No More Have-To Holidays!
How To Keep Your Family Happy This Holiday Season
By Christina Katz
C
rowds, traffic, in-laws, extra bills to pay — no
wonder the holidays stress so many people out.
If you are one of these people, you are not
alone. According to some reports, up to 90% of all
adults become stressed about at least one aspect of
the holidays. And the holidays are especially stressful
for women, who shoulder the brunt of the scheduling,
planning, shopping, and cooking each year.
This year can be different. If you are prepared to take
your mood from stressed to holly-jolly. When you are
ready, call on this list of radical advice for grinning all
the way through your holidays, rather than grinning and
bearing it from mid-November through early January.
1. Take charge. Declare yourself your life’s official cruise
director. If you are waiting for others to make you
happy — and feeling disappointed or resentful because
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they don’t try hard enough or try but miss the mark —
stop. Make a bucket list for your life of everything you
have always wanted to do and start checking off peak
moments as soon as possible. Then, when you are done,
put the whole family through the bucket-list making
process. Two books by author Lara Krupicka, Bucket List
Living For Moms and Family Bucket Lists, make bucket
list creation process a lively adventure the whole clan can
enjoy on a chilly afternoon or evening.
2. Determine your holiday preferences. If you feel like every
holiday is already planned out for you by your extended
circle of family and friends, you may have never actually
considered what you prefer. Choosing not to choose is
actually still a choice — but not a very good one. Ask
yourself the question, How do I really want to spend my
holidays? And then answer it honestly. And be specific,
not just vague or reacting against what you don’t want.