Oh, Yes! A Stress Free Holiday Checklist
The holidays should bring you closer to your friends and family by sharing time, meals, and simple joys.
You have the power to create memorable experiences without pumping up your stress levels. This checklist will help you make the most of the holiday season.
Ready?
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Here we go…
- Identify old family traditions. Which ones do you love? Which ones can you let go of?
- Opt to keep holiday traditions from your family of origin that bring you joy and happiness.
- Give yourself permission to let go of old traditions.
- Ponder what you really want to do to celebrate the holidays.
- Talk with family members and friends about what they want to do.
- Focus less on trying to make your holiday celebrations perfect.
- Plan ahead for your festivities and establish start and stop times for parties.
- Examine options for pre-made meals or catering services to reduce your holiday stress.
- Promptly ask for help when you need it.
- Use shortcuts and simplify when planning and holding festive celebrations.
- Make a gift list and consider the amount of money you can comfortably spend.
- Shop early and make notes about where to get low-cost gifts.
- Ask for gift suggestions from the people on your gift list.
- Consider giving gift cards to save time and precious energy.
- Suggest a family gift exchange to reduce gift expenditures.
- Cut down your gift list.
- Reduce the amount of money you spend overall for the holidays and per gift.
- Avoid making credit card purchases at holiday time.
- Think about making homemade food gifts to save dollars at holiday time.
- Shop early and place gifts purchased in a gift drawer so you’ll be ready for the holidays.
- Stick to your budget.
- Use place cards to assign seating in efforts to avoid tension-filled holiday gatherings.
- Short-circuit disagreeable family discussions by interrupting or changing the subject.
- Discuss challenging issues in advance with a person who tends to create tension at events.
- Inform all prospective attendees of your holiday plans to avoid others feeling left out.
- Plan holiday travel itineraries in advance.
- Build in extra money to your travel budget in case of emergencies.
- Pack light and carry on bags.
- Send your gifts in advance or take gift cards to avoid packing issues.
- Allow extra time to travel from place to place and expect heavy traffic.
- Pack plenty of healthy snacks that travel well without refrigeration to quell hunger.
- Plan to arrive at your holiday destination rested and excited to share holidays with loved ones.
You can choose to have some of the most peaceful, calm holidays you’ve ever had by putting the above points to work. Plan and carry out joyful holiday festivities and gatherings this year.
Re-discover the true meaning of the holidays as you create cherished memories and traditions with stress-free celebrations!
