Top 5 Tips To Reduce Holiday Stress

Cozying up in a sweater with the decadent smell of warm pies in the oven, turkey on the table and being with those you love. What’s not to love about the Thanksgiving and the holidays?

Well, besides the stress of entertaining,  cleaning your home, preparing all of the food,  making sure your husband doesn’t eat all of the food before the guests arrive (just mine??), setting up decorations and making sure everyone is enjoying themselves…Okay, the holidays can be a bit stressful at times! I’ll admit it!  Use these Top 5 Tips For Enjoying The Holiday Hustle to make your holiday season a bit sweeter this year.

TOP 5 TIPS TO REDUCE HOLIDAY STRESS

1. CREATE A LIST.

Overwhelmed with where to begin with the cooking, cleaning and prep that needs to get done before your

gathering? First things first-create a list.  Write it all down and decide which day you are going to conquer which tasks.  Throwing a stress-free, Thanksgiving or any successful gathering has everything to do with being organized ahead of time, so that there are less surprises day-of.

2.  FOOD.PREP.

Another thing you can do to take some of the day-of stress of your plate is cook ahead of time! What can you make a day or two before your holiday get together that will make the actual day of your event less busy? Are you making cranberry relish or a homemade salad dressing? A frozen or refrigerated dessert? Make it a couple days before!  Think about

dishes or parts of dishes you can make ahead of time.  As a result, you will make your day-of

get-together MUCH less stressful because you will actually have time to relax and enjoy

yourself!

3.  DELEGATE, DELEGATE, DELEGATE.

Who is going to say no to picking up some more drinks or a couple packs of bread rolls on their way to your house??  Almost always, friends and family are looking for ways to be helpful when you’re hosting!  Whenever and wherever possible, ask for help in pulling off your holiday event, especially if it’ll save you a trip to the store!

4. CLEAN-UP CREW.

Aka, your kids.  Growing up, we always had The Messy Eater Contest.  In other words, whoever had the messiest spot had the privilege of clearing the table!  Even though the kids may not be too thrilled about this, I can GUARANTEE you will no doubt have the cleanest table you’ve ever seen.

No kids at your gathering? Regardless, ask everyone else to chip in! Many hands make light work and guests are usually more than happy to help, if they are asked.

5. DECORATIONS.

While this is not what gathering are all about, another thing you can do (on a budget) to make your holiday gathering a little sweeter is to add personal touches! It doesn’t have to be anything expensive-try using things you have around the house or in your yard. Rustic is in after all, right??  For example, take a look at these adorable place settings with items you could probably find just outside of your home!

via Flickr

via Bloglovin

I hope these tips give you a couple of ideas on how to enjoy time during this busy holiday season.  Remember, not everything has to be perfect.  Forgot to make that extra appetizer? Didn’t get around to making cute name cards?  No worries.  Besides, even though you may not have time to do everything you wanted to, your loved ones won’t know the difference.  More importantly, you are forming memories with your family and friends.

Above all, I hope you can now spend a little less time stressing and more time enjoying those you love this holiday!

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