Holiday Coping Library


F E A T U R E D    A R T I C L E

9 Tips to Cope with Holiday Depression

January 12th, 2013
The stress of the holidays triggers sadness and depression for many people. This time of year is especially difficult because there’s an expectation of feeling merry and generous. People compare their emotions to what they assume others are experiencing ...

How to Manage Post-Holiday Depression

How to Manage Post-Holiday DepressionIt’s a let-down for many. After weeks, maybe even months, of decorating, shopping and wrapping, baking, visiting and being visited, the whole thing is over in a day or two. Suddenly, the display that seemed so essential to get ...

5 Tips on How to Keep New Year’s Resolutions

5 Tips on How to Keep New Year's ResolutionsWhy bother to make resolutions and then feel disappointed or guilty for breaking them? Do you get excited and resolve to change, but within days or weeks lose interest and can’t motivate yourself? Wonder why you ...

Re-Gifting or Re-Giving?

Re-gifting or Re-giving?General wisdom these days declares that passing along a gift is tacky. Reasonable people get unreasonably offended when they even suspect that the puce scarf, the mug that says “It is All about Me,” or a silver-plated triple bonbon dish was first given to ...

Parents Gone Wild at Easter Egg Hunt

Parents Gone Wild at Easter Egg HuntThe headline on our local paper reads, “A few rotten eggs spoil Easter Hunt.” Parents, who were supposed to stay behind the ropes at an egg hunt event for young children, leapt into the kid fray, scooping up eggs ...

Valentine’s Day & Parental LOVE

Valentines Day & Parental LOVEDid you know that about 40 percent of the 180 million Valentine's cards purchased this year will be bought by parents? It makes sense if you think about it. Our little ones, even when not so little anymore, live in our ...

It’s January: Have You Started Your Christmas Shopping?

Its January: Have You Started Your Christmas Shopping? Believe it or not, I’ve already started Christmas shopping for next year. With a big family and a small budget, it’s the best way I’ve found to make Christmas special. Quite apart from practical considerations, I love ...

A Special New Year’s Resolution for Procrastinators

A Special New Years Resolution for Procrastinators Procrastinators rejoice! The coming of the New Year is a fantastic opportunity for you to energize yourself toward achieving your goals. If you are a big procrastinator, you may be skeptical of resolutions; for you, resolutions might be ...

Competing Family Loyalties in the Holiday Season

Competing Family Loyalties in the Holiday SeasonThe holidays are ripe for unearthing family dramas, often featuring a popular story line about competing loyalties. Though there are variations on the plot, the focus here will be on this dynamic as it plays out with men and boys ...

‘Tis the Season to Regress

Tis the Season to RegressWhat is it that makes perfectly reasonable adults start to act like teenagers as soon as they hit their parents’ front door? You know how it goes: The oldest starts acting bossy. The kid who never helped with the chores still heads ...

The Christmas “Not To-Do” List

The Christmas Not To-Do List‘Tis the season for list-making: Lists of gifts to buy. Lists of cards to send. Lists of people to see and things to do. It can be overwhelming. It can seem endless. I have a confession to make: Sometimes I ...

The Empty Chair at the Holiday Table

The Empty Chair at the Holiday TableGetting ready for the first Thanksgiving after David died was very, very hard. The loss of my husband’s brother and my best friend was still new and raw. How would we possibly celebrate the holiday without my kids’ magical ...

It’s Halloween: Recognizing Our Shadow Side

Its Halloween: Recognizing Our Shadow Side“From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties and things that go bump in the night, good Lord, deliver us!” ~ An old Scottish prayer Watching a friend struggle to create an owl costume for her pre-schooler to wear this Halloween, I asked her ...