Is anyone else starting to get stressed out

[Meredith]

The holidays are fast approaching and I am starting to feel the pressure. I have SO many things to do and seemingly not enough time to do it. Anyone with good tips on time management/ stress relief??

 

[dskidmore]

Backup plans: I'd really like to finish remodling the guest room before my in-laws arrive, but I have a perfectly good fold out couch if we don't finish. I'd like to make some cookies, but my mother is making some anyway and will bring them over if necessary.

Cheat: I want to make one of my famous Dim Sum dinners for the in-laws, but given the time constraints this week I'm going to go buy the steamed buns instead of making them.

Concentrate on what matters: Christmas is really about your faith and your family. Don't let comercialization and unrealistic expectations take your attention away from that.

That said, I'm running around like a rabbit myself this week, but I'm not going to worry about the things I don't finish.

 

[talloulou]

I understand your stress Meredith. I have relatives coming to stay with us for Christmas and I have so much cleaning to do. But some of it REALLY has to get done and some of it doesn't. I just try to take a deep breath and tell myself not all my closets have to be cleaned out. The guests aren't even going to be using them. I can wipe down all the cabinets in the kitchen and that's good enough. I don't HAVE to pull everything out of the pantry and reorganize it! I try to remember that my relatives are coming to see me and they won't care if the baseboards could use a fresh coat of white paint! Figure out what you must get done and what you have time to get done and just let everything else go. I will run around like a chicken with my head cut off till our guests arrive trying to get as much done as possible but once the guests are here I will relax and have fun.

Remember the holidays should be fun and enjoyable and if they aren't then you are working and worrying to hard about that mythical "perfection" .......let it go.

 

[Meredith]

I just try to take a deep breath and tell myself not all my closets have to be cleaned out. I don't HAVE to pull everything out of the pantry and reorganize it! .

That is my problem right there. I have cleaning to do and once I get going, I feel like every square inch needs to be cleaned and organized or Im not doing it properly. And I have SO much baking to do. And naturally I want it to be as fresh as possible for christmas/christmas eve (some of it is for gift baskets) I can't start that stuff until wed or thrus. And both of those days I watch a 6 month old baby.

 

[Flutterby21782]

Well all I can say is I've been stressed for weeks. I'm sick of Christmas and it isn't even here. I know I'm gonna be working on Christmas I'm hoping there will not be a snow storm like there was Thanksgiving. The unoccupied house had a busted water main this weekend. I had no water pressure, I couldn't do a water change, I sure couldn't shower/bathe. I can't wait til January 2nd 2006!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahaha
Thanks for letting me rant.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The stress finally started piling on yesterday. We are in the middle of renovations on our apt and the contractor that we are using is one of those "When we get there we'll be there" kind of guys. IF they show up, you want everything to be ready for them. So they are in the apt all week this week and we have to paint the bathroom once they get it sprayed with mud. Then they are coming by the next morning (5 hours to paint a bathroom) to hang the drop ceilling and light fixtures. Then we have to do the kitchen in a day so they can come in with the flooring. This is all happening this week ONTOP of organizing a Christmas party that I will not even be attending. Then of course cooking for my parents Christmas party (I am in charge of the meal every year) in addition to baking for James' parents. But don't forget, we won't have a bathroom until January because thats when the floor guys are coming to install the flooring. So we don't have a bathroom or shower. Ok, I'll stop there. LOL I'm stressing just reading all that.

 

[kyektulu]

I am not looking forward to xmas at all.

The spirit of the season has lost its cause with me. All the holiday is about now is presents and how much you spend on them.
I remember shopping at Asda last xmas and people were getting two and three trolley loads of food for ONE DAY!
It is unbelivable, most of the food gets wasted anyway, to think of the starving people around the world and this mass exodus of waste that occurs in this country in december each year... it is disturbing to say the least.

 

[lyquidphyre]

I remember shopping at Asda last xmas and people were getting two and three trolley loads of food for ONE DAY!

Some people entertain their entire family which includes spouses family... and that can get pretty large. And, sometimes people fly in for several days... that is why people get that much food- they are entertaining plenty of people.

I know I should be stressed but im not. I need to buy presents for my best friend, boyfriends mom and dad and I need to get ALL of my boyfriends presents. I need to wrap gifts and clean my house.
And, I need to do all this with no car heh.

 

[Joey17]

I'm stressed out too, but for a different reason argh.

 

[QTOFFER]

Thanksgiving to Christmas has always been the most stressful time of the year for me - I literally breathe a sigh of relief when it's over. Besides all the social pressures pulling from different directions, December also has the fewest hours of sunlight which always sends my system into a tailspin. It has historically been a season of stressful final exams, and since I finished school, it's become a season of stressful year-end projects with deadlines.

I deal with it by carefully and deliberately not overextending myself.


1) I avoid office Christmas parties like the plague. Going out with a few friendly coworkers after work is one thing, but I just don't have the time for these big pointless departmental shindigs.

2) I make no promises (to myself or to others) that I will regret later. Sure I'd love to bake 20 cranberry loaves for the family like I did five years ago, but I just don't have that kind of time now. Wine, cheese, and a nice platter of fresh bakery cookies work just as well.

3) I send out my holiday greeting cards whenever I get around to it (sometimes after New Years). I'm always happy to hear from my friends, and honestly couldn't care less if the greeting is postmarked after Dec 24. Hopefully they feel the same way.

4) Between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, I stay far far away from shopping malls and their crass, mind-numbing commercialism . Thankfully traditional Christmas shopping went out years ago when my nieces and nephews got too old for toys. Never again will I have to drive to six Toys R Us stores in search of a plastic piece of crap that doesn't exist. Today, my giftgiving M.O. is gift certificates and the internet. When family ask me what I want, I tell them gift certificates and the internet That way, everybody gets EXACTLY what they want, and the insanity is kept to a bare minimum. (BTW, I try to let people know what I got with their gift certificate and love to hear the same from them - it helps remove the somewhat impersonal nature of gift certificates).

5) Finally, I keep in mind that there are twelve months in the year, and seeing ALL my friends and family does not have to be crammed into one of them!

Hope you have a merry, stress-free Christmas!

 

[Flutterby21782]

QTOFFER that is teh best I've ever heard, maybe I can put that in effect next year. With the two families I doubt it, maybe at least some.

 

[youronlysin]

Good outlook QTOFFER, I'm with you. The winter months are always more stressful...its a fact that people suffer depression and stress more-so during the winter months. Part of that just has to do with the lack of sunlight, or exposure to it. Go to a tanning booth once in a while during the winter months. The goal here isnt to cook yourself and get a tan, but a tanning booth can offer the same benefits as being in the sun...it aids in the bodies production of Vitamin D which, a lack of, has been linked to depression and stress. Its a great boost and you can feel the difference. Try it!

 

[dskidmore]

I am not looking forward to xmas at all.

The spirit of the season has lost its cause with me. All the holiday is about now is presents and how much you spend on them.

Don't let the masses control how you celebrate Christmas. Only do the parts that have meaning to you. If your friends are so stuck up that they need presents to stay your friends, maybe you need new friends. Within your family, you have the ability to influence attitudes, by displaying them yourself and proposing alternate activities that have more meaning.

 

[Meredith]

Well, I have decided to cut one thing from the baskets I am making (0ne less thing to bake) And I am going to use the krustyz pie crust mix instead of making it from scratch. That will ease the burden a bit. My daughter has been such a sweet little helper with the cleaning, a 5 yr olds help is better than none I will try to keep myself from going crazy, but there is still that underlying hum of holiday stress. Just 4 more days...

 

[smallfry]

Reading these posts has helped me realize that I'm not as stressed/bad off as I thought I was!

Hang in there everybody, and remember to enjoy this time for what it is - try not to let it drive you crazy.

 

[ace1uno_00]

I stay cool as a polar bears toe nails. lol

 

[sdellin]

All I can say is, I'm glad it's over. Really good dinner though, my husband cooks!

 

[dskidmore]

I had enough leftovers to last for days, then an idle conversation turned into a Dim Sum cooking demonstration for my mother in law. I'll be in leftovers for more than a week!