How stressful is your pre-Holiday?

I don’t get stressed at all around the holidays and you can’t make me! ;)

Well I try to be quite organised, lots of lists… sometimes I may lose one of the lists then I do become stressed.
Overall I try to make it as pleasant as possible.
Stress levels 1–10… I would say about 3

This year is especially stressful for me, not because of shopping or trying to make preparations. It is because I lost someone very close to me last December. This is the first Christmas in 27 years without them. I know there are many many people who grieve all over again during this season. I offer this and wish for all of you peace.

There’s Still My Joy (written by Melissa Manchester)

I took my tree down to the shore
The garland, and the silver star
To find my peace, and grieve no more
To heal this place inside my heart

On every branch I laid some bread
And hungry birds filled up the sky
They rang thy bells around my head
They sang my spirit back to life

One tiny child can change the world
One shining light can show the way
For all my tears, for what I’ve lost
There’s still my joy
There’s still my joy
For Christmas day

The snow comes down on empty sand
There’s tinsel moonlight on the waves
My soul was lost, but here I am
So this must be amazing grace

One tiny child can change the world
One shining light can show the way
Beyond my tears for what I’ve lost
There’s still my joy
There’s still my joy
For Christmas day
There’s still my joy for Christmas day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGLA3QNEyVA

The pre-holiday personal life is not bad at all. However, there is the usual last week at work before everybody disappears on their PTO where everyone gears up to engage in that age old holiday work place tradition of “pass the turd-ball”. Whoever gets stuck with it at 4:59pm on the last day before vacation is expected to immediately cancel their vacation plans to deal with it or risk being labeled as not a team player, the political ramifications of which are often far reaching.

@perspicacious I’m very sorry for your loss. :(
If it makes you feel any better, I’ve also lost someone before, though not around a holiday. It hurts for a while, but eventually it gets more manageable. I wish you all the best.

It’s not very stressful at all. I simply work and live my life like every other day. The only stressful part is dealing with idiot customers that are shopping for the holidays lol.

@lucillelucillelucille can too ! Dares….

I’m a little stressed & full of flu too, which doesn’t help! :-/

It’s not stressful for me, even though I do a lot for the holidays. I keep lists of when I have to do what, and I try to spread it out over these last 2 weeks. The end of this week begins baking cookies! It’s helpful to keep organized and do a little each day as to not be overwhelmed. I also started buying gifts early this year and that has helped to relieve the hurried feeling of leaving it to the last minute.

I leave everything to the last minute and now I don’t have any money until the 22nd and no time until Christmas eve. My Christmas shopping is going to be a major rush job this year.

This year, I could care less.

There’s a reason why Halloween is my favorite holiday and I typically despise Christmas.

My parents have been divorced since I was four, and the divisions have only worsened over time, so Christmas usually becomes a battle of revenge between the two halves over who I see for most of the holiday. They all conveniently schedule their get togethers at the same time, too, so I’m forced to choose, and whichever side I don’t choose usually retaliates with endless guilt tripping and sometimes outright rage.

None of them are willing to compromise either. Ever.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard

Simply don’t go to either! :-/

I was just very stressed over the weekend and today trying to get all gifts selected and sent.

Not so much stress, because we keep things low-key in my family. We got the tree a week or so ago, and the kids have been putting up the lights and decorations. That’s a relief for me. We’ve ordered most of the presents online.

My wife is totally stressed out. But she stresses about everything. She constantly has things to buy. I don’t know where she comes up with it all.

usually it’s very stressful because there are so many people we need to find time to visit. So I usually have to get most of the Christmas shopping done by the beginning of December, not the end. This year we’re not visiting until after Christmas, which takes a lot of the pressure off.

Not at all. I make most of my own greeting cards and gifts, except for the cash gifts, so I do the holidays all year long.

@Scooby, not really an option.

my daughter is 3½ so she is young enough not to expect anything and yet old enough to appreciate whatever she does get. that takes a lot of pressure off me because i can get her a couple of things and she’s happy with them. i buy her a lot anyway, clothes, toys, so now I am just saving everything till Christmas and it will be a gift.

I work full time and am out of the house for 11 to 12 hours per day so there’s not much time for much else. I would love to have the perfect Christmas you see in magazines, where people are decorating the tree by the fireside and sipping cocoa. Unfortunately, this is not a reality for me, nor has it ever been in my life. Shopping is always hectic, wrapping is always hectic, decorating is always last minute and usually not as nice or as detailed as I would like it to be. Writing out Christmas cards is usually at my work desk after work (or sometimes during work -ssshhh!) – all not like the “perfect Christmas” in magazines. Maybe one day (jca gazes off into distance with dreamy look in her eyes).

I was starting to edge on the verge of stress this weekend, but my husband pulled me back from the darkside. I’m not stressed. This year, I’m kind of just on autopilot.

Freshman at university, and first time writing final examinations that are worth this much!. First time worrying about all of my classes at once…

Hmmm, one final today, one final last week, three more finals yet to come this week. I can’t wait until the two week-ish break that I have! ... then back to school. =|

Surprisingly, I can’t really tell if I’m stressing about it or if I’m just so stressed out that I don’t realize it.

Nevertheless, I’ll have many things to do once I’m finished finals, and lots of shopping to do as well! Shopping for others usually takes me lots of time and thought… Ahh..

Ridiculously high currently, I have to admit I loathe being around my family for the holidays.

@Fiddle_Playing_Creole_Bastard

Option is a choice, freedom to choose is everyone’s right, put your foot down & put a stop to all the bickering…… is there no friends who could have you over??
Just a thought! :-/

I have to admit, I am a little stressed now. My husband invited 7 people to Christmas Dinner. I have never made a Christmas Dinner, we have only ever spent Christmas with family until now. I know I will be doing a spiral ham, but what in the world goes with a spiral ham???!! And how do you cook a whole meal with one oven, when everything cooks at different temperatures at different times?
On top of that, the day before we are spending Christmas Eve out of town with family, and then have to be at our Candle-light service at church in the Evening.
Tomorrow I have to go to my church to get things all set up for a Christmas Brunch. The next day is the brunch, oh-what will I bring? That will leave me 4 days to get all of my Christmas shopping done and food bought and pies baked etc.
It’s times like this that I wish I was a guy! I wasn’t really stressed until my hubby threw in the wrench!
Waaaaa-waaaaaaaaaa…OK I feel better now.

@Sweetpea There are several websites that contain time charts for preparing holiday meals, what to do the week before, three days before, the night before, and such.

@Sweetpea

Geez, what a load!
Is your husband doing anything to help you?