I don’t know about your family, but mine tends to go for a record in “Most drama in a short timeframe” around Christmas. I was sitting here thinking about how on earth to get through this weekend (both sides of my family are having their gatherings, which I plan to attend, within 24 hours of each other - and no, they’re not in the same town or anything, and my six-month-old got shots today). The presents aren’t wrapped, the food isn’t under way, and I don’t know where to begin.

Needless to say, I was feeling a bit stressed about the whole thing. I despise eggnog, but I might be tempted if it were strong enough at this point. Instead, I pulled out a piece of paper, listed the things I had to do, and divided them by the days I have left. Then I broke each task into small parts - twenty minutes of wrapping here, ten minutes of writing out gift tags there, etc. so that I can tackle things in easy segments without feeling overwhelmed by it all. That helped - for the moment.

What do you do to alleviate holiday stress? Care to share your tips and tricks for getting through Christmas with your sanity intact (and your kids and husband/SO still breathing)?

Posted by Sunshine.