Holiday Stress Relief - Organization is Key

The holidays are a stressful time for many of us.  Between shopping, baking, decorating, and buying and wrapping gifts, even the most carefree people can get a little stressed.  The best remedy for holiday stress is good planning and organization well in advance.  Being prepared for any event always takes away worry and prevents unexpected surprises.  With a little pre-planning and some basic organizational skills, you'll be prepared to meet the seasonal challenges head on.  The following are a few ideas for getting organized in specific areas, to help keep your family from having a holiday meltdown!

Events & Entertainment
To avoid over-booking yourself, keep a master calendar of events.  Try to space your events apart so you won't get too burned out, and remember that you don't have to say yes to every invitation.  Pick and choose the things that are most important to you and your family, so that you can still maintain a reasonable and enjoyable schedule for everyone.

Travel
If you do any traveling during the holiday season, these dates should also be carefully marked on your master calendar.  Always check dates and times twice; you don't want to arrive at someone's house a day early or worse, a day late!  Scheduling your travel plans in advance will also allow you sufficient time to pause newspaper and mail delivery and make appointments to have pets boarded.

Decorating
Many families take advantage of the long Thanksgiving weekend to decorate their homes for Christmas.  Storing your holiday decorations in good order is a great way to save time and frustration the next year when you’re decorating.  No one likes to have to hunt all afternoon to find a missing piece to the Christmas village, holiday light set, or nativity.  To make decorating fast and easy each year, take pictures of your rooms while they're fully decorated.  These photos will come in handy next year, reminding you quickly of where everything goes.

Shopping
Shopping is often the most time-consuming, stressful, and expensive undertaking of the season.  Make the process easier on yourself by creating a detailed budget, outlining how much you'll spend on each person and what gift(s) you want to buy.  Next, shop around for the best deals available.  Keep in mind the price of gas and value of your time, and consider doing some shopping by catalog or internet.  Try to only shop through websites and catalogs that offer free shipping or other special discounts and promotions.

Baking
Some people love holiday baking while others dread it.  A lot of this depends on your time schedule and baking abilities.  Even if you are completely helpless in the kitchen, it is still possible to create your own special goodies for family and friends without taking a huge amount of time.  Buy some plain cookies from a grocery store or local bakery, and add your own touch by frosting or drizzling them with melted chocolate and topping with sprinkles.  Package them in your own tupperware, and no one will suspect you didn't make them from scratch!

Remember, escaping the worst of the holiday stress is easy when you've planned things out in advance.  With your calendar in hand and some good organization in mind, you and your family will make it through the holiday season, and hopefully you will find yourself feeling relaxed, joyous, and merry in the new year.