Managing Holiday Stress: 10 Insights for Peace
We walk to the hill where the fir and spruce trees mingle in a dozen shades of emerald. Within minutes, the youngest falls into the thorny branches of a hawthorn crabapple, and the oldest is tangled in a knot of burdock. What was supposed to be fun has become an exercise in managing holiday stress.
I take a deep breath and remind myself that this moment doesn’t have to be perfect.
Later in the day, after the tree is wired to the wall in the corner of the living room, I take some time to sort through the ways I plan to manage stress through this Christmas season.
Perhaps these tips for managing holiday stress will bless you, too. I also invite you to read to the end of today’s post for a free Advent devotional to help you experience greater peace this season.
10 Tips for Managing Holiday Stress
Here are ten practical insights for managing holiday stress.
Managing Holiday Stress:
1. Pay attention to your emotions.
The holiday season stirs up many emotions, ranging from joy to grief. Give yourself permission to sit with your emotions. Let yourself feel the grief and savor the joy-filled moments.
It might help to spend a few minutes reflecting on your emotions at the end of each day. Process your emotions. Talk to God about them.
2. Create space for whimsy and wonder.
The holidays offer space for childlike whimsy.
Visit a live nativity.
Drive around town and look at decorations.
Create space to recapture the wonder of this time of year.
3. Rest well.
Rest is essential for managing holiday stress or stress of any kind.
Prioritize rest and do your best to be consistent about getting to bed at a decent time.
This might mean cutting back on your social schedule. Consider these choices carefully, as creating room for rest is vital for managing holiday stress.
4. Establish realistic expectations.
Unrealistic expectations lead to stress.
Try to keep your expectations for holiday gatherings realistic. Extend grace to others.
Everything doesn’t have to go perfectly for you to embrace time with loved ones.
5. Set boundaries.
We also need boundaries during this time of year.
This might include declining invitations to certain events. Don’t stretch yourself so thin that you cannot enjoy the events that are deeply meaningful.
6. Keep the main thing the main thing.
What is your primary focus this season? Spending time with family? Celebrating the birth of Christ?
Don’t forget why you are celebrating.
We can keep our focus by following the following tip as well.
7. Mindfully undertake the tasks in front of you.
Last year I tried something new: pairing my two least favorite Christmas tasks with prayer. I prayed for my loved ones as I wrapped their gifts in the quiet of the basement, and I prayed for my friends as I addressed the tall stack of Christmas cards.
I refused to hurry through these two tasks. My mindset was to encounter God as I used my time to bless loved ones with cards and gifts.
Something inside me shifted. Instead of burdens to complete, these tasks offered space for my soul to rest while I worked—a space that felt like a sanctuary.
Imagine what your life would look like if you picked one routine daily task and decided to transform the task into a quiet escape with God. When it’s time to complete the task, you go to a quiet place, lose yourself in the moment, and open your heart to receive impressions from the Lord.
Imagine what your life would look like if you picked one routine daily task and decided to transform the task into a quiet escape with God—a sanctuary of sorts. #prayer #Christmaspeace #overwhelmed Share on XYou talk to him. He breathes life into you. You are restored.
Christmas is the perfect time to begin this habit of creating sanctuary tasks in your life. Instead of hiding inside of a bag of Doritos or a box of Twinkies—instead of slipping away into a Netflix binge or an hour scrolling through some social media feed—pick one household task that must be done, pursue it slowly, and meet with God in the process.
8. Carve out space to feed your soul.
What feeds your soul?
Long walks beneath open skies, quiet candlelit moments, worship music, and good books fill my soul.
This time of year is a good time to create space for activities that feed your soul every single day for even ten minutes per day.
Turn out the lights, turn off the screens, and tune into some Christmas music while you bask in the glow of your Christmas tree for an evening.
Drink hot cocoa and read a good book. Take a long walk over the frozen earth. Play board games with your kids. Build a snowman. Knit a scarf. Paint a landscape. Dust off the piano. Try out a new recipe.
Lastly, instead of getting caught up in all you have to do this month, create space each day for something you want to do. Make it non-negotiable.
9. Chase beauty.
Throughout the next few weeks, pause amid your ordinary tasks and find something beautiful.
Stand there with it for just a few seconds longer than you might normally stick around.
It might be a clean cup in the dish drainer or a white beam of afternoon sunlight. It could be the easy smile on the face of a loved one or the lacy frost on a morning windowpane.
10. Remember to pause.
Pause.
Notice.
Give thanks.
The King of Kings bent down from heaven and came to live among us. He wants to shower you with good gifts every day of your life. No matter how dark this season is for you, chase beauty today. Beauty surrounds us every day. We are often too rushed to notice.
Christmas Gifts for Parents and Children
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or grandparents to read with the children they care about.
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength is for boys ages 5-13. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to courageously carry God’s love into the world. Written with input from our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven, this book will help the boys you care about find courage and strength in God. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Devotionals for Girls
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
All three books are available in print and eBook form here on Amazon. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
A Devotional to Help You Connect With God This Advent
Would you like to step out of the rushed pace of this season and have deeper peace as you prepare for Christmas? Still My Soul will help you create space to connect with God in meaningful ways as you prepare your heart to celebrate the birth of Christ next month.
Every day of Advent, you will be gently invited to slow down, be more present within your moments, and cultivate gratitude instead of stress. Get your eBook right here for free with promo code STILL. I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
