Peace Lutheran Church

Health Highlights

 

With the holidays coming up, I am focusing on ways that we can have a holiday season that is happier, healthier, & less stressful.  The following are tips to help reach that goal:

 

v     Simplify –   Remember Who we celebrate & why we celebrate.  Remember how simple the setting of His birth was.  It’s good to celebrate, but be realistic. 

 

v     Don’t over-commit – There are office parties & school programs & church functions.  Decide ahead of time on what you’re priorities are – what are the things that mean the most to you.  Don’t feel guilty about saying no.  It’s ok to say no.  Practice saying it in the mirror.

 

v     Plan Ahead – Decide well ahead of the holidays those you want to give gifts to & how much you can spend.  Don’t wait until the last minute to do your shopping.  This really increases your stress level, & you also tend to spend more money than you planned to.  Over spending is the number 1 cause of holiday stress.  All of the nice gifts that are bought with a credit card, become bills with interest tacked on in January.  If you do use a credit card, only spend what you are able to pay off at the end of the month.  Consider making some of your gifts, especially when you have children.  Making them together is a fun family time they will always remember. 

 

v     Delegate – Make getting ready for the holidays a team effort, with everyone being assigned a task.  Making cookies, putting up the tree, & even wrapping the gifts together make it a lot more fun & the job gets done more quickly.  These are some of my fondest memories of Christmas when I was growing up. 

 

v     Exercise - This is a very important stress buster.  It also helps to keep off unwanted weight gain.  It doesn’t have to be planned exercise.  Park your car farther away from the store.  Use the stairs instead of the elevator.  Rake leaves together, play a vigorous game like football or basketball, or ride bikes together as a family.

 

v     Get Enough Sleep – With all of the things going on during the holidays, sleep is one of the main things that suffer.  Lack of sleep decreases our  energy level & tends to make us  irritable & cranky, making everyone’s holiday a not so happy one. 

 

May all of you have a blessed Christmas & a New Year full of promise.