Remember the reason for the season. | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

How To Survive Christmas

A few tips and tricks in making the best Christmas experience possible.

80
https://unsplash.com/photos/2plsuhgV53I
Thought Catalog

It's no question that the Christmas season is one of the busiest times of the year. It seems as soon as December 1st comes, everyone feels the pressure to do a million things before Christmas Day arrives. Most people spend the days leading up to Christmas doing at least one of the following: shopping, baking, wrapping gifts, decorating, and spending time with family and friends. With all of these different activities going on, a person can become overwhelmed pretty quickly. In an effort to make the most out of the Christmas season and keep your sanity, here are some tips:

Remember the reason for the season. 

I feel like people begin to become overwhelmed when they start focusing on the other aspects of Christmas, rather than its true meaning. It is perfectly okay to want to do as much as possible and make others happy, but also remember that the true meaning of Christmas isn't about gifts or parties. When things start becoming too much, just sit back and remind yourself of the true meaning of Christmas and reassure yourself that everything will work out.

Take a break.

Between all of the Christmas shopping, gift wrapping and seeing friends and family, take some time for yourself. It's easy to get too involved in all of the Christmas festivities and run yourself down. An easy way to not overdo it during Christmas is taking a time out for a while. You can do this by taking a relaxing bath, reading a good book, or even just sitting or laying down and closing your eyes. Giving yourself a break during the Christmas craziness is definitely a must.

Appreciate family time.

One of the best parts about the Christmas season is how it brings families together, which is personally my favorite aspect of Christmas. It allows me to see the majority of my family members. Since everyone is so busy with their own lives during the year, Christmas allows people to take a break from work and from life, and make seeing family and friends a priority. However, with all of this wonderful family time, it can become a little much for some people, and they begin not to appreciate family as much. My word of advice regarding this situation is just to remember that quality time spent with family is few and far between and instead of dreading it, you should make the most of every minute you have.

Make a game plan.

With all of the different Christmas activities going on, making a plan and staying organized is crucial. If you have anything to do for work or school, make a list of everything you need to get done before returning to the grind after the new year. After you understand what things you need to get done during your time off, you can start making plans with family and friends. Reach out to your family and friends and start making plans with everyone's schedules and obligations in mind. This task can also be easier said than done because everyone is busy around this time. However, don't get discouraged and just try your best to see as many family and friends as possible.

Honor family members who are no longer with you.

One thing my family does every Christmas is honor the ones we have lost. I think this is a very important part of Christmas, to honor and spend time with all family members. As far as how to honor your family members you have lost, that's up to you and can be done in many different ways. My family, for example, takes photos of family members that have passed to our Christmas party and for us to look at and reflect on. Something that me, my mom, and grandmother always do is visit our family members graves and take them red flowers and other things representing the Christmas season. These are just two out of many ideas as to how to honor your past family members for Christmas.


Christmas can be a lot to handle with so many things going on at one time. I hope that these tips help make your Christmas season a little more manageable and enjoyable. Merry Christmas!!

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

Yoga love

A long over due thank you note to my greatest passion.

25584
A person in a yoga pose surrounded by a supportive community of fellow yogis with a look of peace and gratitude on their face the image should convey the sense of strength mindfulness and appreciation that the writer feels towards yoga
StableDiffusion

Dearest Yoga,

You deserve a great thank you.

Keep Reading...Show less
Arts Entertainment

Epic Creation Myths: Norse Origins Unveiled

What happened in the beginning, and how the heavens were set in motion.

6834
The Norse Creation Myth

Now, I have the everlasting joy of explaining the Norse creation myth. To be honest, it can be a bit kooky, so talking about it is always fun. The entire cosmos is included in this creation myth, not just the earth but the sun and the moon as well. This will be a short retelling, a summary of the creation myth, somewhat like I did with Hermod's ride to Hel.

Keep Reading...Show less
Old school ghetto blaster sat on the floor
8tracks radio

We all scroll through the radio stations in the car every once in a while, whether its because we lost signal to our favorite one or we are just bored with the same ol' songs every day. You know when you're going through and you hear a song where you're just like "I forgot this existed!" and before you know it, you're singing every word? Yeah, me too. Like, 95% of the time. If you're like me and LOVE some good throwback music, here's a list of songs from every genre that have gotten lost in time, but never truly forgotten.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

27 Hidden Joys

Appreciation for some of life's most discredited pleasures.

36834
Best Things in Life

Life is full of many wonderful pleasures that many of us, like myself, often forget about. And it's important to recognize that even on bad days, good things still happen. Focusing on these positive aspects of our day-to-day lives can really change a person's perspective. So in thinking about the little things that make so many of us happy, I've here's a list of some of the best things that often go unrecognized and deserve more appreciation:

Keep Reading...Show less
beer on the beach

Summer is hot and humid, and it's almost like summer was made specifically to drink the refreshing, cold, crisp wonderful, delicious, nutritious nectar of the gods. Which is none other than beer; wonderful cold beer. With summer playing peek-a-boo around the corner while we finish up this semester, it's time to discuss the only important part of summer. And if you haven't already guessed, it's beer. There are few things I take more seriously than my beer, in order are: sports... and beer. Here are my favorite summer brews:

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments