It’s that time of year again! Christmas is just around the corner and many people are already beginning to gear up for the frenzied shopping, the eternal parties, the organizing of gifts and of course the trolley-loads of food. It is an extremely busy time of year for many and it is not surprising that people often end up feeling stressed out emotionally, physically, and financially.

If you spend just a few minutes watching the television it is easy to become sucked into the ever-growing list of things to do, places to go and gifts to buy over the holidays. It is possible that you may begin to feel pressured into going overboard with your Christmas purchases, especially when you see the truckloads of furniture and appliances arriving daily at the homes of friends and neighbors or when your kids put in their order for the gifts they want because “everyone at school” is getting them.

Christmas can sometimes feel like the most stressful time of the year, but it certainly does not have to be that way. There are a few things that you can do make the holiday season what it should be…full happiness, peace and love.

Get Organized The first thing to do in order to ensure a smooth and stress free holiday season is to get organized. When you are running around haphazardly it is likely that you will forget essential items, purchase things that you do not really need and end up grossly overspending. So to make sure that you only spend money on the things that matter start by writing a gift list; write down the names of the people that you truly want to buy gifts for. Not the people that you think you should buy for, but those that you truly appreciate and want to show your love too.

Next decide upon a budget; make a commitment to yourself to only spend the amount decided upon and stick to it no matter what. Then, speak to the adults on your list and ask them if there were anything in particular they would like for Christmas. Often we tend to think that the people we care about must have huge elaborate gifts but you will find that often people have simple little things in mind that they would like to have so you can end up saving a great deal of money as well as time by asking a question.

This of course does not apply to children because they tend to think big! (Smiley face)

Set Out EarlyHave you heard the old saying “the early bird catches the worm?” Well that saying is especially true during the holiday season. If you have ever been caught still doing last minute shopping on Christmas Eve, you understand the true meaning of the word torture. To ensure a stress free holiday you definitely want to get all of your shopping out of the way early. If you have your list ready, your budget organized and an idea for potential gift for your friends and family, then the beginning of December is a great time to set off to get your presents out of the way, this will leave you plenty of time to organize your food shopping later on.

Be ModerateNo man/woman is an island and you cannot be all things to all people. It is likely that you will receive many invitations to many homes and many events during the holidays, and you may feel compelled to accept all of the invitations you receive because you may not wish to offend anyone or “leave anyone out.” This is one of many reasons why people ending the holiday season feeling completely drained of energy. They are partying here, drinking there, eating here, there and everywhere. Doing so is not only physically draining but it also the reason why so many people begin the New Year with a weight loss resolution.

Be moderate over the holiday season, pace yourself and only accept a reasonable amount of invitations. That way you will feel energetic and able to have more fun at each event, and more importantly you will not end the year feeling guilty about overdoing things.

Relax and Enjoy ItIf you have a large family gathering at Christmas you will most likely be very busy organizing the big day. There will be presents and food to buy, family to organize, invitations to send out, the house to decorate and maybe even people to pick up from the airport. This entire event can be very tiring and time consuming. Have you ever organized a family Christmas and found yourself so busy making sure that everything went smoothly that the time went by in a flash and when it was all over you realized that you did not even get a chance to really enjoy yourself? It is easily done; so if you want a stress free Christmas then try to remember that you are supposed to be enjoying it.

Only take on what you are comfortable doing. If you feel at ease having 10 people over for Christmas lunch then do not let anyone pressure you into entertaining more than that. Try to stay focused on the moment. Enjoy each step of your planning and get involved with everyone on the day, so that when you look back at the holidays you can say that you remember every part of it and you enjoyed yourself thoroughly. 

Remember The True MeaningChristmas is not really about presents, turkey and ham or getting your first kiss under the mistletoe. It is really about love and appreciation! Some view Christmas as a time of remembrance and to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but for many Christmas is a time to share love for, and show appreciation too loved ones. Some argue that the true meaning of Christmas has been forgotten and commercialism has taken over, but what ever your views or beliefs the holiday season comes around just once a year so why not spend that time around the ones you love and make a special effort to let them know how important they are to you and that you love and cherish them always.

By following the steps above, getting yourself organized and not over doing things, “the most wonderful time of the year” can be a joyous, loving, sharing, stress-free experience, one that will be remembered and thought of with fondness well into the New Year.