6 Ways To Avoid Stress At Christmas Time

5. Delegate Tasks

Some people feel like they need to do it all themselves to ensure that their family has the best Christmas possible. But that’ll just end up driving you crazy! So, what do you do? Delegate! This will significantly lessen your workload (and stress) – and who knows, your family may actually enjoy doing their part to make the holiday special as well!

Share the tasks with the rest of your family, and assign specific jobs like shopping for gifts, picking up the tree, or even cooking and cleaning on the day itself to different members of the family. Remember: a problem shared is a problem halved.

6. Learn to Say No

Let’s dive deeper into something we said earlier: acquiring the skill of knowing when to say “no”. Sure, everyone means well when they invite you to their Christmas parties, include you in their gift-giving circles, and etc. But that doesn’t always mean you have to always say yes.

Pleasing others is all good and well, but when it threatens your wellbeing by putting you under undue pressure – just say “no”. Before you accept another proposition, stop and think whether it fits into your goals and priorities, and if not – you know the word! If you find it hard to say it to someone’s face or if you’re not sure you should say yes at that very moment, just tell them you’ll think about it and let them know. Later on, you can write to them in a text or email either to accept, or to say “no”, but in a nicer way, of course. You can still be liked and stay within your personal boundaries!