The holidays are a time of family, friends, making memories, having parties, attending activities…and stress.
Stress is an unavoidable thing in life. Many times we associate stress with something bad that’s happened, but stress can come just from being busy–even being busy with good things! What time of year are we any busier than the holidays?
Stress is very unhealthy for us. It contributes to heart problems, cancer, diseases, and makes us more susceptible to everyday illnesses like colds and flus.
We can’t always control circumstances and schedules that cause stress, but we can do our best to control how it affects our bodies and practice ways to help us handle it better.
The Busy Mom’s Guide to a Stress-Free Holiday
Plan Ahead
The practical advice for having less stress is to plan ahead. For instance, I have almost all of my Christmas shopping done already, and 99% of the presents wrapped. This is HUGE for me. In years past, I would have been frantically wrapping presents late Christmas Eve after my children were in bed. Not this year. This year I have a lot less stress on me because most of it is done! This allows me time and energy for the next 2 weeks to put my focus on what really matters this time of year: giving to others and reaching people with the true message of the season. When I am behind on my shopping and gift wrapping and wondering if I’ll have time to get it done, I have a constant stress in the back of my mind that I’m “behind.”
Learn to Relax
When we know we are in an extra busy time or season of life, we must find times to drop everything and just relax. This is vital to good mental and physical health. Look at your schedule and see which holiday activities you have time for because, let’s face it, holiday activities and parties can become overwhelming in number. Everyone likes to have get-togethers and cozy gatherings this time of year. While you may appreciate being thought of and included in the plans, you simply do not have time or sanity for every single one. Learn to turn down the things that you just do not have time for and relax at home reading or watching a holiday movie.
Get Plenty of Sleep
As we sleep, our bodies repair themselves from the damage done by stress. If we don’t get enough hours of sleep a night, our bodies do not go through all the phases that are necessary for proper repair.
Read the rest here at Hip Homeschool Moms where I’m writing today!
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