December 5, 2008

I wonder if she had to address, stamp, and mail all the Christmas cards, do all the gift shopping, the wrapping, the shipping, the meal planning and grocery shopping, the tree decorating, the baking, the party planning, and the cleaning? If so, I'd like to know her secret…

But seriously, let's talk about stress and ways to try to avoid it this holiday season. If I'm not careful and don't make a conscious effort to stay calm during the holiday season, stress can take a serious toll on my body. I end up with stomachaches, headaches, a back full of knots, and sleepless nights. Even though this holiday season has snuck up on me more than ever before, I'm working hard not to let stress get to me this year. One of my friends actually suggested that I look into some of the products that Delta 8 THC has on offer. Apparently, their products promote stress-relief. This would allow me to relax properly, which is what people should be doing over the festive period. Now, I understand a little on cannabis, that there is a difference between THC and CBD and the effects they have on you. I've been told that you need a considerable amount of THC for it to give you that ‘high' feeling that so many people are worried about. However, I've never really experimented with either. So, perhaps before trying the THC products, I should try CBD products to see how I get on with them. In fact, I might very well head on over to somewhere like Thecbdinsider.com or a similar site to find more information on CBD (Cannabidiol) to see if that can have any benefit to my stress levels currently. Perhaps these are both things to look at.

Here are a few things I've found that might help us all create a more stress-free holiday:

• First and most importantly, make time, and even block out time on your planner, to eat right (not fast food on the run), exercise (even if you can only squeeze in 15 or 20 minutes), and get a good night's sleep (I'm know, we've heard it all before!)

• Create or purchase a holiday planner. BigSis has already given us some great resources for Christmas planners.

• Make sure that your planner has a place to keep your Christmas card list. It sure makes the Christmas card giving a lot easier if you keep a list of who you sent cards to and who you received cards from each year. My planner has a section for this and it has really helped me these past three years. (And yes, I think it's okay to omit some from your list if you are cutting back.) We can't send cards to everyone we know! It's just not possible, so don't stress over it.

• I love this 9 Steps to Stress-Free Holiday Giving article from iVillage. Get a pencil and paper out for this one and take just a few minutes to go through these 9 steps. It's some really good advice from a professional organizer. She really simplifies the entire gift buying process.

• The 10 Tips to a Stress-Free Holiday from 1stHolistic has more great advice. Beth Tebak starts off this article with the most important tip of all, RELAX!

• Whole Living has some GREAT articles on stress relief, all in one place!

Being organized and prioritizing all your errands is obviously a major part of not getting stressed out during the holiday season! This time of the year should be for celebrating the true meaning of the season and for enjoying friends and family. So, relax!

~LilSis