Tis the Season to be Jolly
by Coach Rachelle Disbennett-Lee
Tis the season to be jolly, unless of course you have way too much to
do. The holidays come at such a bad time during the year, right in
the middle of our lives. It isn't like we can ditch all our other
duties to deck the halls. Holiday chores are simply piled onto our
already too hectic schedules. Sure Martha makes it look easy as she
makes homemade hand carved reindeers, but don't forget Martha has an
entire staff to help her don her gay apparel.
The best way to guarantee that you will be singing fa la la la la
during the holidays is to make a plan and stick with it. The first
measure is to decide on a budget. If you are one of those super
organized saving type of people, now is the time to go and pick up
the Christmas club money from the bank that you have been making
deposits into all year. If you are like the rest of us, decide how
much you can take out of what you already have. If you are going to
use credit cards, then make a deal with yourself only to charge so
much. Remember, come January you will have to start paying them
back. Do you really want to have the holidays haunt you all year
long?
Not everything has to be homemade to create a wonderful heartfelt
holiday. Decide what you will make, and what you will buy. Homemade
Christmas cards are wonderful, but if you didn't start making them
back in June, forget it. Buying them will be just fine. If you want
to include a family picture with the card, don't forget you will need
to get the picture in far enough in advance to have it reproduced.
There have been holidays past when my holiday cards became New Years
cards because I didn't have my pictures done in time. In addition,
forget about writing a personal note in each one of them. Nice, but
again unless you started this months ago, you will not have time.
Although I know many people disdain those form type holiday letters,
it is better than hearing from someone once a year and all that is in
the card is Love Dan and Donna. At least the letter gives you a clue
as to what is going on and helps you keep up with your once a year
friends.
Although Martha will be baking an international smorgasbord of
holiday treats, the Holidays will be just as sweet with just a few of
your favorites. Decide which two to three types of cookies and
candies you will make, schedule a day to bake, box or freeze the
cookies, and call it done. You might also want to consider doing a
cookie exchange with some friends. Each person bakes several dozen
of their favorite cookies and then exchanges what they make with
several friends. That way everyone gets an array of cookies but only
has to bake one kind. This is a wonderful way to keep things simple
while enjoying wonderful treats and time with friends.
Keep in mind that although you are capable of doing a lot, you do not
have to do it all by yourself. This is the time to get the entire
family involved. Ask for help with everything from trimming the
tree, baking the cookies, to wrapping the gifts. Instead of being in
charge of making the entire holiday dinner, have everyone contribute
his or her favorite dish. The holidays are about enjoying time with
family and friends, not about being stressed out and exhausted.
This year plan to have a jolly holiday season by planning and being
realistic about what you can do.
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Rachelle Disbennett-Lee is a certified professional personal and
business coach. Coach Lee is an internationally known coach and the
publisher of the award winning newsletter, 365 Days of Coaching. For
more information about Coach Lee go to her websites
www.365daysofcoaching.com or www.coachlee.com
