Connect-Relate-Network

Connecting with Less Holiday Stress

With a little more than a week to go until Thanksgiving, I’ve had to face facts: the holiday season sneaked up while I wasn’t looking. Luckily, today I can share with you a few things I’ve learned about living through the holidays with less stress and more joy. I’ll tell you here, along with how Connect-Relate-Network fits into my stress-reduction plan.

Whether we look forward to this time with joyful anticipation or with dread, none of us is immune to becoming a victim of holiday stress. What are the signs and causes?

Give yourself the gift of a stress-less holiday.

Christmas Perfect

We may feel stressed because we’re “Christmas perfectionists.” You know the signs:

• every gift made from scratch;
• the multi-page, single-spaced Christmas letter with photos and illustrations;
• the 200-name Christmas card list;
• the hostess stuck all day in the kitchen, cooking the holiday meal, instead of enjoying her guests.

Expectations

Perhaps your stress stems from unrealistic expectations. The Currier & Ives-style Victorian Christmas pictured on cards is just not possible. You may not even be able to re-create the holiday of your childhood memories. Ponder this: Are you sure those memories are accurate – and do they include how stressed your parents were?

Feel the Excitement, Not the Stress

Whatever the sources of holiday stress, don’t succumb! Strategize to survive with a lower stress level – just enough to feel the excitement, but not so much to make you or those who love you unhappy, disappointed or depressed.

A Three-Point Stress-Reduction Plan:

1. Plan Ahead – recall what was stressful about past holidays; then develop a strategy for handling these situations. Tackle your gift list now, make a budget that won’t leave you broke or in debt come January 1, and stick with your plan. Or try what my family has done for the past few years: each person choose one name out of a hat so each family member need buy only one gift for one other family member. Imagine the time, money and anxiety saved!
2. Just Say “No” – if an activity doesn’t provide enough joy and pleasure in exchange for the hassle of participating, don’t do it. Reduce your commitments so you’ll have time to remember “the reason for the season.” (And graciously accept when others need to say “no thanks” to you.)
3. Simplify – is it so important to compete with the neighbors to have the most lights on your house? Must you make all your desserts from scratch? A smaller tree, fewer decorations, a frozen pie baked in the oven, filling the house with spice-laden aromas, can all be just as pleasing to you and your loved ones – especially if it leaves you more relaxed and energized.

Get more useful tips I found for handling holiday stress in the Holiday Survival Guide at About.com.

CRN Can Help

Connect-Relate-Network can also help us handle holiday stress. Our members include businesses that sell gift items and services that could make your Christmas brighter – and easier. And it’s the best kind of win-win situation when we can support other local business people while checking items off our “Santa’s wish list.”

Running a business doesn’t stop during the holidays so don’t miss our next few Connect-Relate-Network meetings (first and third Tuesdays of the month, 1:30-2:30 at Stella’s Pizza and Pasta, 19980 10th Avenue NE #104, Poulsbo. This week, November 19, is our community connection Tuesday when we hear from a local non-profit doing good in our community.

If you have tips, products or services to help us through the holidays, share them below in the comments section. And come to Stella’s Pizza & Pasta in Poulsbo on November 19 to tell us in person. Bring business cards, brochures, or samples to share with your fellow networkers.