As we approach the holiday season, that sense of "overwhelm" rings as loud as the Salvation Army bells.

 

For some, the holiday season represents stress, pressure, expectations, guilt, disappointment, pain, loneliness, exhaustion … and the list goes on.

 

And it doesn’t have to be that way!

 

We choose who we spend time with. We choose what activities we say yes and no to. We choose where we go. Your holiday season can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose to make it, and it can be a lot of fun if you plan accordingly.

 

Take some time this week to think about what’s most important to you this season, and then do a little planning. Here are some suggestions to help save time and reduce stress.

 

 

Seek your family’s input on holiday decisions. Ask family members what they liked and disliked about last year’s holidays. Write down the most important elements and activities you wish to include this year, and plan to make it happen.

 

Keeping time-consuming and irrelevant traditions or rituals "just because we’ve always done it that way" can increase stress. Keep only those traditions that have meaning to you, or create some new ones.

 

Give yourself permission to be in the moment and enjoy the smells, sounds, feel, and tastes that are unique to this season of the year.

 

 

Who nourishes you? Who are the family members, friends, and colleagues you enjoy being with? Who brings you down? Maybe this is not the year to get together with them!

 

Do you want to do any entertaining? If so, when and with whom? Plan ahead and ask for help if you want it. True friends and loved ones will not care how many hours you slaved over the stove. Spending time with you is what they’ll cherish most. You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to throw a great party!

 

Are you invited to holiday parties that you really don’t want to go to, but you’ve gone in the past because you should? Be at choice -- don’t play the victim! This is not about whom you should see, but rather whom you choose to spend time with.

 

 

I’ve found a great service that enables you to send a real card in the mail for less than a dollar, including postage, without leaving the comfort of your desk. SendOutCards was recently reviewed in the Wall Street Journal. I have been using their service for a couple months now and I can vouch for the quality of their greeting cards. With a simple click of your computer mouse, you can select from several hundred holiday cards to choose from, write a message (using your own handwriting font and signature) and send a printed greeting card. SendOutCards will print it, stuff it, stamp it (with a real stamp), and send it in the mail for you. 

 

 

Mail packages early in December to avoid longer lines at the post office and ensure they will arrive in time. Or, better yet, sign up with Stamps.com or another online postage service and avoid the lines altogether. You can mail large packages without standing in any lines -- as long as you have an accurate way to weigh them before you purchase the postage online. Once you have added the correct postage (printed from your computer), you can drop the packages off at the loading dock of your local post office and avoid those long lines.

 

 

Give from the heart, not out of obligation. Decide whom you choose to give to and make a list. This will help you avoid overspending through impulse buying.

 

If you think back to the most cherished gifts you have received, they are often homemade or from the heart. A gift of time -- such as a gift certificate redeemable for an activity you can do together -- can be very meaningful. Among the most prized gifts I’ve ever received have been homemade cards with a heartfelt note written inside. Value goes far beyond the cost of the gift.

 

A great resource for homemade gift ideas is a book called The Perfect Mix. It contains creative edible gift ideas, including wrapping suggestions and tag instructions, along with a source guide for supplies. The book offers more than 90 recipes for soups, breads, muffins, cookies, and other gifts. The gifts I’ve created from this book have been very well received and appreciated.

 

Instead of exchanging gifts with friends, consider having a holiday or post-holiday party with them.

 

Avoid parking hassles, gridlock traffic around the malls, and long lines at the register by shopping online and through catalogs. A number of retail stores now offer merchandise online, as well. If you are purchasing a gift that needs to be mailed, you can arrange to have it sent directly to the recipient, thus avoiding the extra steps of wrapping, labeling, and mailing the gift.