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Happy Healthy Holidays

Here we... the holiday months of November's Thanksgiving holiday and December's many holidays followed up by New Years. All of the celebrations, parties, get-togethers with family and friends, holiday functions with businesses, shopping, decorating, cooking, and planning, come with the pitfalls of just being busy, busy, busy! Include our normal routine of responsibilities and commitments, and that can add up to major holiday stress!

No matter how much you look forward to the holidays, it is difficult to get away from the fact that the holidays can also be quite stressful. To take a bite out of holiday stress, you need a strategy. There are five common areas that can create stress during the holidays. Manage your holiday stress with knowledge and awareness. To develop a strong strategy to be proud of in January, plan now!

The five stressors to consider in your strategy are:

>> Gift giving
>> Holiday expenses and finances
>> Managing and protecting your time
>> Anticipation and expectations
>> Holiday indulgences versus healthy habits

Now that you're aware of the common areas of stress, you can customize your own strategy to minimize holiday stress.

Gift giving: You want to find the perfect gift for that special family member or friend, boss, neighbor, and the list goes on and on. Focus on the point of gift giving which is to show your appreciation for the person. If you don't like to shop, plan a single day of gift shopping to avoid multiple trips of enduring the holiday shopping craze. Stay at home to do your shopping by using the Internet and catalogs. Shop by ordering early enough to save time and higher shipping charges along with making sure your gift selection is in stock.

Holiday expenses and finances: Make a list of the expenses you anticipate such as gifts, hosting parties, or providing holiday meals. Set a budget from this list and stick to it. Don't buy gifts that you'll spend the next year trying to pay off. Set up a gift exchange or make handmade gifts yourself. Avoid impulse purchases by planning ahead with a budget.
Holiday meal expenses can add up fast. Have a potluck party rather than providing all of the food yourself. This allows others to prepare their specialty and to enjoy a dish prepared by other guests. Write a special note along with a gift of yourself. It could be a night of babysitting, wash and detail their car, host a movie night at your home, clean their home, or arrange an outing together of taking a walk to talk.

Managing and protecting your time: Time is a precious commodity any time of the year and especially during the holidays. Say "no." You don't have to go to every party just because you're invited. Share tasks and delegate. Don't take on too much yourself. You don't have to do it all. It becomes difficult to enjoy time with family and friends when you have too many things to do and not enough time. Take time for yourself. You may feel guilty by taking time for yourself, but it is important. You can't give of yourself to others if you don't give time to yourself. By doing this, you're less inclined to get overwhelmed and feel more capable to handle things that can come up during the holidays. Take a bubble bath, take a nap, read a book, take a walk, get a massage, or treat yourself by carving out time for your favorite hobby.

Anticipation and expectations: Be realistic rather than attempt to create a scene from a holiday movie. Just because it is the holiday season, issues will not suddenly be resolved and disappear. Adjust your expectations by expecting a few bumps along the way. Family events, office parties, and parties with friends or acquaintances can be managed with realistic and reasonable expectations.

Holiday indulgences versus healthy habits: Your food choices can lessen or magnify the stress of the holidays. The average weight gain during the holiday months is between five and seven pounds! Keep attending your support group meetings during the holidays. Even superheroes have a backup. Don't abandon your healthy habits that you've created throughout the year. Don't have the "Oh, it's the holidays" attitude when it comes to your food choices and exercising. After the season is over, you will be left to deal with the consequences, which can include extra pounds and getting back in shape.

When you attend a holiday event, put the emphasis on good music, games, conversation, and enjoying your family and friends at the function. Seek out activities that doesn't center on food, such as watching a movie. Don't stress yourself out by focusing all of your attention on the holiday itself. The actual holidays are only a few days out of your entire year. The day after the holidays will follow, and you'll want to have energy in reserve for the rest of your year.

New Year's will come immediately after the holidays. You get to choose if you welcome in the New Year heavier or happy with the holiday choices you made. You can enjoy the holidays by being fiscally fit by staying with your budget and physically healthy by your food choices and exercise. You can take action now to reduce stress levels this holiday season and even put the "Happy" in your "Holidays" by staying "Healthy."

What are some of your healthy holiday strategies? Share your tips below!