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Keep the Holidays Happy
 There’s the
shopping, the decorating, the parties, the family get-togethers (how do you
see everyone and keep everybody happy?), the holidays are so busy, how to
keep the joy of the season? Try some of these tips to ease the stress during
this festive time of year.
Examine your
expectations. Are you trying to
recreate Christmas at Grandma’s? Is that what everyone wants? Holidays are
pretty much like the rest of the year, so don’t assume they will or should
be any more perfect than the other 364 days of the year.
Set limits.
Determine a spending budget for presents. Decide how many parties you will
attend. Control the amount of alcohol and goodies you ingest.
View TV with a
realistic eye. On television
commercials every family is perfect and so is their home and meal. It took
an entire team to create a brief moment in time, that’s not reality.
Show kindness.
There are children who may not receive toys this year. It might be the first
Christmas without a loved one for someone. Take a moment to donate toys and
visit with someone who may be lonely this holiday season.
 Be prepared.
Make a list of ideas for each person for whom you are buying before you go
shopping.
Go early.
The best time to shop is early in the morning, early in the week.
Don’t shop.
Buy gift certificates, tickets to a play, subscriptions or prepaid phone/gas
cards, which require little shopping.
All aboard!
Create a gift wrapping station in your home. Stock it with ribbons, paper,
tags, tape and scissors. The whole family can use it.
Make it a
potluck. If you are hosting a
holiday party, provide the entrée and have everyone bring a dish. If your
budget allows, cater your gathering.
Telecommunications Re-Create Community
According to experts with the Social Issues Research Center (SIRC), 21st
century telecommunications technology has improved the human condition
because it has allowed us to gossip more. Apparently, gossip is not a
trivial pastime but an essential behavior for all primates, including
humans. The practice stimulates the production of endorphins, relieves
stress and boosts our immune systems.
Since mobile phones facilitate gossip by allowing us to talk anywhere,
anytime (and to text as well as talk), researchers have concluded that cell
phones are therapeutic and help us re-create more natural and humane
communication patterns not seen since preindustrial times. In an often
fragmented world, the technology restores our sense of community and
connection by allowing us to create tightly integrated social networks.
These small, stable, virtual communities are an antidote to the stress and
alienation of modern-day life.
In studying how we use mobile phone technology, SIRC researchers have come
to a number of other surprising conclusions. For example, men gossip at
least as much on their cell phones as women do. Thirty-three percent of men
gossip almost every day, as compared with 26 percent of women. Men tend to
gossip more about themselves. There are also differences in with whom men
and women gossip: men tend to gossip more with colleagues, partners and
female friends, whereas women gossip more with same-sex friends and family.
– Adapted from SIRC.org
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