Some people love the holiday season. They love tinsel, mistletoe and Christmas music. Good for those people. But some of us are just trying to survive the holiday season without losing our minds, and unfortunately chugging eggnog isn’t a very feasible option—but it’s still one option.
We’re not here to rain on anyone’s parade, so please don’t be offended if you’re a December-loving Holiday-phile; we’re just trying to make it to January with our minds intact. These are our tips on how to survive the holiday season.
Just Shop Online
There are a few things the holiday season can promise: increased spending, increased automobile traffic and untrained retail staff making shopping a chore. You can alleviate two of these three nuisances simply by shopping online—and you might just be able to combat all three.
Some people enjoy the shopping experience this time of year. They enjoy the Christmas decorations, the seasonal music and the plethora of sales and deals and coupons and… You get the point. Good for them, but those of us who dread those things can take comfort from knowing that all our gifts are a mouse click away with two-day shipping on Amazon.com.
To avoid even more stress, splurge for the gift wrapping option if the online retailer offers it.
Wear Noise Reducing Headphones in Public
Piggybacking on the never-wanting-to-step-foot-in-public stance from the last item, avoiding Christmas music this time of year is like avoiding getting fat when you only eat Paula Deen recipes. You.Just.Can’t.Do.It.
My solution, and one I’ve shared with others, is to just wear noise reducing headphones while in public place. Yes, it’s kind of rude, but so is assuming that everyone wants to hear overly melodic pop music with a Christmas theme. Not everyone does, but you force it on us anyway, and the best we can do it try to block as much of it as we can.
My go-to pair are these Symphonized NRG Premium Genuine Wood In-ear Noise-isolating Headphones with Mic for $25. They’re affordable and sound pretty nice, while also blocking just the right amount of ambient noise.
Skip all the Holiday Parties
Okay, so I’m lying here. You can’t really get out of all the holiday parties you’re invited to. Go to them, smile, and pretend to have a good time; it’s what friends do.
Since we can’t skip them all, I recommend arriving early and leaving early. Forget about being fashionably late. Be one of the first people to show up to spend time with the host, and by the time it is busy you can sneak out relatively quietly. You’re not being rude and the host won’t mind, so long as other people have drifted in.
Drink Heavily
We’re kidding (kind of), but one of the best ways to make the holidays a little sweeter is by mixing up any of the delicious holiday cocktail recipes we featured yesterday. Alcohol should never be a crutch for dealing with things, but it’s completely okay to leverage its stress reducing capabilities in your favor—especially this time of year.
