach. She helps her clients to see all the possibilities and motivates them to take ownership and action. She offers one on one coaching, telephone coaching, group coaching, workshops and can also be booked as a speaker. Take a look at her unique workshop "Back to Basics - returning to what really matter" or her free "Reflections of the Week" For more info: http://steinmann-international.com