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…
Holiday Coping
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…
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…
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…
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…
12 Tips to Keep Joy in the Holidays
The Christmas season is upon us once again, and once again we find ourselves balancing between our work or studies, hanging out friends, scheduling time with family, and maybe even…
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…
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….
Preparing Kids for Holiday Visits
If kids will be traveling between households for the holidays, then the “sending” home and the “receiving” home need to work together to ensure a smooth transition. Margorie Engel, Ph.D.,…
10 Things You Can Do Differently Today
Every year at about this time, magazines, newspapers and websites (including ours!) publish their usual articles on how to keep your New Year’s resolutions. We all seem to forget that…
December Festivals: A Celebration of Diversity
Companies spend millions of dollars on diversity training to help workers become more sensitive to each other’s cultures, traditions, and practices. School boards now regularly struggle with the tension between…
8 Ways to Take the Joy Out of the Holidays
In case you haven’t noticed, the winter holidays are here. They sweep over us like a tsunami of lights, sights, sounds and smells. It can be a season of joy…