Stress Less Over the Holidays

First off, sorry to be so MIA. My son caught a nine day illness, which he then nicely gave to me (early holiday gift?) only my version has morphed into some major flu. I’m feeling a little better now, so hopefully we’ll be back on track here with organizing and decluttering the holiday season.

Since I’ve been sick, and somewhat stressed over it, I figured, why not start there.

Here are five ways to lower your stress levels over the holidays – why? A decluttered mind is more able to deal with all of life – we all know that.

Keep it simple: Decluttering your mind 101 – simple is best. Put up a smaller Christmas tree; or skip the tree and get a wreath. Buy just one gift for everyone on your list and ask them what they’d like vs. trying to guess. Buy pre-made cards in a box vs. trying to find a unique card for everyone; OR be green and skip the cards altogether. Send e-cards even.

Wrap it easy: Use last year’s leftover wrap; no one will remember you used it last year. Wrap in a plain paper bag with twine, which actually looks good, with minimal fuss. Skip the curling ribbon and just plop a bow on, if you feel you need one.

Ship right to family and friends: Buy online gifts, and ship them right out. No post office lines! No stress.

Give gift certificates: While gift certificates are commonly considered, impersonal, the truth is, everyone like them. It’s fun to get to choose your own gift, and this is the ultimate stress-free present for the gift giver.

Figure out annoying relative come backs:  Got a MIL or uncle who always has something rude to say about your house, weight, child raising skills, and more. My best advice is to not associate with annoying relatives, however, knowing that this is often impossible, here’s another solution. Say MIL says something annoying, like, “I can’t believe you let your son do (insert whatever); in my day we knew how to raise children.” Don’t scowl or argue, but instead say, “Could you please explain exactly what you mean?” MIL will look at you, puzzled, and then you say, “Well, I’m just not so sure I understand what you’re getting at?” Curiosity killed the cat – true. However, in the case of rude relatives, curiosity vs. anger makes them look bad. It takes the punch out of what they say, and forces them to explain more in-depth, which only makes them look lame for picking on petty stuff in the first place.

My second tacit would be to simply smile and nod – that bugs annoying people to no end. You don’t explode and thus you look like the calm, rational person, while they just look rude. You win. It’s hard, I know. I dealt with the absolute worst MIL from hell for years. At first I argued, but later learned that smiling, nodding, and ignoring worked way better, and lowered my stress level.

How do you keep the holidays stress-free (or less stressful)?

[image via stock.xchng]