Written by: Nicole Peritore

The upcoming holidays can be a time of great joy and excitement. It can also be a time with a lot of stress. Do you find that as the holidays get closer, you get more and more stressed out about all that you need or want to do? Thanksgiving may be the start of a hectic month until Christmas. Here are a few things that you can do to avoid Thanksgiving stress.

Make a list!

•  Write down everything that you need to do. Your list might be long, and that is ok. Once you have it all written down, take some time to plan when you need to do each task. You can even break big tasks down into smaller tasks.
•  Make your grocery list ahead of time. If you know what you need, try to pick up items as they go on sale.

If you can, plan ahead!

• If you are having visitors this year, try to confirm the number of people as soon as possible. It can be stressful not knowing how many people will be coming to your house.
• Plan what you are going to cook and if possible, cook and freeze some of the dishes before the holiday arrives.

Get some help!

• Ask other family members to help out with some of the items on your list.
• Ask another family member to pick up something on the way home or assist you in the kitchen, or even do a little cleaning.
• If you have several people over, ask guests to bring a side dish or dessert. This can cut down on your preparation time, as well as expense.
• Don’t forget to ask for help after the Thanksgiving meal.

Traditions

Many of the holidays have certain traditions. What are your family’s traditions? If you cannot think of any traditions, now may be a good time to think about starting some with your family.

Some of the more common traditions for Thanksgiving are:

•  Cooking a special meal for Thanksgiving
•  Calling faraway relatives that cannot be with you on the holiday
•  Adding handprints or notes to a keepsake tablecloth that you can bring out every year
•  Playing a family touch football game
•  Decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving

Encourage the family to be THANKFUL!

Sometimes it is hard to remember to be thankful. You can set a good example for your child if you take the time to talk about being thankful. Encourage him or her to share with you and the family what he or she is thankful for this year. This could be a time to catch up with relatives you do not see very often. Allow plenty of time for everyone to talk and catch up.

Encourage your child to help out this holiday season.

One way children can show how thankful they are is to help out around the house. During this time of year there are usually plenty of things to do. Ask your children to help in the kitchen when you are cooking, or ask them to help set the table, or perhaps help clean up after the Thanksgiving meal. Make sure you tell them how thankful you are they are helping!

Entertaining during the Thanksgiving holiday

If you have company over for Thanksgiving, some of them may leave after the Thanksgiving meal but some may stay for a while. Children often too, are looking for entertainment since they are home for the day and not in school. Many will want to be watching a football game on TV, but it may be a good idea to get some board games and cards for others who are not interested in the football game. If you have a wide range of ages, make sure you have something for each age level.