Holidays - Bust Holiday Stress!

Bust Holiday Stress!

The holidays will be here before you know it. Clear the way for greater joy, love and meaning this year by "busting" these sources of holiday stress:

1. TOO MUCH TO DO IN TOO LITTLE TIME

This week, set holiday priorities with your family. Discuss what traditions to keep, which to discard, and which new traditions to try.

Make a holiday to-do list NOW and create a realistic schedule for when to accomplish each item.

Avoid overscheduling.

Ask family members for help with holiday tasks.

2. LONG LINES IN STORES

Shop via catalog or Internet, and avoid stores on weekends.

If you're shopping with small children, take along snacks, books, toys or other items to make waiting in line more pleasant. Or, if you're sufficiently uninhibited, sing a holiday song with your child.

If you're shopping alone, use waiting time to relax and and center yourself with meditation or prayer. Try directing your attention to your breathing at your belly. Or practice observing the people around you through the eyes of compassion, without judging. Give thanks or pray for healing, peace, or other concerns close to your heart.

3. DIFFICULT RELATIVES

Take some quiet time to develop a plan for taking care of yourself around relatives who "get your goat."

Invest in yourself by using a therapist to help create a plan to protect your boundaries.

4. CRANKY KIDS

Think "low key" for a happy celebration with little ones. Remember that your small child thrives on your undivided attention and has a limited capacity to adjust to adults' "needs" to hurry.

Protect your child's naptime and playtime.

Spend "floor-time" with your child every day.

5. COMMERCIALISM

Create family traditions that involve giving to those in need.

Focus on low-cost or no-cost holiday traditions.

Help keep children's expectations realistic. For example, you might say "You'll get about the same amount of presents as you did on your birthday."

6. BILLS

Decide on a holiday budget for entertaining and gifts.

If credit cards make overspending too easy, stick to cash for holiday purchases.

7. LOSS

If you have lost a loved one, the holidays may intensify your grief. Explore ways to cope at www.griefnet.org/library/articles/hfa-tips.html or www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=FL00055.

If "holiday blues" persist or seem particularly intense, don't hesitate to reach out for professional help. Your physician or clergyperson can give you a referral.

8. POST-HOLIDAY LET-DOWN

Spread out the fun at least through the end of school vacation by planning an outing or a fun time at home for each day. A little forethought and planning can go a long way towards making you glad the holidays are coming - instead of just being glad when they're over. Your wisdom holds the key to holiday joy.

Norma Schmidt, Coach, LLC, specializes in helping working mothers create balance. She offers workshops, teleclasses and individual and group coaching. She also edits "The Balance Point," a free e=mail newsletter. Visit http://www.NormaSchmidt.com to learn more.

Sonya Rykiel Perfume Shop online for Sonya Rykiel Perfume at low internet prices and fast delivery from perfume | healthboutiques.eu

Dental Insurance | Health Insurance | Home Owner Insurance | Life Insurance Quote

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |

The Origins Of Mothers Day
Today Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday is celebrated all over the world. For florists and card shops the event is one of the highlights of the year, but the roots of Mother's Day are not commercial. Motherhood has been celebrated since ancie...(related: Holidays)

Scary Halloween Masks
There are countless Halloween masks available today. At Halloween specialty stores and online shops, you will find a mask in the likeness of every ghoul, alien, and creepy character of any and every variety. Everyone, from heroes like Spiderman and Superman, to movie bad guys, like Freddy Kruger, The Alien, and Hellraiser's Pin Head, are available in the form of latex. You will even find Halloween masks of today's most popular politicians, and masks of obscure characters like, zombie vikings, alien clowns, and mad scientists.The price of a Halloween mask depends on it's quality, subject, and the materials used to create it. You can pay anywhere from $...(related: Holidays)

The Gingerbread Nightmare
Do you ever see those beautiful gingerbread houses during the holiday seasons that are so beautiful? They look so simple, and look like such a fun project to do with the kids making gifts for grandma and grandpa. I could just feel it... soft Christmas music in the background, the warm, spicy smell of gingerbread filling the air, the cozy warmth of the fire on a snowy day, and my children and I building these luscious goodies sure to ...(related: Holidays)

The Evolution Of Christmas Ornaments
Things have come a long way since a Christmas ornament was likely to be just a ball hung by the window, or later on a Christmas tree.Historians believe that this original Christmas decoration descended from a witch ball. The original purpose of a witch ball was to fend off evil spirits. However, being traditionally glass made, these balls were also very decorative, and people started to see their use for decorating the home. They were great decorations, so they started to mo...(related: Holidays)

Reduce Waste This Christmas
- Christmas is responsible for more waste and consumption than any other holiday. North American's trash increases by 25% over Christmas - which equates to 25 million extra tons of garbage going to the landfill. By recognizing the incredible waste that is generated the urgen...(related: Holidays)

Holiday Survival Guide
The Holiday season has officially begun and Christmas is almost here. This is the time of year when most Americans are NOT beginning a new diet, rather ending their old one. The Holidays bring family, friends, and ? food. Lots of food. SO, PLEASE?Don't fight it. Don't be a "food martyr". The Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays are the times of year where food not only "keeps us going", but is a social event. If y...(related: Holidays)

Halloween Costumes...for Pets!
One of the best things about Halloween, is wearing a costume. If you have animals at home, why not consider a Halloween costume for pets? A Halloween costume for pets is usually made for an animal of the canine kind.Cat owners know that the majority of felines wouldn't wear a costume. Dogs, on the other hand, are more tolerant. On the other hand, there are many dogs that won't want to wear Halloween costumes, either. Some will like them, and ot...(related: Holidays)

Find New And Exciting Halloween Masks For Your Next Costume Party!
For most people that don't enjoy wearing messy makeup, Halloween masks are the next best option to complement your Halloween costumes this Halloween season.There is a Halloween mask existing in all-imaginable characters, and this year some ...(related: Holidays)