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Reducing Family Stress During the Holidays
How families can reduce stress during the holidays.
Like poor Clark Griswold in the movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” many of us dream of the perfect Christmas. We long for the beauty of the perfect tree with twinkling lights and shiny orbs. We want to blow the dust off of our favorite garlands and Christmas ornaments. We imagine an incredible turkey dinner with family all around that is aglow with love and laughter.
Everyone is bubbling with joy and appreciation for the perfectly cooked food. Instead, like poor Clark, our family members may be dysfunctional, eccentric, obnoxious, or downright annoying. Our attempts at creating the perfect Christmas make us so stressed that we make silly mistakes and have ridiculous mishaps. We wear ourselves out so much that we can’t even enjoy the holidays when they arrive.
We may not be dealing with wild and crazy squirrels this Christmas, but we all have our own challenges. So how can we reduce our stress and enjoy the holiday season?