The holiday season is upon us and for many it is a daunting as it is exciting. If you also find yourself feeling stressed about it, perhaps these thoughts might help:

• It doesn’t have to be perfect. Very few things in life deserve so much attention and effort so that they are absolutely perfect. Most things are just fine being at an 80%. The perfect gift doesn’t really exist. Nor does the perfect Christmas dinner. Not does the squeaky clean house. Good is good enough.
• You can’t control everything. Perhaps someone will be sick. Perhaps the weather will be terrible. Perhaps….(insert here). You have 0 control over how things will turn out. Ride those waves. Expect the unpredictable.
• It’s ok if you aren’t busy all the time. Nothing is wrong with you if you aren’t running from Christmas markets to dinners to shopping afternoons and coffees with friends during the holiday season. You can decide to be present for the things that you carefully chose to do.
• You don’t need to outdo yourself. Don’t put pressure on yourself to do things even better. There is no competition (other than the one you create in your own head) for the best cooked turkey, the best decorated house, the most fun afternoon.
• You don’t have to be right. In conversations with people who you only see once a year, you really don’t have to be right. Express your opinion, listen to the other person’s ideas, but don’t absolutely try to convince them to share your views. It’s not important.

Inspired by a friend’s expression of sympathy over the stressful period I must be going through (I’m not!).