Three Holiday Stress Busters - Children, Cookies and Fun

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Banish stress this holiday season and you are much less likely to suffer symptoms of depression, and instead have fun.

Stress is a leading contributor to depression and anxiety. Many people feel the most stress during the holidays. While holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving should come with feelings of warmth and joy, many people find the activity that goes on during the holidays stressful and unwanted.

What can you do? According to many successful parents, ask your children to help.

Children and Holidays
If you have children, you know they are often more excited during the holidays than at any other time during the year. You should use this energy and channel it into holiday festivities and preparations. Doing so will help alleviate your stress, so you do not succumb to holiday depression.

Here are some tips to follow if you have children and you want to have fun this holiday season, rather than suffer from unnecessary stress.

  1. Holiday Decorations - It's that time of year when you want your home to look lovely. Your first thought is you need to bring out the holiday decorations. While this task may seem like a burden to you, your children will undoubtedly find it fun and entertaining. Ask your children to help you when decorating. If you have older children, you can appoint one of them or all of them in charge of decorating the house for the holidays. Your job? Act as a supervisor. By delegating this role, you will feel less stressed, and your children will have more fun (which also helps reduce your stress).
  2. Parties and Special Events - If you plan to host a holiday party or other event, you don't have to go it alone. Most people report they are most stressed when trying to clean up for the holiday event. If this is the case, put your kids to work. Ask them to help you clean up the house. You can assign each child chores based on their skill, age and ability. Make sure to provide them with small rewards for all good deeds done. You will save time and reduce your stress, while reaping the benefits of a tidy home. You can also have your kids help with party decorations or filling out invitations, even if it means they do nothing more than put your invitations in envelopes, label them and seal them shut. You will spend some quality time with your kids, and feel less burdened by the task at hand. This too can help relieve mild depression and improve your overall wellness.
  3. Cooking - Holiday parties usually mean baking cookies, cakes and other sweet treats. For some reason people have come up with the idea you have to burn out to make a good impression. The only requirement for a good treat is a little love. That means you can always buy cookie-cutter cookies and pop them into the oven. You don't have to become a world-class chef or look up a new recipe every year to impress your friends, unless you like doing that. If you get cookie-cutter dough, your children can cut it up using fun shapes and help you bake, saving you time and again, reducing your stress.

Remember, the holidays should be a time to rejoice and remember all we are thankful for, including a healthy body, mind and spirit. To keep your holiday spirit up and reduce your stress, remember to take things easy and ask for a helping hand whenever you can.

P.S. - If you don't have kids of your own, you can always invite your neighbor's over to help you bake and decorate. Most children love to do this, and most parents will gladly oblige. This will give you the opportunity to blow off some steam and enjoy conversing with your neighbor. The two of you may become best friends!