Christmas stress

The holidays are full of awesome things.  Family, friends, food, fun, flamingos (not really, but I felt like I should keep the F thing going).  However, I am not the kind of person that can just sit back and enjoy it.  I am a complete stress case.  I tend to be an anxious, stressed out person in general, but around the holidays it gets completely out of hand.  I have gotten better over the years, but I stress out about everything.  This is mind boggling to my husband, who basically has never felt stress in the history of his existence, which actually stresses me out more.  haha.  Not a joke.

Here is a current list of things on my stress list:
-husband out of town, just stressful in general
-this weekend cabin with husband's family (stress includes what to pack, what not to pack, gifts to wrap for gift exchanges, food to bring for meal I'm in charge of for 85 PEOPLE, what to pack, what not to pack, gifts to wrap...you get the picture.  My stress rotates in circles like that).
-Gift exchange for my family
-Gifts for a family we are helping this year
-sending my kids to their dad's
-prepping the house for us to be gone this weekend (dishes clean, trash out, etc)
-blah blah a whole bunch of other mindless stuff that in the long run really isn't worth my anxiety

I was listening to the radio the other day and heard something that I really needed to hear, so I thought I would pass it along to you.  The woman (so sorry I can't remember who it was) was talking about holiday stress.  She said, "what can I realistically do, while still being able to feel Christmas Joy?"

This was profound to me.  I put so many things on my to do list, that I am not happy.  I do not feel excited, I feel anxious for it to all be over.  I am snappy with my kids, and have less patience, and get less sleep, and get frustrated easier.  That is not how Christmas is meant to be!  I am ruining Christmas for myself because I have unrealistic expectations about what needs to be done.  How sad it is to lose the joy of the season for the minutia of the moment.  I am guilty, guilty, guilty of that.  It doesn't matter if my house is perfectly decorated, or if my Christmas cards are bedazzled just so, or if I make the best sugar cookies on the block.  What kind of things can I cross off my to do list, so that I make room for the more important things like spending time with my kids, having a peaceful home, and inviting the spirit into my life?

I think many of us likely fall into this trap.  Take some time to cross a few nonessentials off your to do list, so that you can invite the Christmas spirit back into your life.

Because being happy is better than being stressed any day.  Even at Christmas.