Holiday Stress? Reduce it Now!

By: Sheena Berg

The Holiday season is nearly here and for many it's a mixed blessing--Holiday Stress mixed with Holiday Cheer.

Who isn't captivated by dazzling store displays, eager children, and all the delicious cookies and candies everywhere? And a major highlight is organizing relaxed quality time with family and friends at Holiday dinners and gatherings. There are high hopes and multiple pressures to ensure happy celebrations.

However, the reality of the season can be much different; it's a draining month, jam-packed with time-consuming activities and social obligations, stress over finances and gift giving, crowded stores with no parking, over-excited kids, and the challenge of maintaining emotional and physical health. At times, just the anticipation of the Holidays can be overwhelming.

Blended families have added stress that may involve spending time with ex-spouses and multiple sets of grandparents, visiting kids who may be homesick for the other parent, loneliness if your child is spending time with the other parent, step-sibling rivalry, competitive gift giving, and a bunch of kids who may be over-excited and over-indulged moving between households.

Everybody is run ragged and spread too thin, preparing, baking, working around conflicting family schedules, and organizing transitioning kids. And this year, because financial worries are a serious concern, there is even greater tension around setting a firm budget and being inventive about gift giving.

The Holiday season can be an emotional time that can make pressures more acute; even though everyone is supposed to be enjoying themselves and each other, tension and anxiety can take over and stress us out.

What is the secret to reducing Holiday stress and confronting common issues and problems as blended families come together over the Holidays?

The experts recommend several stress-reducing strategies including:

Planning ahead and prioritizing Keeping it simple Setting a budget and sticking to it, no matter what Asking friends and family for help and not being a martyr Agreeing on a Time Out for family issues and problems until after the Holidays Keeping kids on a schedule and minimizing sugar overload, over-tiredness and meltdowns Maintaining emotional and physical health by getting enough rest

We also recommend treating yourself to affordable, flexible Blended Family group coaching to help decrease holiday stress around any of the above concerns or helping you prioritize and implement useful strategies to make this Holiday season your best ever.

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Sheena Berg is a step parenting coach with Blended-Families.com. Take a minute and check out their Holiday Survival Guide for Blended Families. WEB MASTERS: Use of this article requires links to remain intact.

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