Preparing for the holidays and navigating the holiday season alone are enough to stress people out, just like a pandemic alone is as well. Now, throw those two things together, and you’re bound to feel overwhelmed. But this time only comes around once a year, and the season and holidays are meant to be enjoyed. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but pandemic or not, I’m determined to enjoy it.
So, yes, the holidays may look a little different this year thanks to COVID—but that doesn’t mean we still can’t make the most of it. Don’t let the pandemic stress you out and take away from the most wonderful time of the year. Instead, prepare for the holidays with COVID in mind, so that you can still make the most of the upcoming holidays and holiday season. Here’s how.
Tips for preparing for the holidays during COVID-19:
- Keep everything organized and plan. When it comes to anything this holiday season, try to plan ahead and keep everything as organized as possible. Not only will this make your life easier, it’ll help prevent any excess anxiety and feeling overwhelmed. Try using a daily planner to lay out what you have to get done each day, keep a list of people you’re buying gifts for so you know what you’re buying and how much you’re spending. Having a clear-cut guideline to follow and knowing exactly what you have to do to make sure you’re prepared and good to go is key for taking care of your soul and keeping you grounded this holiday season.
- Keep your expectations realistic. This is a good one for both when there is a pandemic and when there isn’t one. Of course almost all of us would love to celebrate the holidays lavishly, go all-out and over-the-top, and while that’s a good goal to have, we have to be honest with ourselves when it may not happen. I’d love to rent out a private plane and go to a secret island with my family for Christmas, but I can’t afford to do that (yet—someday, though). The holidays are going to be different this year for everyone across the board. Money may be tighter than usual thanks to COVID, traditions that we’re used to may not happen—these are some examples of some very realistic possibilities for the holidays. Don’t stress yourself out with unrealistic expectations, it’ll only make everything seem more bleak, and cause you unnecessary stress. Be honest with yourself about what the holiday season is probably going to look like this year, and focus on enjoying and making the most of that.
- Be open and honest about your comfort zones. It’s important that we all take the necessary precautions and stay as safe as possible this year, but it’s also equally important to be upfront and honest with others about what you feel comfortable with. If you don’t feel comfortable going to a small family gathering, tell everyonedon’t idly sit back and go anyways to make other people happy. Some people are more cautious than others, and putting yourself in situations where you don’t feel safe is only going to cause more harm than good. Be smart, now is not the time to get sick. Besides, you can still enjoy the holidays, albeit a little differently this year.
- Minimize your time in stores. Don’t stress yourself out with both holiday shoppers and the pandemic, minimize your time in stores as much as possible. One thing I’ve personally been doing is ordering things online and picking them up in store. It saves me money on shipping, limits my time spent in public spaces, and saves me the headache of searching the entire store until I find what I’m looking for. I also do a lot of online shopping, which helps minimize my time spent in stores as well. Minimizing your time spent in stores will help minimize stress, ultimately making it easier for you to enjoy the holiday season. Don’t make the holidays extra stressful because of holiday shopping; I break down more tips on how to shop smartly for the holidays here.
- Check in with yourself. In general, your mental health and well-being should always be high—if not number one—on your priority list, and this should be true especially during our current state of affairs. Make sure you’re taking time to check in with yourself and fulfilling your own wants and needs. If you don’t, you’ll end up getting swallowed by the holiday season. Some ways to make sure you’re giving yourself time to regroup and ground is by deep breathing exercises and meditation. I’ve been meditating daily, and have found it tremendously helpful in staying grounded and positive.
- Control what you can and let go of the rest. It’s important to know what you can control and what you need to let go of. None of us can change what’s going on in the world right now; we can’t change the fact that it’s impacting our lives and traditions, which is why we need to figure out what we can control and go from there. We can control our attitude, our outlook and how we respond to any changes, and we can control our stress levels through healthy and smart practices such as keeping a daily planner, shopping smartly, meditating daily, etc. Taking responsibility for what you can and giving the rest back to the universe will help you find the joy in this time of year, despite everything else.
- Find the silver lining. At the end of the day, life is what you make of it. Only you can find the silver lining in any situation. Maybe the holidays are going to be different, but be grateful for what you have! Be grateful for the people in your household, for phone calls from relatives and friends—if 2020’s taught any of us anything, it’s to appreciate what we already have. Finding the silver lining will give you the power to prepare for and enjoy the holidays.
