How to Decrease Stress During the Christmas Season
There are plenty of sources of stress that hit hard around the holidays. You may have more guests than ever in your home, presents to handle, and food to prepare. It’s little wonder that you may struggle to reduce stress during the holiday season! Luckily, there are several steps you can take to decrease your overall stress and increase your enjoyment of the wonder of the holiday season.
1. Learn to say no.
All too often, the Christmas season is filled with events that pack your calendar and leave you little time to breathe, much less do anything else. Take a look at those events. Are there some of them that you’re dreading? It’s okay to say no to events that you don’t want to attend or things that you don’t want to do. You may want to avoid the office gift exchange or skip a party that you dread every year. Give yourself permission to reduce stress by removing items from your schedule that create more stress than joy during the holidays.
2. Have your home professionally cleaned before the holidays arrive.
During the holidays, you may have visitors in and out of your home on a regular basis: for parties, for holiday celebrations, or even coming to stay over the holidays. Instead of stressing out over doing a deep clean yourself, bring in the professionals! We would love to help your home look its best for the holidays–and you won’t have to spend valuable time cleaning when you could be investing it in something that only you can do.
3. Remember that you don’t have to do it all.
Nor do you have to do it all perfectly. When you have two children with class parties on the schedule, both of whom want special treats to take in to their friends; a holiday party at work to plan for; and gifts to buy for everyone in the family, you may quickly feel overwhelmed. Store-bought options can streamline holiday preparations and often substantially reduce your overall stress level. Pick up a cheese or vegetable tray for that class party. Don’t volunteer to chaperone unless you genuinely want to be there. Give yourself permission not to do everything–and to take the ‘easy’ way out when you need some extra time in your schedule.
4. Schedule your favourite events ahead of time–and don’t forget time to relax!
Every holiday season, there are things that creep up at the last minute. You might want to get in a trip to your favourite light display or set aside time for an evening drinking hot cocoa and watching Christmas movies. All too often, however, time flies by without your conscious awareness, leaving you struggling to fit those things into your schedule. As early as possible in the holiday season, schedule the things you really want to do! Put them on your calendar and don’t allow other things to interfere. You can move them around if necessary as other events crop up, but try not to reschedule without setting a specific date and time. While you’re making plans, make sure you include time to sit back and relax! The holiday season can be filled with magic, but that doesn’t mean that you have to fill every moment.
The holiday season has plenty of opportunities for stress, but you don’t have to let stress steal your holiday magic. Instead, look for ways to reduce your stress–including letting us help with some of those important tasks. Contact us today to set up an appointment to give your home a deep clean before the holiday season.
