Stress Reduction for the Holiday Season - By: Sheena Berg

The Holiday season is fast approaching and for many it's a mixed blessing--Holiday Stress mixed with Holiday Cheer.

Who isn't charmed with sparkling store displays, excited children, and all the delicious cookies and candies everywhere? And a major high spot is organizing comfortable quality time with family and friends at Holiday dinners and parties. There are high hopes and multiple pressures to guarantee happy celebrations.

However, the reality of the season can be quite different; it's an exhausting month, filled with time-consuming activities and social commitments, stress over finances and gift giving, crowded stores with no parking, over-stimulated children, and the challenge of preserving emotional and physical health. At times, just the anticipation of the Holidays can be overwhelming.

Blended families have added tension that may involve spending time with ex-spouses and multiple sets of grandparents, visiting kids who may be homesick for the other parent, loneliness if your child is spending time with the other parent, step-sibling rivalry, competitive gift giving, and a bunch of children who may be over-stimulated and over-indulged transitioning between households.

Everybody is exhausted and spread too thin, preparing, cooking, working around conflicting family schedules, and organizing transitioning children. And this year, because money worries are a serious concern, there is even greater tension around setting a firm budget and being creative about gift giving.

The Holiday season is an emotional period that can make issues more acute; even though everyone is supposed to be enjoying themselves and each other, tension and worry can take over and stress us out.

What is the secret to reducing Holiday stress and confronting common issues and problems as blended families come together over the Holidays?

The experts advise several stress-reducing techniques including:

Planning ahead and prioritizing Keeping it simple Setting a budget and sticking to it, no matter what Asking friends and family for help and not being the martyr Agreeing on a Time Out for family issues and problems until after the Holidays Keeping children on a schedule and minimizing sugar overload, over-tiredness and meltdowns Maintaining emotional and physical health by getting enough sleep

We also recommend treating yourself to affordable, flexible Blended Family group coaching to help reduce holiday stress around any of the above issues or helping you prioritize and implement useful strategies to make this Holiday season your happiest ever.

About the Author

Sheena Berg is a step parenting coach with Blended-Families.com. Take a minute and check out their Holiday Survival Guide for Blended Families. WEB MASTERS: Use of this article requires links to remain intact.

Article Directory: http://www.articlerich.com

Additional Articles From - Home | Home & family | Parental care