Holiday survival guide

Reassess and prioritise – Holiday stress sets in when you try to do it all. To cope, take some time out, rethink what’s stressing you out, and look for alternatives.

Delegate! – Each family member should take turns in choosing what his or her job will be. When you delegate, you have to make your expectations clear to your kids, and you may have to lower your standards a little bit.

Don’t Give in to the ‘I want’ phrase which can wear parents down over the holidays, but giving in to your child’s every request can cause financial distress. It’s okay to tell your child that a gift is too expensive. Tell him that even Father Christmas has limited funds.

Another way to fight the commercialism of the holidays is to beef up on the traditions that don’t cost any extra money. Bake cookies and give to needy families. Explain to your kids that there are a lot of families who don’t have as much as they do. To get kids into the spirit of giving, ask them to pick a few of their old toys to donate to the less fortunate.

Be Realistic About Relatives – When the in-laws visit this season, have realistic expectations for the short term. Don’t try to solve past issues with family members over the holidays. And if going to a certain relative’s house every year causes a lot of holiday stress, decide if you really need to do it. Maybe you can go every other year instead.

Flexibility Can Buy You Time – Parents should take turns looking after kids with relatives and friends. Hire a babysitter to play with them for a few hours while you’re working around the house.

Above all else, parents should take it easy on themselves over the holidays: This time of year, people are so concerned by what others might say about them if they don’t do everything perfectly. You only human so don’t overdo it just stick to the guidelines of surviving this festive period.
 

Waheeda Peters

Pic from: http://bdiblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/29/thanksgiving-and-stress/