12 Ways Your Family Can Reclaim The Spirit of The Holidays

Jeff — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:00:00 +0000

This is a guest post by Angela Artemis.

Is this your version of Jingle Bells?

Racing through the snow
On adrenalin and latte
To packed malls I go
Stressed out all the way!

Are you rushing to stores, sitting in traffic, fighting for a parking space, and standing in long lines at the registers?

Plus decorating, baking special treats in-between all the other activities, such as cleaning the house from top to bottom, wrapping stacks of presents and shopping, planning and cooking a huge meal for family and friends?

Stress During the Holidays

Countless studies and surveys show that stress levels intensify during the holidays – especially for women.

Having too much to do is among the top three stresses which include finances and sadness over lost loved ones.

So what can you do to reduce your stress levels during the holidays and feel the “spirit” again?

How about finding more time to devote to the least stressful holiday activity of all which is – spending time with family?

One holiday season 10 years ago I reached my breaking point and decided to stop the madness.

I was out buying gifts for every single person who was coming to my house for Christmas dinner.

The woman at the head of the check-out line was arguing with the salesgirl causing a huge delay. Everyone looked around for a shorter line to go to, but there wasn’t one. You could feel the angry vibes coming from everyone in the line.

Whatever happened to “peace on earth, and good will toward men?”

Reclaim a Better Holiday Spirit

The spirit of the holidays was no where inside, or near that mall.

Looking around at the huge “SALE” signs hung everywhere, and buyers carrying burgeoning shopping bags hungrily hunting for bargains I felt such a sadness. Was this all there was to the holidays?

Memories of my happiest holidays came to mind, such as when my father, grandparents and favorite aunt were still alive.

I realized that the magical warmth of “holiday spirit” I longed for emerged only when there was a gathering of family and friends, and a blending of love, laughter and togetherness.

One thing became clear – to shorten the to-do list and free up some time – the unnecessary holiday shopping had to go. But how would I convince my family?

Reasons to Give Up Gift Giving

I made a list of the reasons why not exchanging gifts was a good idea:

1. We all have too much of everything anyway. Our closets are overflowing and every nook and cranny of our homes is bursting at the seams with stuff we don’t need.

2. We can go out and buy whatever we need when we need it – waiting for that “something special” at the holidays is passé. No one waits anymore.

3. Save money. When you have too much none of it means anything anymore.

4. Take the family shopping to buy presents for children living in homeless shelters.

5. Use the money you would have spent to sponsor a child in a third world country.

6. Create a family scholarship account that’s funded each year with the money that would have gone to presents.

7. Set up a “Secret Santa” gift exchange where everyone gets just one gift. Set a maximum spending limit as well.

8. Reclaim your time. The time you would have spent in traffic and shopping can be spent baking those treats, or relaxing with family instead.

9. Create a new tradition of watching holiday movies with your family instead of racing to the malls. There are so many to choose from.

10. Use the time to take a trip into the city to see the window displays at the fancy department stores instead. Top off the evening with a fun activity like ice skating.

11. Spend the evening with your kids making home-made ornaments. Make pop-corn and string it for garland to create an old-fashioned tree.

12. Write checks. Let the person find what they truly want after the holidays and on sale.

That year I announced that, with the exception of the children, I thought we should stop buying presents for one another.

I saw relief wash over my guests’ faces. We’d all been thinking the same thing, but been afraid to bring it up.

We realized that what we really wanted was to feel the joy of the “spirit” during the holidays.

Now we really get psyched about the holidays each year.

When you’re free of the stress and tension you’ll feel the joy and “spirit” of the holiday again.

To put the “spirit” back in the holidays – take the shopping out and put the family back in.

Angela Artemis is a financial salesperson, a freelance writer, and a blogger at Powered by Intuition. She is also the marketing director for The Daily Brainstorm.

Photo by Waka Jawaka

My Super-Charged Life» gifts

12 Ways Your Family Can Reclaim The Spirit of The Holidays

Stress During the Holidays

Reclaim a Better Holiday Spirit

Reasons to Give Up Gift Giving

Links For Super-Charged Living – December 13, 2008

Links for Super-Charged Living