The holiday season can be filled with buying presents, entertaining or going out to holiday events. You may face challenges with travel and family gatherings. These are all the things we should enjoy, but they come with stress, which can overwhelm everyone.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Avera Family Life Educators offer tips to focus on mental health during this busy time for a festive holiday.
Tips for a Less Stressful Holiday Season
- Maintain balanced nutritious meals while limiting sugar. Holiday treats, parties and special meals are to be expected, but it is important not to overdo it.
- Try including new vegetable dishes in your holiday menu. Make it a family “hunt” with a sharing of ideas, recipes found and possible tweaks on the keepers.
- Take care of your mental and physical health. Children and others in our family tune into stress from caregivers.
- Decompress and set aside time for self-care, meditation or mindfulness.
- Be sensitive to any feelings of loss or being overwhelmed.
- Talk to your friends and family. No one wants to, but if you need help, make sure to ask for it.
- Encourage your children to talk about how they feel. Being sad or overwhelmed is OK. Talk especially if you sense out-of-sorts feelings with kids.
Learn to Set Limits
You can say “no” when needed. You’re not required to attend every holiday gathering or event. Decide which events to go to that won’t put pressure on your family time.
Here are some other decision-making and family-related recommendations:
- Try not to feel the pressure to overspend on gifts, decorations or holiday meals. For some families facing financial challenges, it is more important than ever to budget.
- Keep gift-giving simple – try to create memories that do not involve spending a lot of money.
- Spend time together, having a family movie or game night at home. Strive for things that involve actual interaction.
- Some parents choose to continue a holiday ritual such as baking, caroling, reading favorite books, decorating the tree.
- Think of things to do together every year that are meaningful and fun. Appreciate the small stuff. Often the best holiday memories are created during these personal times spent together.
- Teach children the true magic of giving. Show them by volunteering as a family at a local organization or by making gifts for family and neighbors such as Christmas cookies.
Stay Within Your Routine
As tempting as it may be to let kids stay up and sleep late during the holidays, try to stay within one hour of usual times for meals and going to bed.
- Keep family routines as close to your regular schedule as possible, especially mealtimes, naptime and bedtime.
- We all do better when routines are predictable, especially for sleep. Avoid the old adage of “Burning the candle at both ends.”
- When attending gatherings at homes that aren’t child-friendly, bring crayons and paper, books and simple games or puzzles to keep young children occupied and entertained.
- Small snacks may be another good item to bring in case your typical schedule has changed.
The holidays can be a magical and wonderful time to make memories but it is important to keep our family’s mental health in mind. By really focusing on the true spirit of the season, you can avoid burnout and stress.
By Avera Family Life Educators
