Teaching Children Gift Etiquette
Jocey, one of the parents in my parent group, was mortified. Her mother-in-law had given her 8-year-old son a toy fire truck. Instead of saying “thank you,” the boy looked…
Holiday Coping
Managing Children’s Expectations: A Key To Happy Holidays
Ten-year-old Sara keeps her holiday wish list in a notebook, adding new items as she watches Saturday morning cartoons. The list is six pages long by October, including several items…
The Christmas Limit
A couple of years ago, I celebrated the holidays for the first time with my husband’s parents. They bought me a beautiful (not to mention expensive!) silver necklace wrapped in…
Focus on Meaning, Not Money: Christmas on a Budget
When my grandmother reminisced about childhood Christmases, we were given a glimpse of a much simpler time. Born in 1895, her early years were spent on Mt. Desert, Maine. Christmas…
Holiday Feasts and Family Misbehavior
My friend Jemm was close to tears when she called today. She’d invited the whole “fam damily” as she called it to come for Thanksgiving dinner. She had been excited…
9 Tips to Cope with Holiday Depression
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…
How to Stay Mentally Healthy During the Holidays
Do the holidays stress you out? You’re not alone. It’s a hectic time of year for many people, maybe even most people. Nothing about our usual daily life goes away….
Holiday Drinking: Keep It Safe
Every holiday season, people have to deal with the increased pressures and stress that the holidays place upon most of us. Whether we’re traveling to be with family or doing…
Finding Meaning in the Holidays and Christmas
The holidays are a time of year, almost a rite of passage one might say, that you either love or dread. There’s little inbetween. Most folks look forward to the…
Ho-Ho-Ho-Holiday (Office) Parties: Bah Humbug?
It’s one of those little secrets. A majority of people either hate office holiday parties or simply don’t care about them. Yet year after year, people dress up for an…
When Your Child Asks, Is Santa Real?
December rituals are similar in millions of households around the U.S. There’s a big buildup to Christmas with trips to visit Santa workshops and photo shoots with Santa (that promptly…
5 Tips on How to Keep New Year’s Resolutions
Why 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…
When It’s the Other Parent’s Turn to Have the Kids on Christmas
A dear friend of mine just couldn’t stand it when it was her ex’s turn to have their girls on Christmas. She’d spend the whole day on the couch, wrapped…
Nine Ways to Beat the Bah Humbugs
Not everyone delights in all the festivities and joy of the holiday season. People from all walks of life and in all sorts of situations feel depressed, sad or out…
It’s All In How You Look At It: Transforming Holiday Angst into Gratitude
“Here it is again: The holidays. I have to shop. I hate to shop. I have to cook. I hate to cook. The relatives are coming – never did like…