Enjoy the Holidays, Avoid the Stress

Now is the time to outline your holiday plans. Lists are always a great way to organize your thoughts. First, make a list of what needs to be done for the holidays and number each, with 1 as your top priority, 2 as the next most important and so on down the list. Include menu planning, gift selection, shopping, baking and cooking. Once you have an organized list, it will be easier to see what needs to be done and when.

After you've made your list, take a minute to look at your financial situation. Creating a holiday spending budget will prevent stress before, during and after the holidays. Suggest a GIFT EXCHANGE or a "Secret Santa" event among friends, family members and co-workers. This way, you can enjoy buying a small number of nice gifts and not worry about the financial strain.

This year, stop to think about the top three "family traditions" that stress you out the most during the holidays. Drop just one of them. It might be hard to let go, but if it's making you grumpy it's just not worth it. The happier and the less stressed you are during the holidays, the better everyone else will feel, too. Forget about perfection—and remember how to enjoy the holidays!

The holidays are about the whole family, so get the whole family involved in the preparations. Kids will love to learn how to make and decorate holiday treats, and if you're having family over, have a potluck dinner instead of cooking the whole thing yourself. You can make the main dish, like a turkey or ham, and everyone else can bring his or her favorite holiday side dishes. Less mess, less time and less work in the kitchen for you!

The holiday season isn't just a time for family, food and gifts—it's also cold and flu season. Keeping your stress levels down will help ward off illness, but you also should maintain a healthy diet and take precautions, including plenty of hand washing. Pay attention to your feelings, too. Some people suffer from a condition called seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which happens when they are exposed to fewer hours of sunlight during the shorter days of winter. For others, the holidays themselves can bring on different forms of depression. If you feel unusually down or depressed, be sure to take the time to see your doctor.