Four Things I do To Help Lower my Holiday Anxiety

Do the holidays make you anxious? They make me very nervous. However, I’ve come up with four things I can do to help lower my holiday anxiety.

Every year I vow I will do things differently and not allow myself to get stressed and caught up in holiday anxiety. Sound familiar? These four things helped me be less anxious last year.

Four Ways I Lower My Holiday Anxiety

• Do not give in to peer pressure
• Create a realistic holiday calendar
• Practice self-care
• Live in the moment

The pandemic played a role in keeping my stress in check during the 2020 holiday season. There were fewer holiday celebrations, and most family get-togethers were canceled for fear of contracting Covid.

Now that many of us are vaccinated and soon will have booster shots, I believe the 2021 holiday season will go back to how it was pre-pandemic. Are you ready for that?

I am ready. If I put the four things in place that I listed above, I know I will enjoy the holidays and drastically lower my anxiety. I realize this is no rocket science, but it works for me.

No Peer Pressure

It’s mid-October, and that means Halloween will be here in two weeks. Is it a holiday you celebrate?

Is your neighborhood scattered with giant blow-up pumpkins and witches galore? Are ghosts bobbing in the wind and hanging from trees? Are Halloween decorations everywhere? Do not feel you need to give in to peer pressure and decorate too!

Halloween is not my jam. I enjoy handing out candy to trick or treaters, but it’s not a holiday that makes me want to decorate our house. Maybe it is because my kids are grown-up, and I do not have any grandkids.

Do you decorate for Halloween? I make a conscious effort not to decorate, and that’s okay. There are no ghouls or spider webs on the bushes outside our house. No caving to peer pressure for me!

I do harvest-type decorating with lots of fall foliage and pumpkins. It’s warm and welcoming, and I don’t have to take down any Halloween decorations to prepare for Thanksgiving. (Of course, if you love Halloween and want to decorate, you need to set the time aside to do so.)

Likewise, if your neighbors put up 10,000 lights when decorating for Christmas, do not feel compelled to outdo them! Ditto for the friend that wraps each present like it’s going to win a design award. Gift bags and bunched-up tissue paper is fine too!

• 

• 

Create a holiday calendar

I find creating a holiday calendar extremely helpful for lowering my anxiety/stress levels during the holidays. I schedule November and December with the activities I (we) would like to participate in and tasks I know I’d like to get done.

I space things out nicely, so there’s no mad dash at the last minute to do something. I have been doing it for the past two years and find it helps me keep the stress at bay.

Do you set up a calendar for yourself? What tasks do you include?

The more granular I get, the better this works for me. I cover everything from grocery shopping to cutting down a Christmas tree. Here are some examples: meal prepping, table setting, dessert making, tree decorating, inside and outside house decorating, baking cookies with my sister, shopping (online and in-person), gift wrapping, cleaning.

While I do list many tasks on my calendar, I keep them realistic. I am careful not to set myself up to fail. Some of the tasks include multiple members of my family. As my Aunt Jo used to say, “Many hands make light work.”

Practice Self-Care

Be sure you continue to practice self-care during the holiday season. Do not change your routines! If you have a cup of chamomile tea every night before bed, leave yourself time to enjoy it still. Do not feel compelled to cancel your monthly massage because you are too busy.

Do not allow your holiday activities to impact your sleep. I know this is hard, but you must get enough sleep every night. You will be cranky and frustrated sticking to your calendar if you are not getting enough shut-eye. I have tried it, and it is not fun.

Side note: Earlier this year, I wrote a self-care post if you are looking for ideas. You can find it here: https://www.outwittinglife.com/why-you-should-choose-to-participate-in-the-self-care-trend/

Live In The Moment

The holiday season should be a time of enjoyment. Live in the moment and allow yourself to feel all the feels. Are you missing a loved one while setting the table? Please take a few minutes and sit down to remember them and be grateful for the time you had together.

It is okay to allow yourself to be sentimental at this time of year. It’s normal.

Are you finding it challenging to get all your tasks completed? Ask for help. You do not have to do everything yourself. Take a hard look at your goals. Were you a bit ambitious? Change them if you need to. Be kind to yourself.

There seems to be so much rushing around during the holidays. We plan and plan, and then the day comes, and in a blink, it’s over. Try to enjoy the journey!

I have a friend who always says, “the blessing is through it.” Let yourself breathe and become mindful of the holiday season. Put your phone away when you are watching “Miracle on 34th Street.” Stay focused on the movie and enjoy its message. Taste the butter on your popcorn!

Not giving in to peer pressure, creating a realistic calendar, practicing self-care, and living in the moment allow me to enjoy the holidays more. Hopefully, these stress-busters can work for you too.

Are you ready to try some of these ideas? Do you typically make an effort to lower your stress during the holidays? How? Please let me know in a comment below. I would love your feedback.