Jennifer Lyon


Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021
Holiday Coping Strategies

As the holidays approach, I thought I’d share some of my coping strategies.

  1. Wine.
  2. Dogs.
  3. Chocolate.

That’s pretty much it :-)

Okay, let me add a few silly things to the items (written quickly off the top of my head):

  1. Kids get gifts, adults get patience and kindness. Most of us are trying.
  2. Holding grudges takes a lot of time, effort and energy. Just move on.
  3. Other people don’t need to know our opinions. No really, no one needs to know at Thanksgiving dinner, office parties or even shopping trips.
  4. Put your time and effort to the parts of the holidays you enjoy. If you love to cook, do that. Love to decorate? Teach me how. Just kidding, go for it and I’ll admire. Like to bake? Make all your friends fat! Just dive in, have fun and don’t worry about imperfections–they make us memorable and unique.
  5. Lets remember to laugh at ourselves. It’s okay, and it makes us so much nicer to be around. Go ahead, tell the story about the time you accidently used the men’s restroom in the airport and didn’t notice until you passed the male pilot while leaving. Wait, that wasn’t you? Oh, right, that was me :-)
  6. Be safe. Watch out for scammers, thieves, and the assorted injuries we manage to inflict on ourselves when we’re busy and distracted. Let’s all try to slow down enough to be safe and well through the holidays.
  7. And let’s not forget our friends going through a hard time this year. Many people have lost loved ones (two people I distantly know lost husbands this week alone). Let’s take a few moments to remember them in thought AND deed. I’m often terrible at follow through, so I’m pointing right at myself here. But a phone call, text, private message or a card, or if you can safely manage it, a quick visit, will help them feel less alone during very difficult time.
  8. Remember we’re building memories, so lets build them on positive attitudes and actions that will hold up over time. Let’s strengthen our family bonds, deepen our existing friendships and make new ones with kindness.
  9. And if all else fails, go back to my first list!

Okay, friends, that’s what I’ve thought while writing this. Would you like to add anything?

Happy Wednesday!

6 comments to “Holiday Coping Strategies”

  1. B.E. Sanderson
    November 3rd, 2021 at 7:25 am · Link

    Nope, nothing to add. Your lists rock. Although, that first list is pretty hard for me since I don’t drink and I’m currently lacking in the dog department. And a lot of the second list doesn’t apply to me, since, like, I am a hermit.

    Heh, #3. Sharing opinions is part of the gathering thing in our family. Luckily, our opinions are all pretty similar, so it’s mostly just ranting about people who don’t share our opinions. If I remember right, we can really get rolling if the mood strikes us. Alas, I am not near the family gathering place anymore. Hubs and I roll alone.



  2. Silver James
    November 3rd, 2021 at 8:09 am · Link

    I’m all for your short list, though I’d substitute coffee for wine. And I’d add a cat. As for the long list, you pretty much hit all the hot buttons. We’re all about low-stress around here. Do something it it makes you happy. Don’t sweat it if it doesn’t. Uncle Fix-It usually does a combined in-law gathering at his house because Aunt Hooey (that’s what she calls herself :lol: ) is still mostly in her wheelchair from her series of strokes and it’s just easier. That and he channels their mom and she was a huge control freak doer. I always do the rolls and a pie. We eat on paper plates. It works for us.

    There are times I miss fixing the whole huge turkey dinner but some time ago, we realized that the best part of that was the leftover turkey sandwiches. Now I just do a smal turkey breast so we can do the sandwiches later. It works for us.

    Bottom line, we are ALL about the low/no stress holidays. House isn’t perfectly clean? Who cares? It’s about family, friends, and sharing time together.



  3. Viki S.
    November 3rd, 2021 at 3:09 pm · Link

    Great lists. I think I’ll stick with list #1, it’s more fun :).

    Item #5 in list #2 has me wondering ;). You know that could easily happen to me too.

    I hope you’re having a great day!



  4. Jenn
    November 3rd, 2021 at 3:16 pm · Link

    B.E., you can substitute all the things that do work for you in the first list :-) I watch dog videos when I’m stressed and I have dog, LOL.

    Like most things, opinions have their time and place. If it works for your group, go for it.

    Happy Wednesday!



  5. Jenn
    November 3rd, 2021 at 3:23 pm · Link

    Silver, definitely adjust the first list as needed! The seond one too :-)

    Times change and so do our traditions. No reason to hold onto the things that aren’t working for us anymore. It sounds like your family is working together to celebrate, and that’s the important thing. A turkey breast works as well as a turkey.

    I’ve long stopped worrying about overcleaning as I once did. Now I just try to make it “good enough” and forget about it. If someone finds a dust spot, I’ll get them a cloth to clean it :-)



  6. Jenn
    November 3rd, 2021 at 3:28 pm · Link

    Viki, I agree the first list is more fun. The rest is just a “use what works for you” kind of thing.

    You’ll have so much fun with Harrison this year! He’s really growing up :-)



Comments are closed.





JenniferLyon.com