Holly Jolly?
SPOILER ALERT: Holidays are not necessarily jolly days. If your holidays are picture perfect, don’t read this post. Happy holidays to you and yours and I’m happy for you (but I may not entirely believe you.) 😉
Depending upon the extent to which you believe that holidays ought to look like the television celebrations that we’ve watched throughout the years, your real life holidays may fall short. If you’ve got seasonal stress disorder, holiday hypertension, or irritable brother in law syndrome, you aren’t alone. If you find yourself dreading things about this season, consider these ideas…
Keep it short – unless you’re the host, you can make an appearance, make an excuse, and make your exit! (Isn’t there something on Hulu you’d rather watch anyway?)
Keep it simple – don’t spend months catching up on payments for gifts you can’t afford to give. A ‘gift certificate’ for lunch with you (at a less stressful time of the year) may be a gift that is truly appreciated. Sometimes your presence is better than presents!
Keep it sober – Seltzer and frozen raspberries looks and feels festive and won’t lead to regrets that other drinks can. (I like frozen mango chunks, too!) If your holiday is really happy, wouldn’t you like to remember it?
And when all is said and done, remember this: every day for the next 6 months is going to have a tiny bit more sunlight than the day before did! Yes, Spring is officially on the way!
Breathe – take time to just breathe and remind yourself that these days – merry or otherwise – will pass.
Have the merriest, happiest, everything you can (and be kind to yourself, please.)
