Saving Your Seasonal Sanity

Shopping, wrapping, decorating, entertaining, baking, cooking…so many action words associated with the holidays, but at the top of my list every year that is often forgotten (or seemingly impossible to check off) is relaxing.
We asked our readers on Facebook what they did to stay sane during the hectic holiday season and here’s what some of them shared with us:

Shannon Kinnear Silvey likes to ‘eat chocolate and drink lots of red wine’. Reagan Calder makes ‘lists, and likes to do as much as possible online! One of her favourite places is Ape 2 Zebra toys because they have awesome selection and customer service. Andrea Firmani starts early with her online shopping because it saves her the stress of battling crowds while Sarah Eddenden shops for little things all year long—like adornments for gifts. She shops online for the unique stuff and buys gift certificates for kids between 7 and 27 years of age. Then she can breathe easy.

Brave Amanda Shaw-Yagoub actually likes to ‘ditch the lists’! She hits the stores and browses for a gift that fits the recipient, rather than running around trying to track down specific items. Grace Sanchez MacCall is a real traditionalist who likes to drink her tea in proper china. With friends. And cakes. It slows the world right down!

Me? I like to get all the family gifts—aunts, uncles, cousins, teachers, etc. crossed off the list by the end of November so I can breathe in December. I always save a few last minute gifts because it just feels more festive to shop the week before.

Whatever your strategy is, there are lots of ways to avoid too much stress before and during the holidays. So make sure you add a little relaxing on your list this year. And thank you to all those who shared their tips and tricks.

Do you have any more ideas? I would still like to hear more.