Crescent Shadows On-Line Newsletter of the Hudson Valley Pagan Network, Inc.

The holiday season in December can be hectic and stressful. Between gift shopping, decorating, entertaining and holiday traffic, it can drive anyone to exhaustion. The key to a happy and healthy Yule season is preparation and organization.

A few Decembers ago I had such a hellish time of it I thought I would have a nervous breakdown. I was recovering from a sinus infection, my cat got very sick, I "broke up" with a longtime friend and I was trying to finish my holiday preparations. Buying and wrapping presents, getting out holiday cards and cooking for both Yule and Christmas dinners was more than I could handle. It took me a good month to recover from the stress of these things and I resolved that it would never happen again.

To begin with, I started to say "No." No to last-minute gift buying and wrapping, No to some invitations, No to excessive baking and cooking and No to anything else that stretched my energy and endurance too thin. While you cannot control some life situations (sickness and death of loved ones) you can control the constraints on your time and health. Here are some tips to make your holidays a happy one:

1. Start a holiday club with your bank. Don't hate me, but I finished my holiday shopping by mid October. My bank distributed my funds on October 1 and in a few weeks I was finished. I plan to have my wrapping done by mid November. I thank the Gods daily for direct deposit.
2. Shop online or from catalogs. Who really wants to deal with mall traffic and crowds? Besides, once the packages start coming in, it's like Yule everyday!
3. If you can, send out your cards early and only to those that matter. Or, there are many sites on the Web that have free electronic greetings. Or don't send any at all.
4. Try to sleep at regular intervals. Sleep is the foundation of a sound body and mind. Make it a priority.
5. Get your vitamin C. Stress leaves you open to all those little germies out there and once you are sick (and you pile on more stress) your butt will be seriously dragging by the time the ball drops in Times Square..
6. Exercise!.
7. Try to have a little "alone" time every day (even if it is on the toilet). Just 15 minutes of quiet. It does wonders for the spirit..
8. If you don't really want to go to a party, don't. My extended family has a Christmas Eve party every year and quite frankly, it is very dull. I have stopped going because I would rather have some alone time and prepare for the crazy Christmas the next day..

- Maryann

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Last Updated: September 24, 2002
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