Slowly we are getting much closer to being able to celebrate and enjoy the holidays, as we did before the pandemic. Thankfully, vaccines and boosters are readily available for everyone over age 5 years old and they are free of charge. Currently, 42.7% of people worldwide have been fully vaccinated. In the United States, where I live 59.6 of the population have been fully vaccinated. I know many that have reservations of the vaccine, but how many people have died from the vaccine compared to those that died due to the virus? Maybe there have been some that died after getting the vaccine, but would they have died regardless of the vaccine?

Last year most of us were not able to celebrate holidays or even visit family because of the COVID fears. Hopefully, you were able to spend the recent holiday, Thanksgiving with your family and be thankful for the day! While we were able to enjoy the day, we have many more days ahead of us, especially if we can keep the virus under control. Of course, no one has answers to if we will face lockdowns again and fear for our lives, but we can at least try remaining hopeful.

There have been various challenges we have faced during the eighteen months of the pandemic. Unfortunately, some lost their jobs, which created financial stresses. Holidays can always come with more financial stress, but with the right amount of thought, logic, and planning, it does not have to. To help you reduce your holiday finance stress, I am going to share a few tips that might help.

Take time to give some thought to gifts. Our family and friends have different desires and wants to consider. Instead of going to the stores or shopping online mindlessly, think about each person individually. Does the person have any hobbies? Does the person enjoy personalized gifts from the heart? Does the person enjoy gifts that have other meanings? Children are typically easy to please and just enjoy a physical item they can open. Children also tend to want the newest toy available but might also enjoy arts and crafts. Therefore, a coloring book, crayons, colorful paper, and markers may keep they entertained and happy for hours!

You may also be able to divide people into different categories. This can help prioritize who you are buying for and the costs of what is purchased. With this shopping will become more about giving something meaningful, instead of just buying random items.

Create a list that you can follow. This is like going grocery shopping, which some of you might not make a list before you go grocery shopping. Do you find having something in your hand to shop with is helpful? So, you do not forget things you need or buy things that are not necessary? Creating a holiday shopping list will prevent you from impulse buying. It can be easy to start shopping for family and find something you want, that is on sale.

Creating a list that does not include yourself and stay concentrated solely on your list can help maintain your financial focus. Once you decide who you want to buy for and have an idea what the person would like, you can check things off along the way, which can provide you satisfaction for staying on task and completing an important task.

Understand your reason for holiday shopping. Once you get started with your holiday shopping, you might start feeling overwhelmed. Thoughts such as what and who you should do for, and feelings of stress being to build up inside. When you feel this start, take a step back from the situation and remember why you are holiday shopping. Also try to connect with the moment and pace yourself. Mindful breathing and meditation might help you to stay calm.

After you connect and check in with your body, ask you’re a few simple questions. Why is this important to you? Who and why are you trying to impress someone? Do you think anyone will be disappointed with your gift or are they expecting something different? Understanding the source of your stress may help you to keep it from getting too out of control.

Obviously, no one wants to disappoint someone else, but most of the time your family is not going to be disappointed. Our family just wants the chance to spend time together and creating new memories. Truthfully, it would only be a shallow type of person that would be disappointed with what we give them. Although we do all know someone that would be that shallow and they might be one of our family members, try to not allow yourself to fall into that mindset. Just remember, holidays are not about what you get or how much you spend, it is about being surrounded by loved ones!

I hope what I have shared will help reduce your stress around the holidays. It is supposed to be a time of joy, not unnecessary additional stress. Life is already difficult enough and we deal with other stresses that we cannot avoid. I do look forward to reading what you thought about what I shared. Stress has been said to be a silent killer and I believe this is true. Nothing good comes from stress, but there is a lot of things to enjoy in this short life!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my site today. I hope your weekend begins great and only brings you more joy. The weekends are so short, so they are best spent doing what makes us happy. Even with that said, whatever you do this weekend, please do so in the safest way possible. Please never forget that I am always sending y’all LOTS of love, comfort, support, and MANY positive vibes!

Always, Alyssa