Stress at Christmas

Reducing Stress During the Christmas Season

Living on a remote island might spare us Christmas stress, but in our modern world, the holiday season often becomes a dreaded annual challenge. For many, Christmas has evolved into a real 21st-century source of anxiety, driven by various pressures.

Stress at Christmas stems from several key activities:

• Gift shopping
• Decorating
• Cooking
• Hosting

Let’s examine each of these stress triggers and share five practical tips to help reduce holiday stress.

Gift Shopping

For most, gift shopping is the primary stress inducer during the holidays. The biggest challenge? Spending money—repeatedly. Even with a budget, it’s easy to stray. You walk into a store, spot something more appealing than the sweater on your list, and think, “It’s only $10 more, why not?”

Beyond finances, gift shopping demands time: navigating traffic to reach stores, circling for parking, searching for the right size and color, queuing at checkout, and waiting at the gift-wrapping counter. By the time you load gifts into your trunk, you face more time escaping the parking lot and crawling through traffic jams to get home.

Helpful Tips for Gift Shopping

1. In July or August, gather hints from gift recipients. Create a list of recipients with two to four gift ideas and their costs. Choose one gift but have backups in case they buy the item themselves or receive it from someone else.
2. From September to October, spread out your shopping. Use four weekends in September to buy 25% of your gifts, another 25% in October, and so on, to avoid overspending in one go.
3. In November, purchase another 25% of your gifts, leaving only 25% for December.
4. If appropriate, opt for gift certificates (physical or digital) when recipients prefer cash, avoiding the stress of choosing the perfect gift.
5. By December 15, ensure all gifts are bought and wrapped.

Decorating, Cooking, and Hosting

Decorating

To decorate or not? If you have kids, decorating is non-negotiable. The choice between reusing last year’s decorations or buying new ones, and deciding between a plastic or fresh tree, adds to the stress.

Helpful Tips for Decorating

1. By November 15, plan your decorations. For the exterior, decide on lights, reindeer, or icicles, and set a budget.
2. For the interior, choose the Christmas tree’s location, type (Balsam, Douglas, Noble, Fraser, or Scotch Pine), and height.
3. Select a tree theme: mix-and-match or specific (flowers, ribbons, animals, native art, angels, music, etc.).
4. Review last year’s decorations, discarding frayed cords, broken glass, or sharp objects, and recycle what’s usable.
5. Decide which areas of the house to decorate: windows, fireplace, basement, patio, dining room, or sunroom.

Cooking

Cooking ranks high as a holiday stressor, even for cooking enthusiasts, especially when preparing meals from dawn to dusk in the weeks before Christmas. Without a menu, you waste time and money on last-minute decisions. If cooking feels overwhelming, consider asking family to contribute, planning potlucks, catering, or buying prepared dishes.

Helpful Tips for Cooking

1. Create a menu for Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
2. Prepare a list of “just-in-case” meals for unexpected guests or workplace potlucks, like office lunches or coffee breaks.
3. During Christmas shopping, ensure your fridge and freezer have space. Use freezer bags to separate bulk items, like chicken thighs, into smaller portions.
4. Plan desserts, which are time-consuming. Consider high-quality frozen or prepared desserts from specialty stores.
5. List ways to recycle leftovers, such as turning turkey into sandwiches or soup.

Hosting

Hosting, while a chance to renew family ties and show generosity, can be stressful without careful planning.

Helpful Tips for Hosting

1. Don’t host every event. Coordinate with family to share hosting duties for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.
2. In early December, prepare your home for guests. Clean rooms, ready linens and towels, and ensure toilets work.
3. Purchase non-perishable ingredients by early December based on your menu.
4. For children, provide plastic tumblers, plates, and entertainment like videos, games, books, or puzzles.
5. Two weeks before hosting, wash buffet dishes, fondue equipment, silver, and crystal to save time and ensure your home, pets, and holiday spirit are ready.