Holiday Gifts, Family, and Stress

Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen Nov 20, 2006

Happy holidays! Hopefully, this season will be a welcome break for college students. In the month of December, students can look forward to two sources of stress and anxiety. First, there's final exams and the end of the semester. Second, there's the pressures that come with the holidays, such as buying the perfect presents, moving back home with your parents for awhile, and/or dealing with family politics at holiday gatherings.

Keep the present giving in perspective. Your friends and family know you probably have limited time to shop and limited funds. If they don't understand that, that's their problem. To help, here's an article about inexpensive presents to buy for your college friends, and also a more general article about what college students might like for holiday gifts.

Visits home to your parents can be a joy and can be complicated. Developing an adult relationship with your parents can be challenging for both parents and kids. Here's some suggestions for how to develop a strong adult relationship with your parents and enjoy your holiday visits.

Some family gatherings are more stressful than others. Hopefully you're looking forward to a cozy celebration with a room full of relatives who love each other completely and have no baggage. However, since you don't live in a 1950s television show, probably there's going to be at least some conflict with your parents and drama amongst the relatives. As much as you can, try to ignore the drama and stay out of it. Don't worry about drama that's beyond your control; if Aunt Gloria and Aunt Mabel have the same fight they've been having since 1937, accept that the fight will take place and that your energies are better spent elsewhere. Unless your family is enormously dysfunctional, there will be fun things to concentrate on, so focus on those.

A sense of humor goes a long way when dealing with family. Most family dynamics are humorous and touching novels that the world is waiting for someone to write. Accept your family as beautiful, imperfect, and uniquely quirky.

Best of luck! Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy New Year, and happiness in whatever else you celebrate. I won't be around too much this week, because I'm off to Minnesota with my husband and daughter-- to stay with my mother for Thanksgiving. Hooray! My mom is the best.