Stress Free Festive Family Gatherings

Well the Holidays are coming up fast. Where did the year go? Anyway, I'm here to help everyone have stress free family gatherings. Really! So get out the note pads, clean off your glasses and listen with an open mind. If you really try to follow these rules your family gatherings will be so much more enjoyable.

Here are some hard and fast rules to keep the peace this Holiday season.

No Hidden Agendas!

It sounds simple, but it's sometimes harder than you think. Hard as we may try we all want to "out do" one or all of our family members. Even I am not immune from this pit fall.

Does this sound familiar? "This year I'm going to throw a party to put my perfect sister to shame." Or, "Let's see him top this one." How about "Not even Mom has ever done better than this."

We've all said something similar at one time or another, or at least we've thought it. We plan for weeks. Go crazy looking for the biggest, best turkey we can find. Spend endless hours making the "perfect" pie, from scratch of course. We'll go thirty miles for that perfect tablecloth. The one that will put last year's to shame. The one our sibling presented. We pull out every cook book, every pot and pan. We are doing and doing twenty four hours a day, weeks before the get together. Enjoying our selves? NOT!

This is what you need to ask your self. Why are you really getting together with your family? Because you love them, right? Then ditch those elaborate plans. Don't cook a seven course meal. In fact, I truly doubt anyone will notice. Everyone will be fed, happy, and you too will enjoy their visit.

Leave the Past in the Past!

Chances are there are some things from the family's past that bothers or ignites everyone. Maybe someone felt slighted sometime. Perhaps someone lied to you once. No matter what the past offense, forget it for the day.

Think about it like this. If you haven't reconciled the incident by now it isn't going to happen on the holiday. In fact, it's liable to start an argument or even more animosity.

Will it kill you to leave it alone for one day? If you can handle that, do it. If you really feel that you can't, perhaps you should skip the get together. You don't want to spoil everyone's good time. The Holidays really aren't the time for rehashing old baggage.

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