Holidays can be all about food, family, friends, and hopefully, fun. But let's face it. holiday season can also be stressful...
When will I have time to bake? Will the crazy in-laws get along? How do I not gain 10 pounds in the next month? What will the kids do with all those days off of school? So much to think about!
Which is why we are asking for your best Holiday Survival Tips. Your advice can be about family, entertaining, food, health, or whatever helps you get through the holiday season. Both big or small ideas, we want to hear them all! Tell us in the comments section below - we will randomly select three winners who will each get a $25 Amazon gift card!
In addition, our favorite tips will be featured in a future SheSpeaks newsletter. As a thank you, we'll give a $25 Amazon gift card to the commenters we feature!
Let others know you entered! Click here to Tweet: "I told @SheSpeaksUp my #HolidaySurvival tips & entered to win a gift card. You can too! bit.ly/2e0XCYT"
*Three lucky commenters will be chosen at random to receive a $25 Amazon gift card. Giveaway is open through October 30, 2016 to U.S. residents at least 18 years of age. Entrants must be a member of SheSpeaks. If you are not a member, click here to join. Winner will be notified by email. We will also notify those who submit comments that will be included in a future newsletter by email. Stories may be slightly edited for publication.
Update: Thanks to all for entering! Congratulations to our winners: SheSpeaks members Nikki61080, tlm2453, desio1230.
Make a budget and stick to it like glue more bills mean to much stress
Momma is always right, and if you don't think so just ask Daddy
My holiday survival is to enjoy the time with my family like there is no tomorrow!!
The 2 main ingredients for a great get-together are People & Food...and if you ask everyone to bring a dish to share, then you have cut your stress level down to near zero & everyone feels like they area part of the celebration because they have helped. It's also a great way to try new dishes...and people usually take their dish home with them at the end of the party, so that means less dishes for you to wash.
My holiday survival tip: Plan ahead. Start in the beginning of the month and put your key dates/activities on the calendar. This way you have all your major holiday activities planned out and you won't have to cram them all in last minute. Planning ahead will allow you to really enjoy all of your holiday activities.
The challenges we face don't go away just because it's the holiday season. Indeed, this can be a time of heightened stress for many people. A few survival tactics that I would like to share with you are, Put first things first. Whatever is important for you to do today, write it down. It's easy to become overwhelmed with demands and expectations. You will get swept away in a tsunami of demands if you don't take care of your own needs. Don't get hung up on the mythology of the holiday season. We live in a time of the blended family and step-relatives. Be gentle with yourself and be realistic with your expectations. As demands for your time increase during this season, you need to do more for yourself ? not less. After all, what are the holidays all about? It's not the stuff. It's about about finding peace and serenity for ourselves and sharing it with our family, friends & others.
Surviving The Holidays: Keep it simply! Remember the reason for the season! Keep it about FAMILY!
My holiday survival go to is a lot of chocolate and red wine. This chocolate and wine combo saves me from the stresses of the holiday season. It helps alleviate all the chaos from dinner parties, holiday shopping and the in-laws. I don't think I would survive without my wine and chocolate.
Spend time with family and enjoy life
When it comes to not gaining weight through the holidays I always use a smaller plate with smaller servings. Then I wait at least an hour before going for second servings to let my food digest some to see if I am full to prevent overeating!!
Holidays can get very hectic and stressful, especially trying to get everything done by a certain time and all the kids. But savor those moments, because not everyone gets to be together on holidays and thats usually the only time theyre all there. That or its for a funeral, so laugh and enjoy each precious moment.
My Holiday Survival advice would be to make it as much about family as you can! Sure there's tons of deals and things to buy but worry about that later. Oh and don't burn the turkey!!
Rest is so important.
My holiday survival tip is just take it one step at a time and not to worry about every little thing. Especially with money I know this year won't be as great at previous but I'm taking it one step at a time and I have been okay. Remember it's more about spending that much needed time with family that gifts.
Mu holiday survival tip, is too plan everything in advance and always have a plan b just in case something goes wrong