Holiday stress comes as no surprise to anyone, I’m sure — however, as we deal with a pandemic the stress of the holidays is only heightened.

I have always felt a lot of stress during the holidays, not just in 2020, and after chatting with people in person, on Instagram and more, I have found there are a lot more people that find the holidays more stressful than not.  

Of course the holidays do offer plenty of fun times, opportunities to spend time with loved ones, take time off work, continue old traditions or start new ones; but it can still make one feel bogged down, tired, and anxious.

So I compiled holiday stress tips that can help to combat holiday stress and allow you to actually enjoy this time of year!

Stick to your routine: 

During the holidays it can be very easy to get off track. I am for sure a victim of this.  Working out (for me it’s my Soul Cycle at home bike) or eating a balanced diet are major components in many people’s day to day routine — during the holidays, I tend to abandon that routine in favor of those delicious cookies at Trader Joe’s! What I have found was that if I went off course: it made me happy in the short term but not the long term.  So try to keep your routine as part of your holiday celebrations.

Do something just for you:

Often you can find yourself trying to accommodate or stick to someone else’s agenda (i.e. significant other’s family coming to town…). This is great and always helpful but also remember that what you want to do is important and if you need to step out and go for a walk or exercise, get a coffee, go somewhere alone to regroup: do so!

Set realistic expectations from the beginning:

This is a big one for me.  I often get into my head about what I want the holidays to look like and feel like but I don’t communicate those expectation and I also don’t remind myself that they may not all be met.  Setting those expectations early will greatly relieve holiday stress.

Communicate with those around you:

This relates to the point above: after you set the expectations, communicate those wants and needs to your family, friends, or significant other.  As I am learning, people are not mind readers and if you have a tradition you want to start or continue: communicate that.

Start your own tradition:

Maybe you are living in a new city, or in a new relationship: it’s important to feel like you are creating the holidays for yourself and not doing it for everyone around you — your energy will be completely depleted if you do this. In that spirit, last year I started a new tradition of making latkes for friends on Hanukkah!

What are you holiday stress tips for 2020?