Are you Causing Your Own Holiday Stress?

© Michelle Howard - All rights reserved

Holiday stress is all too common.  Ever wonder why people stress out around the holidays?  Could it be because people are working way too hard to fulfill unrealistic expectations?

What is the true meaning of holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa?

Is it about seeing who can buy the most popular gift?  Keeping up with the Jones'?  Seeing who could give the best gift?

I submit to you that many times the giving of gifts around the holidays has NOTHING to do with the gift recipient.  Many times people are giving to be seen by others.  Why else would a person go into some serious debt to give a gift? A gift that is no doubt given in public, in front of the family, or on the job.

The True Meaning of Christmas

Personally, I celebrate Christmas and the meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with the giving of gifts to one another. If anything, we should be giving gifts to Jesus.  Isn't Christmas supposed to be the symbolic date of His birth? Then, why are you stressing over giving someone who is not God, a gift?

Christmas has become so commercialized that the true meaning of Christmas has been forgotten.  Jesus came into the world to save sinners.  He was born, suffered, bled, died and rose again.  Christmas is supposed to be a time that Christians everywhere celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  Of course, December 25th is not his true birth date but it is a symbolic date that Christians are supposed to be observing in Christ's honor.

Instead, children are being taught that Santa Claus brought them gifts.  Then, January rolls around and parents know the real gift givers because the credit card companies now come to collect.  Why fool our children that way?  Why deceive ourselves? We are causing our own holiday stress by doing this.

Why We Give Gifts

So, why do we give gifts during the holidays?  There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving gifts to your loved ones.  What's wrong is when you get all stressed out as a result of it.  Gifts should be given in the spirit of the season.......with thankfulness and an expression of love.

Gifts that are purchased on a budget, not putting you into debt is the only way to really beat financial holiday stress.  You can shop confidently knowing that you will not owe Mastercard, Visa or American Express once the new years rolls around.

Oh, and if your kids are not thankful because they didn't get the latest Playstation, ask them if they would rather play Playstation or eat.  Of course, some may say play Playstation.  Those are the ones you can then tell that's the last gift they will ever receive. I'm just kidding.

Seriously though, not only would it teach out children to value the things they get, they will not be deceived into thinking that the holidays is a time for them to get whatever they want.

So this year, when the holidays roll around, beat holiday stress by shopping within your means and remember the true meaning of the season. Some people may not take this advice and will step into holiday stress anyway.  For those people, why don't you pick up some stress relief products for yourself while you are shopping for everyone else.  You're going to need them. No pun intended.