How To Have a Stress-Free Christmas

Ah, Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year! Or so everyone says. But without being organized, it can be more woeful than wonderful. Unpredictable families, more responsibility, and a full social calendar are enough to make anyone crazy. Luckily, there are plenty of tactics available to keep your sanity and, if you’re lucky, actually enjoy the holiday.

Plan Ahead

Being unprepared is a surefire way to cause yourself stress. We’re not suggesting creating a minute-by-minute schedule to follow. This is Christmas, not the Marines. But planning ahead will help to manage stress and take stressful thoughts out of the actual day, leaving you no choice but to enjoy yourself.  

There are dozens of Christmas details to plan, and it’s important to consider the ones that could cause the most stress. If you’re hosting this year, plan your meal at least a week in advance, and buy the food as soon as you have your menu. Prepare any side dishes or desserts ahead of time, and call your grandma if you’re not sure which ones those are. 

It’s a good idea to buy your gifts in advance as well. At the very least, have an idea of what you’d like to buy, and get to the store or create a wish list. Make sure your gifts are purchased before the holiday festivities begin, so you can enjoy gift giving and avoid getting stuck with the gifts no one else wanted to buy. 

Know where you’re going and when on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If your holiday looks a little more like Four Christmases than A Christmas Story, and you’ll be traveling from house to house, plan when you’ll arrive and when you’ll leave, and know what you’re expected to bring. Sort your gifts and food by location when packing your car, so you’re not sifting through your trunk in every driveway missing out more and more of the festivities. Make notes if you have to. The preparation might be tedious, but it’ll save you stress on the big day. 

Make Time for Your Favorite Traditions

Part of the stress of Christmas is seeing to obligations we don’t enjoy. We all have to exchange gifts with a cousin we don’t like, and no family gathering is complete without an in-law who starts a fight. Some of these occurrences are no longer a matter of if, but when, and we have to endure. To relieve some of the pain, indulge in at least one of your favorite traditions to bring joy to Christmas.

Pour yourself a cup of cocoa and turn on your favorite movie. Take a picture of you and your siblings in matching pajamas by the tree. Whatever it is that makes you happy and nostalgic, do it. It’ll give you something to look forward to and take your mind off the prior or impending stress.

If you don’t have a favorite tradition, start one. Find something to make your day merry and bright. 

Set Boundaries

Speaking of families, many of us find at least some members to be a major source of stress. Some relatives are tolerable, but others are truly bad for our mental health, causing anxiety beyond the point of stress. There isn’t enough spiked eggnog in the world to put up with some people, and if that’s the case, set boundaries to avoid an unhealthy situation. 

Boundaries look different for everyone. What’s most important is that you’re comfortable. Your boundary might be greeting your stress-inducing relative and saying nothing more to them the entire day. Your boundary might be attending the get-together for an hour then celebrating with friends. Your boundary might even be foregoing the Christmas reunion altogether. You’ve got to do what’s best for you, and create beneficial boundaries to remain calm and happy on the holiday.

Do Something Kind

This time of year is depressing for many, and one way to relieve stress and feel good about yourself is by doing something kind for another person. Volunteer organizations are constantly looking for help during the holiday season, and there’s bound to be something you enjoy doing that’ll help someone else, even if it’s just for the evening. 

Volunteer with the Salvation Army and collect donations. Purchase Christmas gifts for a family that can’t afford them. Serve a meal at a homeless shelter. Buy someone’s coffee at Starbucks. There are countless ways to spread holiday cheer, and they’ll all bring you just as much joy as the people you’re helping. 

Take a Trip

Christmas doesn’t have to be spent at home, and gifts don’t have to be tangible items. If Christmas is really too stressful to handle with the relatives, or you just want to get away, book a trip over the holidays. It can be a quick three-day getaway to a cabin in the snow or a ten-day luxury vacation in the tropics. There’s no bad way to travel, and it can be a huge dopamine burst. 

Don’t feel pressured to stay put over Christmas if you’re going to be miserable. No one else will want to be around you either. Splurge on an adventure of a lifetime, or take a modest road trip just to get a change of space. Whether you booked it months in advance or are buying your plane ticket at the airport, taking a trip will reduce stress and make for a supremely enjoyable Christmas holiday. 

Outsource What You Don’t Enjoy

Throughout the year, if you don’t enjoy a task, you find a way out, right? Well, most of us do. Hate cleaning? Hire a cleaning service. Not in the mood to cook? Order takeout. When the holidays roll around, we wrongly convince ourselves we have to do everything on our own, causing tons of stress. It’s impossible to do everything alone – there’s simply too much to do around the holidays. 

If there’s a holiday task you’re not keen on completing yourself, find someone else to do it. The world is teeming with people making money in ways you never thought possible, so use it to your advantage. Hire someone to decorate, wrap packages, even shop if you hate lines and crowds. Someone somewhere will do anything for money, including everything around the holidays you hate to do yourself. You just have to find them. 

Visit Your Loved Ones

In need of a major pick-me-up? Spend your Christmas visiting those you love most. This can be family, friends, your partner – anyone really. Visit them before the holiday, on it, or after it.

Spend part of your visit doing your favorite holiday activity together. Visit the lights downtown, grab a drink at a Christmas bar, or exchange gifts. If you’re visiting a lover, there’s one activity in particular that will really reduce stress (you know what we’re talking about.) Spend some quality time together to truly enjoy the season. 

Buy Yourself a Gift

Christmas is the time of giving, so don’t forget to treat yourself too. If you’re certain no one is buying you the gift at the top of your list, heck, even if someone is, get yourself something special this Christmas. Take yourself shopping for that item you’ve had your eye on all year, or use your end-of-year bonus as a spending limit and browse through The Christmas Book at Neiman Marcus for an ultra-luxe, totally exclusive holiday splurge. 

Maybe it’s the Rolex you’ve seen in the window a dozen times and can’t stop picturing on your wrist. Maybe it’s a down payment on the Lambo you’ve dreamed of since you were a kid. Whatever the item may be, gift yourself. Have someone wrap it or spice it up with a bow to make it extra festive and special. Open it up and enjoy. You deserve it!

If You’re Hosting, Get Help

Not all of us are so lucky as to attend a Christmas gathering we can easily skip or finally employ the Irish exit we’ve been perfecting all holiday season. Some of us are destined to be Clark Griswold, hosting our extended families on both sides for a chaotic, stressful day – sometimes days. If you’re one of the men saddled with hosting duties, fear not. There are ways to make it easier.

Get help. Just as you outsourced your decorating and shopping, have others help with hosting duties. If you’re not much of a cook, tell your guests ahead of time you’ll be hosting a potluck dinner. Assign everyone a dish so you’re not stuck gorging yourself on desserts and that family member who just went keto isn’t complaining the entire night about their hunger pains. Or, if you’re feeling risky, tell everyone to bring their favorite holiday dish and see what you get. 

If asking guests to bring food isn’t your style, order a meal. Plenty of restaurants, catering companies, and grocery stores have meals available for pickup before the holiday, making food preparation simple. All you have to do is cook according to the instructions – no preparation required. Even if you do enjoy cooking, this is an easy way to reduce stress and allow you to spend time with your guests.

Kindly ask guests to clean up after themselves, most will naturally want to help you clear the table, but if they don’t, ask them for a helping hand, it’s only fair. Cooking is only part of a host’s duties, and it’s often the more enjoyable part. Kindly ask guests to clear their own plate, and if you aren’t dining on hand wash-only china, have them place their plate and silverware in the dishwasher. This takes a load off you, and isn’t any trouble for your guests, especially if you’re hosting a large group. 

Another option that many people find useful is hosting their Christmas celebration at a neutral location, like a hotel or a holiday home. This is especially helpful if you have a large group and no one’s home can accommodate that many people. Or if you’d simply rather not have dozens of people in your home. Choose a location and have everyone pitch in with planning and cleaning. Many hands make light work, and light work makes for a stress-free Christmas. 

Rest

Rest is vital to remaining stress-free, and it’s often overlooked and cast aside due to other demands. Don’t discount its importance this holiday season, and take time to rejuvenate. If it isn’t possible before the big day, schedule some time after Christmas to relax and take a break. 

Remember that rest isn’t just sleeping. Although that’s important, it’s also important to take time off work, visit a spa, spend the night curled up on the couch, or decompress on an island somewhere. Whatever your preferred form of relaxation maybe, find a way to do it and prepare for the new year ahead. 

Encourage those around you to rest too. Your friends, family, coworkers, and partners need it just as much as you. Take a trip together, give each other gift cards for massages, celebrate the holiday at a later date to give each other space to enjoy the day, or go out to eat on Christmas Day so no one has to cook. This year, avoid stress with plenty of rest. 

Stick To Your Routines and Maintain Self Care

With the chaos of Christmas, it’s easy to skip parts of your routine that reduce stress on a daily basis. You might think you don’t have time for a workout, and a festive cocktail probably sounds more appealing than a gallon of water, but maintaining your routines will keep your stress level low, so stick to them as much as possible. 

Don’t drive yourself crazy by sticking to them and cause more stress, though. Find balance. Eat dessert. Drink a glass of wine. Stay up past midnight reminiscing with family about Christmases past. But on December 26, hop back on your Peloton and chug some water. You’ll be glad you did.