It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The holidays are a joyous time of gathering with friends and family and celebrating together. Everyone waits for the holidays to come around. There are massive sales in your favorite stores, Christmas and holiday movies, hot chocolate, decorating, and so much more that make this time of year special. However, although this is a time for celebration, holiday stress can be a concern for many people. Some of the stressors people deal with are buying gifts, making party arrangements, making food, and who to invite or not just to name a few. How can we alleviate these stressors and make sure the holidays remain joyous throughout the season? Well, let’s dig in and see how we can mitigate or even eliminate the holiday’s biggest stressors.
Gifts and gift reciprocation
A huge stressor for many people during the holidays is gift buying. Most people are buying on a budget and making sure the entire list of people that needs to be bought for is taken care of can feel like climbing up a mountain. Kids, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and whoever else you may be celebrating with may be on your shopping list. The best way to plan for this is to first set a max budget that you are willing to spend without pulling your hair out. Don’t aim too low or high because it may result in not everyone being bought for, or you having to work overtime just to cover your holiday bill. Next, plan a day where you will complete all of your holiday shopping so it isn’t a looming task over your head up until the holiday itself. I would recommend taking a Saturday or Sunday in December (for the best sales) and heading down to your local mall for a one-stop shop for everyone. Before doing this, make a list of everyone’s interests next to their names on your list. This will eliminate the aimless meandering around the mall that would most likely occur without this list. The key to remember here is it isn’t how much you spend on someone; it is the thought that counts. Everyone is very concerned with price and gift reciprocity, but when you get something meaningful for someone, the price tag becomes irrelevant. Stop worrying about what others may or may not get for you and just think about what would bring a smile to their face! The holidays ARE NOT a spending contest. They are a time to make one another laugh and smile while making memories that last a lifetime. Holiday shopping should be fun and rewarding, not stressful and miserable! Have fun doing this and make sure you gift from the heart and not just from the wallet! If you really don’t know what someone would want, a gift card to one of their favorite stores is always a great option! Your options are only limited by your imagination! Get out there and enjoy this time!
Party arrangements and food
If you are hosting one of the holiday parties, this can be a huge stressor for many people. There are some who are genuinely gifted at entertaining and live for the opportunity to do so (my grandma), and there are others (most people) who do it because if they didn’t there would be nowhere else to go! With party hosting comes a lot of responsibilities. First, there is the invitations list. Who is and is not going to be invited? If you have a small close-knit family this isn’t an issue, but if your family is large and divided into different groups based on family branches and locations, this may be more of a situation that needs to be dealt with. Some families are split based on nuclear family and location and have their celebrations separately, and others have an extremely large and centrally located family that likes to get together for every holiday. Whichever option you choose, make sure it makes sense for you and your family, and that no one is left alone during the holidays. Once, you’ve decided on party size, food becomes the next issue at hand. Many people, especially in my family feel like they need to prepare all the food, but don’t think catering isn’t an option if you have too much on your plate or simply hate cooking. The Who Not How principle we always talk about can apply here and the restaurant you choose can be the Who that supplies the food (the How) so you can focus on the other aspects of the party that bring you joy instead of stress. If you love to cook, by all means you should! If you don’t, then don’t! The point is to spend time doing what you love most about the holidays and of course this ranges from person to person. The most important thing at the end of the day is that you and your loved ones are together! This is what the holidays are all about!
Give the gift of financial freedom!
To alleviate some of your holiday shopping worries, let me to provide you with affordable gifts that allow the receiver to reap unlimited rewards! Below are some amazing books to help your loved ones or even yourself reach financial freedom. There is no greater gift you can give someone this holiday season than knowledge! Here is my must-have holiday list:
Robert Kiyosaki: Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
Rich Dad Poor Dad is perhaps the most influential personal finance book of all time. This will give you a basis of all we talk about on this blog and completely reshape your mindset.
Grant Sabatier: Financial Freedom: A Proven Path to All the Money You Will Ever Need
Financial Freedom makes achieving high-level success and sustainability seem so much less daunting and impossible than the majority of people believe. This is a great read for those with immense fear of risk as it will help ease nerves and show that a better life is very achievable.
Brandon Turner: The Book on Rental Property Investing
The Book on Rental Property Investing is a beginners guide on how to invest in what I believe is the greatest asset in the world, real estate! Turner’s tips and advice are second to none and I highly recommend him to you!
Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy: Who Not How
Who Not How talks a lot about how to identify problems the right way by asking “who can do this for me?” instead of “how can I do this?”, and how finding the right help can make a huge difference. This is hands down one of the most influential books I have ever read and hope you get the same value from it as I have.
Cameron Herold: Vivid Vision
Vivid Vision is an amazing guide to help structure your business and life. Entrepreneur and business coach Cameron Herold breaks down his Vivid Vision which takes the place of a mission statement. Mission statements are usually broad and open to interpretation. Vivid Visions help portray to your employees exactly what you see for the future of your company, and get others to buy into your vision to help turn it into a reality.
Happy Holidays to you and your families!!!