Christmas is coming! Although it should contribute to happiness and peace on earth, it is mostly causing stress. Crowdy shops, forced politeness towards your family and preparing Christmas dinner. Let’s do it different this year! We will give you some tips.

Your family
Family members asking you whether you already made a promotion at work, if you are dating someone or live in a decent place already. It will only make you feel worse. It is not pleasant when your family is rubbing it in when you’re not feeling well. But keep in mind that they mean well, they probably only ask because they feel like they should. Prepare what you are going to answer and ask questions yourself. By asking questions you will shift the focus away from yourself.

Christmas presents
It seems like it gets more and more difficult every year, what kind of presents should you buy?! So many products, yet so little choice: we already have everything! However, you do want to give a little something to the people you care about. But isn’t it even more fun to give a voucher? You can spend as much money as you want, but experiences are priceless. Watch a movie with your dad, have an afternoon tea with you mother and take a weekend trip with your partner. Nice for the receiver and for yourself!

Christmas dinner
Are you the host of this year’s dinner? Then take it easy: Keep the mains simple and add little snacks, like Christmas bon bons and appetizers. Choose meals you can prepare the day before, like soups, vegetable curries and Christmas cake. Next to that, the supermarkets offer a lot of ready-made dishes which you would not even notice coming straight from the shelves. Scroll through Pinterest for some extra inspiration.  

Escape the crowd
Why not start Christmas shopping now! Webshops will be so overburdened, you will probably not have your last minute present in time. The shops are getting emptier and emptier and the crowd will not make you feel any better. Do not do it to yourself, be prepared. And why not: buy some stuff for next year too.

Be happy
Christmas brings so much fuss, but in the end it is all about being happy. Try to set all of your problems aside and enjoy the moment. Enjoy the people around you and be thankful for what you have. At Christmas life will be on hold for a while!

Glimmers of light: sometimes big, sometimes small. If they are there, that is your call.

Goals: Are you suffering from (extra) stress during the Christmas season? Write down your feelings in the ‘Feel Goal’, describe what caused the stress and find out how to solve it.