Why is Christmas Stressful?
Christmas is different for everyone. For some, you enjoy the season, the giving (the getting), the busyness, friends and family time, and much more. For others, the season brings stress and memories of loved ones you have lost.
Sometimes, you have a great expectation of what Christmas should be like, but, like last year and the previous Christmas, you somehow have your Christmas memory smashed.
Communication is Key.
One of my favorite quotes (by Ben Franklin) is appropriate here, “A failure to plan is a plan to fail.” In my marriage coaching, I see this issue time and again. We want a wonderful holiday experience, yet we fail to communicate our wants and create a plan to achieve them.
5 Tips on creating a memorable and peaceful holiday.
- Communicate your wants – talk to your family about what EVERONE wants the holiday season to look like. Communicate your expectations with each other.
- Be flexible – everyone will have a different expectation, so be flexible.
- Set Boundaries with your time and resources – have clear boundaries on how you will spend your time and resources this Christmas. Also, communicate your boundaries to those that they will affect.
- Quarantine yourself – get away from toxic people. They tend to bring you down, so don’t spend time with them. Exercise your “no” muscle.
- Have a Wingman – be relationally intentional about the holidays. Don’t isolate and medicate your pain. Go to a loving relationship and share the time with someone who brings you life and joy.
One Last Thought
One of the traditions our family practices every Christmas is the Christmas Eve Service or Mass. We put it on the calendar and communicated the time we would attend. We enjoy connecting with other friends at church as we celebrate Christmas. Merry Christmas!
