The holiday season is always full of fun. For many, it’s the time of the year when you get to meet your family, friends, and loved ones.
Most of you are busy preparing for the festivals, decorating your houses, wrapping gifts, and looking up recipes to welcome your guests. While this sounds exciting to many, for some, it’s more of a stressful time.
But the holiday season is meant to relax and enjoy rather than being all stressed out about becoming the perfect host, managing the finances, handling the gifting dilemmas, etc. And this year, there’s the coronavirus pandemic to worry about too.
If you’re someone who’s all tensed about the upcoming holidays, stop worrying now and check out these tips for handling your anxiety.
1. Be Realistic
Many people get disappointed when things don’t turn out as expected. This will only cause anxiety and more stress.
The best way to deal with such a situation is to be realistic. Don’t expect everything to be as you expect. You need to understand that with time, people change, and so thus their circumstances. So it’s okay if some of your family members can’t turn up, especially during times like this when the pandemic has hit the world so hard.
Instead of getting sad and dejected about not being able to meet them, try to find ways to celebrate through other means. You can organize a video call and have a virtual celebration, exchange pictures in your family groups about how you celebrated this year, or maybe send out small gifts to people you’re really close to.
This will keep you excited while not missing out on the fun time that the holidays are meant to be.
2. Have a Budget
In many places around the world, the coronavirus lockdown has been lifted. If you stay in one of those places, you’re most likely to celebrate the holidays, even though it may be with a limited number of people on your guest list.
While that’s great news, many of you must be tensed about how to handle your finances for organizing the get-together. Many people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic, which might have caused a financial imbalance. But that doesn’t mean you won’t celebrate.
The best way to handle this problem is to plan your budget. Plan out the amount you can afford to spend on your gifts, food, and holiday decorations. Once you do that, stick to it. If you think your budget is a little tight this year, find alternatives to get yourself covered.
A good option is to give homemade gifts. You can also agree on gifting only to kids and then stick to a strict budget when buying them. You can also repurpose the decorating items from the previous years instead of buying new ones. Doing so will let you celebrate your holiday like the previous year but on a budget.
3. Take Control
Holidays are always the busiest time, with so much work to do before you welcome your guests. From buying and wrapping gifts, cooking, and cleaning, sending out invitations, the list goes endless.
That’s why it’s important for you to take control of your holidays. Learn to prioritize your tasks and start saying no to things that aren’t on your priority list.
This will help you get things done faster while reducing stress.
4. Make a To-Do List
Many people stress out thinking they won’t be able to complete their preparations on time since there’s too much to do. If you’re one of them, start creating a to-do list even before your preparations begin. Once you’ve completed a task, just strike it out.
This will help you keep track of what’s yet to be done and what’s done already. It’s a great way of increasing your productivity and completing your work on time without stressing out too much.
5. Treat Your Body Well
Although it’s tempting to enjoy all the comfort food during this time, it’s important for you to know your limits. If you’re trying to stick to a healthy diet, the holidays can be especially stressful because they are associated with over-eating and excessive drinking.
The best way to keep things under control is to take small sips of your drinks and to stick to lesser bites when you’re offered sweet or fatty food. Try to keep your diet in balance by having balanced amounts of protein and smart carbs. Also, try to stay hydrated by having lots of water.
Don’t let your holidays make you feel stressed and anxious. Instead, find ways to relax and enjoy it with your loved ones.
Don’t forget that the whole point of the holiday season is to take a break from all the pressure and stress that you handle on a daily basis. So keep up your holiday spirit and utilize it to have a jolly and cheerful time.