The holidays are coming. You probably can’t completely escape the long lines at the mall, the over-abundance of scheduled events, or having to deal with a variety of relatives and other family matters. But with the tips here, you can plan, organize and budget your holiday events to maximize the ho-ho-hos and minimize the humbug.
Minimizing Stress through Planning and Common Sense
Often, we get so frazzled at the holidays that we forget some of the common sense advice mom used to give us: eat right, get plenty of sleep, and plan, plan, plan. When you feel your blood pressure starting to percolate, try these simple ideas to help you chill out. (By the way, did we mention the importance of planning?)
- Take care of yourself. You won’t enjoy the holidays if you feel exhausted and wrung out. Exercise regularly, and try to eat right as much as you can. Eat simple foods and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
- You’re surrounded with all sorts of not-so-good-for-you treats. Sample small portions of the goodies; go ahead and bake (just don’t eat it all yourself); and don’t beat yourself up if you indulge a little more than you should. After all, isn’t that what New Year’s resolutions are for?
- Practice time management. Plan ahead and start early on shopping, cooking, gift wrapping and planning parties.
- Plan quality time with family and friends. Try not to get so stuck on the holiday treadmill that you forget or forgo some simple pleasures, especially those that won’t take you away from the tasks you need to do. Throw a tree trimming party or cookie baking bash. Meet your friends for movies, lunches or informal dinners. Grab those skates and head for the ice rink. Or go for a drive and enjoy the holiday lights. Don’t feel as if you have to go to every holiday event or pageant. You have the right to say “no” every now and then, and if you do so tactfully, you shouldn’t worry about hurting anyone’s feelings.
- Delegate tasks to others. Don’t take on more than you can handle and don’t be afraid to say no. If your kids drive, let them do some of the chasing around. Let each family member prepare a meal each night, so you don’t have to do all the cooking. Make sure others are doing their share of the housework, and rotate the tasks to cut down on griping.
- Ask early for a couple of days off from work. You might enjoy shopping a lot more in the middle of the week when the stores are less crowded.
- Give yourself a gift. Take a long, hot bath, sleep in one weekend morning, or dine out at a nice restaurant.
- Be sure to exercise. This doesn’t have to mean visiting the gym. As you probably already know, walks are a great way to exercise and reduce stress. And if you get to the mall early, you can even multitask, simultaneously speed walking and window shopping for gift ideas.
- Get plenty of sleep. You’re going to need it. Plenty is at least seven hours a night. Take a fifteen-minute power nap now and then. (Avoid longer naps; they can make you feel drowsier.) And try to go to bed and get up at the same time every day.
Avoiding the Presents-at-Work Holiday Blues
Giving gifts to family and friends is tricky enough. Giving gifts to co-workers and your boss can be even harder. That’s why many workplaces have eliminated gift giving, even “secret Santa” grab bags. But if you feel like distributing holiday presents at work, here are some ideas on how to give without inadvertently hurting someone’s feelings:
- Remember, you don’t have to give a gift at work. Marjory Brody, a business etiquette consultant and author, says, “Sending a holiday card is enough.” And if your boss gives you a gift, Brody says you’re under no obligation to reciprocate.
- If your work place draws names for the holidays, make sure it’s understood how much the gift should be (usually $10–$20) and that everyone sticks to that amount. Ask workers to list gift ideas along with their names, so you’ll get them something they want.
- If you’re part of a big group with the same boss and nobody else is buying the boss a gift, you should probably skip it, too.
- Don’t make a big deal of it if you do give your boss a gift. Ann Marie Sabath, a business etiquette consultant, says, “Place it on your boss’s desk at the beginning or end of the day without drawing attention to yourself.”
- Before you give alcohol or sweets, try to make sure the recipient doesn’t have a drinking problem or diabetes. Better gifts might be books, CDs, magazine subscriptions (all geared to the recipient’s tastes) or movie and sports tickets. Remember, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with giving a gift certificate.
Preparing Your Home for Holiday Guests
You may look at your home and wonder where to start in making it festive—or even just presentable—for holiday guests. But by planning ahead and breaking the project into a schedule of chores, you’ll find cleaning up doesn’t have to be torture.
Three days to one week ahead of when your guests are scheduled to arrive:
- Launder and press linens
- Wash and prepare silver, china and crystal (if you’re planning on using it)
- Wash light fixtures and dust ceiling fans
- Clean the refrigerator interior and exterior including the top
- Clean out the oven
- Scrub the edges around the dishwasher door
- Dust baseboards and windowsills
- Wash windows
- Vacuum furniture upholstery
- Tidy shelves and bookcases
Two days ahead:
- Clean the living room and bedroom floors
- Sweep the front sidewalk
- Remove stains from the carpet and upholstery
- Clean the bathrooms: sinks, tubs, showers and toilets
- Wash out trashcans and wastebaskets, as needed
- Clean the microwave
- Scour the stovetop
- Dust thoroughly, including TV and computer screens and the edges of picture frames
The night before:
- Polish all the faucets in the house
- Empty the trash
- Touch up smudges and smears on appliance fronts
- Clean the bathroom mirrors
- Clean the bathroom floors and double-check the kitchen floor
- Put out fresh towels, soaps and mats in bathrooms
- Set out clean kitchen towels
- Clean the kitchen sink and pay special attention to the backsplash
- Straighten throw pillows and cushions
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