I had originally planned on doing a different post today. I was going to interview my friend but then he punched a wall and broke his knuckles. I figure the interview probably goes better when you aren’t on painkillers. Or maybe that’s how you get the juicy stuff. My journalistic abilities are still developing.
Anywho, since Thanksgiving is fast approaching, I thought I would talk about the holidays and self-imposed stress. I love the holiday season. I look forward to it starting in September. But I know many people don’t. But how much of it is brought on yourself? Are you cooking a huge meal for your entire family? Is your gift list one hundred people long? Are you coordinating travel for numerous people?
But do you have to? I saw a post that asked, “what do you do to reduce holiday stress?” It’s something to think about. If there is something that is stressing you out this year, what can you do to change it next year? Maybe you enjoy cooking a huge meal. If that’s your jam, I’m not judging. But if cooking is something you dread all month long, but you do it because you are a people pleaser, maybe you can consider doing a pot luck next year. Maybe don’t invite the jerk that passively aggressively insults your cooking. Maybe finally say something to the family members that only bring canned cranberries and don’t help clean after dinner. If making sure you have enough money to buy everyone on your list a nice gift is your problem, start setting a small amount of money aside each month all year long. I’m not saying cause an uproar. I’m just saying that if there’s one thing that you could do to make the holidays less stressful for you, I think you should give it a shot.
I keep my holidays pretty simple. This year, A and I are on our own for Thanksgiving. Don’t feel bad for us; we’re pumped. So we’re going to throw a turkey breast in the smoker my uncle gave us and make some bread stuffing and green bean casserole. It will be a chill day. I expect to be in my pajamas and watching Christmas movies by 6ish. The second way I keep my holidays simple is by keeping my gift list short. I buy for A, my parents, and about 3 other people. This year I’m technically not even buying anything for A. If you’ve seen my recent blog post, you might know I’m trying to embrace a little minimalism. So instead of buying A something, he and I are planning a day trip to Shreveport. I like the idea of DOING something instead of bringing more clutter into the house.
Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to keep the holidays from coming and the season is upon us. I want my readers to remember a couple of things in the coming weeks: it’s just two months out of the year, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do (insert cliché about death and taxes), and if nothing else, Wal-Mart sells decent wine for just $12.
Tuck City 