Oh the holiday season.. whats your trigger, the first moment your mind and body goes into holiday mode.

Mine is the definitely the holiday music.  And every year it gets played earlier and earlier. Once it starts I can’t shut it off! My kids dread the early music, the want to decorate and the prancing I commit to through out the house!

Along with the feel good sights and sounds, we all face some stressful moments that interfere with our feel good cookie eating, turkey basting, karaoke singing holiday activities.

It could be a simple as gift purchase , family dinners, or larger , how am I going to afford this holiday season, a crazy work schedule or the loss of a loved one.

Check out the article I found , 50 stress symptoms 

Several years ago, struggling financially I had to make a change.  I went back to basics, asking myself, what matters most in my world?

For me, it was the feeling I got when I spent time with family, sharing moments and making memories. Spending time became a priority. I also gave deep thought about the gifts I was giving and I asked myself an important question, do I need to spend a lot of money on a person to show them how much they matter to me.

My teenager would say YES!

Some of you would say  “the gift” is the experience and “YES” the value matters, and that’s OK, at onetime I was there, life stepped in and a change needed to be made.

Somethings I do to celebrate those I love throughout the holiday

• Personalized gifts – something that reflect the person you are buying for.
• A lunch date
• Batch of cookies
• Print and frame a picture for that special someone- not one of yourself.
• A personalized note
• A coupon book with fun and silly coupons like breakfast in bed, walk in the part, movie date , foot rub

Set spending limits and shop around, sometimes you can find great deals on your favorites.

Most of all , smile, breath deeply and take moments throughout the season and practice self care!