I have run into a number of people who will eat not one, but two Thanksgiving dinners tomorrow to keep peace in the family. I've known families who visit one set of parents in the morning, eat a big lunch and hang out for a couple of hours and then head over to the other set of parents for the “second turkey.”
Do you ever find yourself getting irritable just anticipating the craziness of a holiday?
This is what I know to be true...when I let that irritation get the best of me….I take it out on the ones I love the most – my spouse and daughter. The potential for a perfectly good holiday gets shot right out the window.
I have learned that things don’t have to go south. It’s true that attitude is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you choose to respond. Just like athletes prepare for a marathon, you and I can prepare for the Thanksgiving Marathon. Come up with a game plan. It could include secret hand signals that mean it’s time to go or a code word that lets the other know I could use a little help with the kids.
What creative things do you do to keep the fun in your holidays?
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Surviving the Holidays
Not long after Jay and I married, the holidays hit us square in the face. I LOVE the holidays, but we were trying to be everywhere with everybody in order to make sure nobody was unhappy. Can I tell you this about did us in?!
It only took one holiday season for us to know we had to set some limits and make decisions about how we were going to spend the holidays. Ultimately we decided to spend Thanksgiving at my mom's and Christmas at home with both sides of the family.
Every family situation is different and people need to decide for themselves what will work best. But one thing is for sure, more so than any other time of the year, the holidays can bring out the worst in us if we aren't careful.
I myself have set some goals for this year. I am only going to put up our favorite decorations and I am going to help our daughter decorate the tree this year instead of telling her how we are going to decorate it. I love to bake and entertain so I plan on spending a lot of time in the kitchen. I will invite friends over for informal get togethers....even if the house isn't spotless instead of just talking doing it.
I am going to keep my time with my family and friends in perspective. The holidays only last a couple of weeks and then it is back to the chaos we all know as real life.
My ultimate goal is not to get so worked up over everything, that I don't enjoy the time I have with the people I care about most.
What about you? How will you be spending the holidays?
It only took one holiday season for us to know we had to set some limits and make decisions about how we were going to spend the holidays. Ultimately we decided to spend Thanksgiving at my mom's and Christmas at home with both sides of the family.
Every family situation is different and people need to decide for themselves what will work best. But one thing is for sure, more so than any other time of the year, the holidays can bring out the worst in us if we aren't careful.
I myself have set some goals for this year. I am only going to put up our favorite decorations and I am going to help our daughter decorate the tree this year instead of telling her how we are going to decorate it. I love to bake and entertain so I plan on spending a lot of time in the kitchen. I will invite friends over for informal get togethers....even if the house isn't spotless instead of just talking doing it.
I am going to keep my time with my family and friends in perspective. The holidays only last a couple of weeks and then it is back to the chaos we all know as real life.
My ultimate goal is not to get so worked up over everything, that I don't enjoy the time I have with the people I care about most.
What about you? How will you be spending the holidays?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
