How to Survive the Holidays – A Guide

The holidays are a joyous season, but they can also be frustrating. As much as you love your family, spending more time together at home because of the shorter days, long-distance travel, and holiday traditions and expectations can take a toll.

While food always seems to be the biggest comfort and distraction during this time of year, we have a few other suggestions to stay sane during this chaotic time of year.

How to Survive the Holidays – A Guide

Woman in stress about Christmas holidays

Keep a regular routine

Make sure everyone goes to bed and wakes up at their normal times, keep your exercise schedule, and stick to a regular eating schedule. Try not to take on too many projects or events — this can pile up and add additional stress. Getting enough sleep, activity, and nutrition helps keep the crankiness to a minimum.

Set boundaries, communicate clearly

If you are entertaining out-of-town guests or are planning on having friends and neighbors over, make your house rules known. If you want people to take off their snowy boots, put up a sign in the foyer. Put out bowls of snacks to fend off people constantly wandering into the kitchen looking for food. And pointedly ask everyone to wash their hands before meals.

Don’t arrive sick

If you are traveling for the holidays, airplanes can be formidable carriers of the common cold. If you want to stave off catching any virus on a plane, make sure you hydrate with water during the entire flight. Keep your hands clean by bringing a small bottle of hand sanitizer. And wipe down your tray table — it carries a high volume of germs.

Keep the kiddos entertained

Bored kids just get into trouble. If you have family members with young ‘uns coming to visit, take advantage of several family-friendly outings around Denver that everyone can enjoy. When the weather outside is frightful, have board games handy or even convince the little ones to build an indoor obstacle course so everyone can get their exercise.

How to Survive the Holidays – A Guide

Advice if you’re single

If you’re single, newly divorced, or just spending the holidays alone, this time of year can be a drag. Instead of feeling lonely, be productive. Catch up on your Netflix shows. Read that book you’ve been wanting to pick up. Bake cookies and deliver them to friends and neighbors to bring them a little cheer. Volunteer at a local nonprofit for families who are less fortunate. It’s only two weeks until life goes back to its normal routine, so use this time wisely.

Hopefully these suggestions will take some of the stress out of your upcoming holiday. We wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving and we look forward to seeing you in December!