Stress-Less Holidays! Tips to Survive and Thrive This Holiday Season

“Tis the season to be jolly,” but if you’re like a lot of folks this year, “Bah Humbug” may be a more fitting description of how you’re feeling. Stress is a surefire way put a damper on your holiday spirit. Stress doesn’t result just from bad things happening in your life. It’s a cumulative effect of all events—both good and bad. Here are 14 tips to help you decrease the hassle and increase the humor so you can survive and thrive this holiday season!

Do you really need to send all those holiday cards?  Be honest.  Many folks on your list are too busy to read your card and won’t remember a week later if you sent one or not.  Clean out your holiday database by at least 25%.

The holiday police will not arrest you for not having all your decorations up.  Remember less can be more.  If you spend less time putting decorations up you’ll have more time to sit back and enjoy.

Spending money can be exhilarating.  Paying the credit cards can be devastating.  Try providing gifts of service in addition to the traditional wrapped present.  The price is right, you won’t have to wait in line, and the giver and receiver will both enjoy it more.

Holiday parties tend to descend all at once.  Don’t feel obligated.  Go to those you really want to attend and regret the rest.  Can’t think of a good excuse?  Don’t give one.  If it’s a true friend, she won’t need one and if it’s not a good friend, he’s not going to believe you anyway!

Stuck in traffic?  Take this opportunity to reframe. Take a deep breath and visualize the person honking his horn driving in his underwear.  Imagine the look on his face when he unwraps a sack full of coal and rocks.  At all costs, keep your sense of humor!

Kids realize something that we have forgotten as adults: The power of play.  Don’t take the holidays so seriously that you have no time to sing, dance, play—even jump on your bed!  Make time to play everyday, even if it’s only for 30 minutes.

One of our best tools for stress is simply getting enough sleep.  Don’t fill every minute trying to cram in 101 more things.  Take a powernap so that you feel refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the day.

Smiles and laughs can diminish muscle tension.  They’re also contagious.  Practice wearing a smile to share with others and notice how their responses make you feel better, too.

Call your own voice mail to leave a humorous message that you can enjoy later. Bonus—you get to laugh twice: Once when you leave the message and again when you play it back.

Keep a file folder at your desk with clippings, cartoons, and e-mails you find entertaining. Pull it out and refer to it when you’re put on hold or when you feel those shoulders tightening.

Keep a book of word games, crossword puzzles, or cards at your desk.  Re-spark your creativity and energy by taking a daily 10 minute ‘play break’ and you’ll recognize how important it is not to wait until you feel better to play.  Play and then you’ll feel better.

Got a problem that’s bugging you?  Practice playing with your pain by asking yourself “How could this be worse?” Exaggerate the situation until you can make it absurd enough to put things in their proper perspective.

Gain maximum benefits by proactively seeking humor every day. Instead of assuming that there’s nothing funny happening in your life, slow down and pay attention. Change your perspective by asking “What (humor) am I missing?”

Try viewing the holiday season from a child’s mind’s eye.  We tend to see holidays in terms of tasks, costs, obligations, etc.  Kids still see the wonder, the magic, the possibilities…  Look at this holiday season from a child’s perspective and recapture the joy!