How to Have a Stress-Free Holiday

The holidays can be a very stressful time. From family to travel or finances, the holiday you once loved as a child can become no fun at all. Don’t let the stress of the holiday season keep you from having fun and enjoying yourself with family and friends. The following tips are designed to help your holiday stay as stress-free and enjoyable as possible.

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

How to Have a Stress-Free Holiday

1. Start taking OmegaBrite- If you tend to be high stress, you should start taking OmgaBrite. OmegaBrite’s 100% natural unique formulation is the only Omega-3 clinically shown to reduce stress and anxiety by 20% in two double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials. * Omega-3’s are incredibly powerful and can promote a positive mood without any known side-effects.

A fatty acid derived from fish oil, Omega-3 is essential to our bodies health and we don’t naturally make it. It has to be included in our diet, and OmegaBtite comes in a pack of 60 easy-to-swallow, 500 mg, Non-GMO capsules. You can find more information in our post about How OmegaBrite Helps with Stress or on the OmegaBrite website. 

2. Place things on layaway- Holiday season can be a big hit to the bank account. Having the available funds for a special holiday season can be extremely stressful. Help keep yourself from stressing out and going broke around the holidays by placing large items on layaway. This means that you can make payments on items your family will love instead of having the full amount for everything up front.

3. Save money each paycheck- Instead of waiting until the last minute to buy everything you need and even possibly going into debt, try saving. The few months or even weeks before the holidays, start socking some money away every paycheck. Start foregoing that time at the salon or a few days eating out if you need to. The more you can save ahead of time, the less stressed you will be trying to buy gifts before the holidays.

4. Have people make a Christmas list- Part of the stress of the holidays is trying to buy gifts for people that you know they will like. My kids were so much easier when they were little. They loved pretty much anything I would buy them.

Now that they are older, they are picky. I stress out about what to get them without breaking the bank. To help, I have them make a Christmas list. They can write one on paper or you can have them make a wish list on Amazon. If you use an Amazon wish list, you can even share their list with others, including grandparents. Take the stress out of guessing and have them make a list.

5. Shop online where possible- Nothing stresses me out more than traffic and bad drivers. It’s also hard to shop for your kids if you have to take them with you. Keep from getting stressed out over long lines and crowded stores by shopping online.

There are many stores that offer great online deals too. Shopping online is great also for when you have to buy something for someone out of town. You don’t need to worry about making that extra trip to the post office, just have it shipped straight to their house.

6. Delegate to others- Sometimes we stress ourselves out un-needlessly by trying to do it all ourselves. Learn to delegate tasks to others. Put your man in charge of decorating, or picking out gifts for the in-laws.

If your hosting holiday dinner, delegate a different side dish for people to bring. Don’t stress yourself out trying to make it perfect all by yourself. Get the kids involved too. Have fun as a family decorating or setting the table. Holidays are supposed to be fun and all about family.

7. Make a to-do list- Sometimes when we try to manage a lot of things in our head, we get stressed out super easy. To help manage your time and keep all of those things from bouncing around, write it down. You won’t have to worry about overlooking or forgetting something if you keep a list going.

Creating and keeping lists is super simple. If you create them on your phone using apps like Google Keep or Tasks. You won’t have to worry about having a pen and paper when those ideas come to you.

8. Take time for yourself- In the midst of all the holiday chaos, don’t forget to take time out for yourself. After a long day of shopping for gifts or cooking, treat yourself to a bubble bath, a relaxing walk or something. You won’t have or be any fun for the holidays if you are completely tired and stressed out. Take time to enjoy the season and your family. It only comes around once a year. You will survive!

* Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, Martha A. Belury, Rebecca Andridge, William B. Malarkey, Ronald Glaser. Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation and anxiety in medical students: A randomized controlled trial. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2011.07.229

What do you do during the holidays to keep from stressing out?