Christmas Game Plan

Christmas Planning Starts EarlyWe've all seen the touching commercials, the Christmas movies guaranteed to bring a lump to your throat. We've been captured by the beauty in snow covered Christmas scenes, we've gawked at Christmas displays and felt that funny little catch in our hearts as we ponder what our friends and family mean to us in the season of giving. As a result of all the glitz and sparkles, all the perfect Christmas scenes and shows, we develop an unrealistic picture of what Christmas should be and how it should be celebrated. Did you know that the Christmas holidays have also been called the season of stress? One of the major causes of Christmas stress is not planning the holiday in advance so that when the day draws closer, you feel caught off guard. Year after year, we swear we're going to get an earlier start, we're going to plan ahead and yet each year, Christmas is the same frantic holiday complete with a breakneck pace of buying, wrapping, cooking, and parties all guaranteed to overextend our time and nerves. For the kind of holiday you really desire to have, it takes a lot of planning for each aspect of Christmas. From choosing the gifts (and getting them wrapped) to all of the delicious meals, and the work related events, no wonder it can get stressful! Add church gatherings and special services and it's enough to make even the jolliest person wish Christmas would hurry up and just pass. If you're dreading the overwhelming tasks ahead of you this holiday season, don't despair. You can have the kind of Christmas you want without raising your blood pressure and without getting so tired you feel like you just can't function. You need a game plan to map out the holiday step by step and I can help you with that game plan. Christmas Is One of the Most Stressful Times of the YearYou would think with the beauty of this holiday that it would be a time of reflection, a time to sit in front of a crackling fire and drink hot cocoa and snuggle beneath a thick, fluffy throw - but that's usually the scene on a Christmas card rather than reality. Reality is we're the ones behind the scene dragging in the firewood, lighting the fire, shopping for the cocoa ingredients, unpacking the Christmas throws from the attic, airing them out, giving them a wash...well, you get the picture. We're busy enough already and life becomes even more hectic than usual when the holidays arrive. Thanks to all of the business, we tend to overexert ourselves and the ho ho ho can quickly become bah humbug!With all of the activities that center around the Christmas holiday, you need a game plan to keep your stress level down (as well as keep your sanity intact). You may still be working at your day job, dealing with childcare issues now that the kids are on holiday break and fretting about getting the house cleaned for upcoming relatives as well as provide them with meals. Because the Christmas holiday encompasses so many different aspects, you need a plan that will deal with each element individually so that they work together as a whole to give you a great holiday season day after day. The season is almost upon us (can you believe how fast the year went by?) so you can't put off planning another day. You need to get started right now. Make a list of what really must be done in order of importance and have a second column for what you'd like to get done but can live without if you don't get around to it. Read more right now from Christmas Game Plan: Ideas Decoration Food Tree Songs Gifts Games eBook.