Stressed About The Holidays? Here Are Some De-Stressing Holiday Tips

The holidays are a particularly stressful time for people, especially women. Women are charged with shopping, Christmas parties, keeping up with the kids, juggling holiday schedules, dealing with traffic and crowds, cooking, entertaining, hosting relatives/visitors, and a myriad of other details to assure the “forced family fun” that the holidays bring comes off without a hitch.
With all of these responsibilities, it is important for women to remember to take care of themselves in order to avoid fatigue and burn out and, most importantly, so they too enjoy the holidays. With that in mind, the Girls Getaway Guide has compiled the following list of ways in which women can take care of themselves during this stressful time of year.

Pamper Yourself - While your focus is often on others, be sure to take time out for yourself. Get a massage, a manicure, get your hair done, etc. Spa time, even if brief, is a great was to re-charge your holiday batteries and ensure some “me time.”

Escape Reality – Find a nice, quiet place to escape reality. Curl up with a book or magazine, take a bubble bath or just drink some herbal tea. This will help you divert your mind from the holiday madness and focus on something else for a while.

Schedule a Girlfriends Date – One of the best ways to release stress is to talk about it, and no one can relate better to holiday stress than your girlfriends. Schedule a “date” with them. Perhaps you meet for lunch or dinner, but make sure you set time aside to commiserate with those who understand you the best. Laughter will do wonders!

Exercise – It is important to remain physically active. Exercise will release endorphins into your body and help prevent emotional overload. Working out can include aerobic activity and your usual exercise routine, but it can also include relaxing workouts such as yoga and Pilates. Whatever you do, stay active and avoid falling into the sedentary lifestyle that the holidays often seem to catapult us into.

Be Organized and Delegate – Women often feel as though they have to do everything for everyone, especially around the holidays. You don’t. In fact, it is helpful to delegate tasks to others. It makes them feel helpful and a part of the holiday festivities. In order to delegate, one must be organized to evaluate what must be done. Coordinate a schedule, have a calendar and delegate tasks. This will reduce your stress and get others involved.