The holiday season is upon us once again! This is typically a busy time for a lot of people. The music, the enticing foods, gifts to buy and wrap, parties, family time – all of these things make the holidays both fun-filled times and times of high stress.
I seem to remember the more stressful times better than the fun times, especially when it comes to flying home from San Francisco to New England each year. There was the year that my luggage got lost; arriving just in time to fly back to the bay area after the holidays were over. That was the year that I learned to pack more in the bag that actually gets carried on the plane with me. Or the year I got everything packed and arrived at an airport jammed with other holiday travelers only to find out that my flight had been cancelled. Fortunately, it was re-scheduled to get me home just in the nick of time to get together with my family. These were definitely anxiety-producing times for me around the holidays!
I found a great articlewritten by the staff at the Mayo Clinic that outlines 10 ways to help with the stress around the holidays and perhaps even help you make all of the challenges around the holidays fun and enjoyable. Some of the suggestions take a bit of thought and pre-planning but might be worth trying!
I will try idea # 6 when I head to airport just before the New Year to fly from New England back to San Francisco. By planning ahead, I will get the airport 2 hours early to make sure I have enough time to check in and be at the gate well before the plane takes off. I will also take a deep breath and be ready for anything that happens! I hope these tips are helpful in creating a wondrous, magical holiday season this year and for years to come. Happy Holidays!
