This Is Supposed to be Fun

image courtesy of Couleur via pixabay.com

As we get into the whirlwind of Winter Holiday celebrations, we often spend too much time worrying about money, pulling off the holiday, making things perfect.

We forget this is supposed to be fun.

It’s supposed to be celebratory, not stressful.

The older I get, the less I’m worried about how the holiday looks to others than how it feels to experience it.

I honor and love many family holiday traditions.

I also create new ones, and integrate the two.

What makes me happy?

What is important to the people with whom I spend the holidays?

How can we focus more on happiness and less on expectations of what a holiday should be? What needs to be rearranged? Re-aligned?

Communication always helps. If someone says to you, “This is really important to me at this time of year” – listen. Is it something you can do that makes them happy, without hurting you?

If something is important to you during this time, speak up.

If needs and desires for the holidays are in conflict, talk about them, and see where you can find a pleasant compromise, rather than a resentful capitulation.

Where can you decrease the stress while increasing the fun?

Small changes over a number of years are often easier for everyone to deal with than huge changes in a single year.

But try different things in different years, and find what makes you enjoy the season, rather than dread it.

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