Don’t make your Christmas too stressful

You have only yourselves to blame, and no one else, if your Christmas season is full of stress, tension, pressure, and even conflict. The true message of Christmas is peace, serenity, harmony, and reflection. Avoid pushing, rushing, and running around like crazy. Arrange your schedules and appointments in such a way that you give highest priority to what really matters most according to your hierarchy of values. Do not try to please everybody, or promise to attend all gatherings. You cannot be in two places at the same time. The quality, not the quantity of your presence is what really matters most. For instance, I would prefer to attend family Christmas reunions rather than alumni or fraternity parties. If you can afford, just send in your gifts and contributions. But be present only in the most important event.

And when you attend a Christmas party, be present both physically and mentally. Do not use your phone every now and then as if your mind and attention are somewhere else. Turn off all your gadgets and focus on the here and now. Enjoy the company of people who really mean much to you, capture the moments and just enjoy. Do not be distracted by outside calls and demands for your attention. Let them wait and make them realize that you have the right to focus on what you are doing. Do not allow other people to manipulate you or control you even while you are attending an important occasion. If you cannot focus on the party then it is better for you not to attend and be somewhere else.

Another thing you should avoid is the pressure to give gifts to people who demand them. If you have to give, do give out of your own volition, out of the spontaneous outpouring of your feelings, and not because of compulsion, social pressures, or demands. No one has the right to demand for a Christmas gift. Gifts are given out of the goodness of the giver’s heart. A gift loses its meaning and its value if it is given grudgingly or even with negative feelings. That is not the spirit of Christmas. So, never give because you have to. Rather, give because you want to. And you can afford to. Be unique in your gifts and never ever recycle gifts that you received. It is bad manner and a sure sign of ill-breeding.

You need to plan your Christmas six months or more ahead. You need to buy your gifts when the prices are not yet too high. You need to have a complete list of your gift recipients and you must have the discipline to adhere to it. You must have a budget and you must adhere to it. Do not be pressured by anybody to buy, beg, or borrow just to please people who are just taking advantage of you. Give out of love, out of affection, out of gratitude, or out of mercy and compassion. Do not give out of peer pressures or tradition. And when you give, give something that the recipient should really be happy about.

This Christmas should be a time of joy and pleasure, never a time of stress and pressure. Be wise, enjoy the season. Do not let anyone rob you of that right. [email protected]