Four Tips for Keeping Your Holidays Simple, Lovely and Sane

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love the idea of sitting around a tastefully decorated fireplace with your loved ones while chatting and eating homemade goodies and drinking eggnog. However, none of my Christmases ever actually turn out like that. From stressful calendars to weird family baggage, Christmas doesn't often end up perfect,.and that's ok.

Amidst the twinkle of holiday decor, it's easy to fill our plates to overflowing, and inevitably transform our lovely celebrations to stress-induced rampages. So how do you keep your holidays sane? Here are a few tips from Incourage.me.com to keep in mind if you would like to make this year's holidays more manageable.

1. Meet the needs of your spouse, kids, and yourself first- Focus on your immediate family's needs first, and ultimately do what's best for your household. This might mean not traveling five hours away to Aunt Mary's house like everyone else in your extended family. This might inadvertently lead to hurt feelings. But what good is it to please these people if your household ultimately suffers? No one's happy in the end.

2. Don't spend more than you have- Draw a line in the sand to never, ever use credit. It's tempting during the holiday season, but the many months that follow of paying it off is never worth it. You'll sleep so much better at night. You may want to try making purchases online to avoid going over-budget or make your own gifts.

3. Do what you can and don't worry about the rest- Don't neglect your responsibilities, of course. But find creative ways to do what you have to do in an easy way, so that you have time and energy to do what you love. For example agree to only attend 5 holiday events so that not all of your evenings are full or buy from a local bake sale or bakery instead of feeling like everything must be homemade.

4. Make a big deal out of those little things that are fun- Make popcorn and turn down the lights for your family's favorite Christmas movie or play your favorite Christmas tunes and drink hot chocolate while you wrap gifts. It's these small things that make this season special.

Christmas is for us to enjoy with those we love, not to stress us out. By keeping things simple and positive you will be able to have a more peaceful and happy holiday season. Merry Christmas!