Holiday Hint: Make a list (and save your relationship!)

It is 5 more weeks until Thanksgiving, 6 weeks until Hannukkah, 9 more weeks until Christmas.  Are you ready?  Are you stressed yet?  Probably not the first and allot of the second.  I want you to be the first and not the second.

In the spirit of the Holidays, I'm going to give you all a gift.  Each week I'll share a hint to help make the Holidays more joyful and less stressful.  My wish for you is these hints will help you de-stress and thereby keep your relationship happier too.

To make it easier to remember, I have made an acronym: REAL JOY.  Each week I'll explain a different letter.

I'm going to go out of order and talk about "L" first.  L is listing priorities.

Look at past holidays and make a list of the things you most enjoyed and remember.  Have all of your family members do the same, even the kids.  Compare and collate your lists.  Listen to everyone's  lists.  You may learn you were doing something "for the kids" that they really weren't interested in.  You are looking for the parts of the Holidays that were most important to you all.   

Center your holiday only on traditions you all find important. Eliminate things you did not enjoy or which were not important.  In other words, simplify!

From this set of important traditions, make an early to do list and set aside time to do things.  You can make all the lists you want, but if you don't set time aside to complete things, you'll still be stressed.

Lastly, prepare to let some things remain undone.  There is a good chance you won't get to everything on the list, and that's okay. 

Paradoxically the best time to make a list is right after the Holidays!  This year, after the Holidays, set aside some time to make notes on what worked, what didn't, what to do differently, and what to eliminate.  Keep your focus on the things you find important, memorable, and enjoyable.  Review your notes next year when you are putting together your to do list.

So, your courageous work is to really focus your Holidays this year by identifying and listing priorities to make the Holidays enjoyable, memorable, and special to you.  And keep your eyes here for more Holiday Hints.

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