The holiday season can be very stressful for a number of reasons. People may feel alone, there is more traffic than normal in the malls, and there is the pressure to buy the perfect gift. It can definitely be overwhelming, but here are some tips on how to stay calm, maintain your sanity, and actually ENJOY the holiday season.

1. Allot more time than usual. Given the increase in shopping traffic, you may need to leave more time to get to your locations. Driving can be very stressful, and you don’t want to add to the stress due to lack of time. Also, if you are looking for the perfect gift leave more time to shop, start early in the day, and don’t wait until the store is about to close to run in.

2. Practice daily meditation and journaling. Given that this season is so busy, it is important to take time for yourself. Meditation and reflection is very soothing and calming. Also, during this time take the time to reflect on what went well, what you want to improve, and how you want to continue to build on to make 2015 your best year ever.

3. Listen to an audio book if you are stuck in traffic.  One of the biggest lessons that I learned when I had a 45-minute commute each way for work was to use my drive time productively. By listening to audio books, I was able to focus on the content of the book instead of the time in my car. Just making that small change I drastically reduced my driving stress.

4. Focus on the reason for the season. When you think of the holidays as a time of giving and serving others it will help you to adjust your mindset with respect to any stress. If you find yourself stressed or annoyed, ask yourself if you are reflecting the ideals of the holiday season.  Look for opportunities to serve and give to others.

5. Don’t stress out on the perfect gift. Focus on experiences. If you are honest with yourself, do you really remember the gift that you received last year? Recently, I was in a conference and the speaker asked that same question and 95% of the participants could not recall what they received last year. If that’s the case, then why do we stress ourselves out of gifts?  Instead of falling into the consumerism trap of Christmas, look for opportunities to create experiences with family, friends, and loved ones.

I hope that that these tips will help you to navigate the holidays a bit more phenomenally with less stress. Please let me know how you will implement these tips!

Aisha Taylor is a #1 Amazon Best Selling Author of the book “5+5 FNPhenomenal Ways to Save $100 This Week Without Killing Your Lifestyle”, and the Founder of FNPhenomenal (Frugal –n- Phenomenal). FNPhenomenal helps women to break the vicious cycle of making money, but not keeping it. FNPhenomenal provides education about money management, empowers women to take control of their lives, develop a healthier relationship with money, and pursue being phenomenal.

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