Manage Expectations During the Holidays
/Leading up to the holidays can bring on ANXIETY as gifts are given and children show you their long and HUGE list of wants.
If you don’t have the money to reciprocate at the same level for a gift you received OR you can’t CHECK OFF all the items on your child’s Santa LIST it may cause you to feel INADEQUATE leading to anxiety and anti-social behaviour.
This does happen and could be happening to those you love when all you want is everyone to enjoy each other’s company over games, food and drink.
Let’s remember not to put demands on others financially to provide gifts or even give a gift that can’t be reciprocated (unless you say, “This is for you helping me with … Thank you and Happy Holidays!”).
A few good ideas to set expectations and share the load around the holidays are:
Agree on a reasonable amount for each gift and respect it.
Do a gift exchange where you buy one gift vs. ten.
Have everyone bring a dish or dessert to the family gathering.
Have a decorating party with kids leading up to holidays. This is a good tradition and can help alleviate the stress with lack of time.
I personally have two young children under the age of seven and to date I only spend about $30 on each child, plus stocking stuffers. They are young and don’t notice the amount of money per gift and recieve gifts from other family…so I don’t feel it necessary to spend too much on gifts at this point. It’s also a good savings tactic for when they get older and start asking for more expensive things.
Sending you STRENGTH to do what is RIGHT for your WALLET and your MENTAL HEALTH during the HOLIDAYS!
Pic: https://unsplash.com/@jonathanborba
