Beating the holiday blues

Emotional and financial strain often top the list of Christmas woes. Christmas is the season to rush around like a social butterfly, and then there are all of those presents we feel obligated to buy.

It’s a time when restraint goes out the window as we fantasise about Santa squeezing himself through the burglar-proofing so that we don’t have to feel guilty for spending so much money.

All that added stress piles up and voila! You literally get sick and tired during the holidays.

The Mayo Clinic, which is a good site to turn to if you want health information, does an admirable job of describing the holiday blues.

Ironically, ’tis the time of year when you can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely, so the Mayo Clinic suggests you reach out to someone and express your feelings. You’re not a package so don’t keep all your feelings bundled up inside.

The Mayo Clinic suggests you set aside differences with friends and family members during the holiday season. Don’t go looking for trouble.

This might not be the time you want to talk to people about past grievances. It’s better to postpone those big talks that people might not be ready for because they’re enjoying the holiday.

Be realistic. Television shows and movies will spin fantastic tales about finding the perfect love. They suggest your absentee father will come home or Santa will visit and bring all those presents.

In other words, don’t set yourself up for disappointments.

Set a holiday budget and stick to it. I always suggest that a group of friends have a one-on-one gift exchange where everyone decides to buy a nice present for their chosen person rather than trying to buy gifts for a dozen people.

This just isn’t feasible and everyone gets short-changed. You’re dividing the money you have to spend among a lot more people.

It’s also more rewarding to give homemade gifts or organise experiences that promote the goodwill of Christmas.

Volunteer. Do community service work. One way to avoid the Christmas blues is to plan carefully.

The Mayo Clinic also suggests that you don’t abandon your healthy habits of eating properly and doing exercise just because there’s an abundance of ham, fruitcake, ponche a cr?me and all of those holiday goodies. Get plenty of sleep.

Of course, I’m going to throw my two cents in here and suggest some quiet evenings curled up with a good Christmas book.

Read for the holidays.

Remember, there’s much you can do to capture that Christmas spirit with little or no money: Listen to Christmas music, bake cookies, read Christmas stories to children, become involved in church activities. Find ways to think outside of the same, old Christmas box.

Don’t dwell on the past and the hurt you’ve felt in bygone Christmases.

Keep traditions and start new ones. Always try to make a merry Christmas for someone else.

There is magic in Christmas, and everyone has the power to harness that magic and create a memorable experience for some person in their lives. It could be a family member or a stranger.

You can beat the Christmas blues. To do this, you might just have to take the reindeer by the horns.