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The Stress-Free Way Worksheet
The Stress-Free Way
Worksheet
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
s the holiday season approaches, you may find yourself putting off tasks you
could be doing early, waiting until the last minute to complete all your holiday
projects, or simply avoiding thinking about the whole thing because it brings
stress and anxiety
Every year, once school starts, things start to get crazy. There are so many things that
you need to get done to get ready for fall and winter. Just thinking about it now makes
my head spin, but it doesn’t have to be that way for us anymore.
This can be the year you take action, plan ahead, simplify, stay within the confines of
your budget, and enjoy restful, loving holiday get-togethers.
By taking the time now to figure out what you hate, love, stresses you out, and need to
change about the holidays, you can turn them into being the best time of the year.
I’m sure you are wondering what I could do to help that. I can give you ideas, but the
decisions are something you need to make for yourself. Then you will have to do the
hard part of having the hard conversations with your spouse and family.
That in itself can be stressful, but if you take the time to do it now, it will make the rest
of the year flow easily.
These worksheets will help you break down what is really at the root of your stress so
you can take proactive steps to create the most memorable, low-stress holidays you’ll
ever experience. Make sure you keep the downloaded copy of this workbook, as you will
find links to the ideas, I have found that have helped me with dealing with the holidays.
LET’S GET STARTED!
A
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
What are the traditions your family had when you were growing up?
sing the lines below, list the holiday family traditions you experienced
growing up. Jot down your feelings about those traditions. Did you enjoy
them? Were they just “ho-hum?”
Make a note if you no longer wish to take part in a tradition. While holiday traditions
are what keeps us united, they can also be a burden if they are something that doesn’t
apply to your current life.
There are many things we did as a child that I’ve had to make compromises about since
getting married, and my husband as well.
Use this space to journal out what you really feel about those traditions. Get your
emotions out on paper so you can face them and make decisions about what you want
to keep and what just needs to go.
U
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
What holiday traditions have you established with your immediate family?
e have moved around a lot over the years. As a result, we have spent many
holidays away from extended family. So, we had to come up with new
things that build a cherished consistency year after year—just for us.
List yours below. Mark if you still want to follow through with them now.
W
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
What new traditions do you want to create?
sk your spouse and children what they would like to do to celebrate the
holidays this year. Ask friends what kinds of things they do. Then, list here the
traditions and festivities you’d like to carry out this year.
Every year our family creates a bucket list of activities on a poster board using post-it
notes. When the task is completed, I move it over to a book where I keep the memories
of the best part of our holidays so I can use it for ideas the next year.
If you are stuck for ideas still, go check out this link that lists some of my favorites:
12 Christmas Traditions to Start Today
I’m sure you will find something to inspire you there as well.
Do not feel like you must do everything on your list. It’s okay to leave some traditions
out if you don’t prefer them this year.
A
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
What feelings does holiday time raise up in you?
ow that we have listed out our traditions and ideas for future traditions, let’s
talk about what we really feel about the holidays. What are your most
prominent feelings during the holidays? Some examples are happiness, joy,
sadness, nostalgia, stressed out, rushed, hectic, or uninvolved.
I want you spend some time here and dig deep. Pour out your emotions about the
holidays as they are now and what you wish they would be. This space is for you. Get it
ALL out. Don’t hold anything back. If you start crying, it’s ok. If you get angry, it’s ok.
Ask yourself “WHY” you have these feelings—keep asking as many as 6 times. Drive
deep to get to the roots of the emotions. You will gain insight from this.
The only way to know what you want and don’t want is to talk about it and this journal
is the safest place to do that. It won’t talk back to you! If it does, then we have a real
problem!
N
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
How can the holidays be simpler while holding to what is most important?
f you believe it’s time for you to simplify your holiday planning and celebrations,
check off what you could do. Also, write down any other ideas you come up with
to help you simplify.
After you have made a list of all the ways you could simplify the holidays take a few
minutes and number them in order of priority. (What I mean is what is the ONE thing
that if you did this it would totally change how you felt about the holidays and then go
down the list from there.)
Stop trying to be perfect
Plan ahead
Set time limits for gatherings
Purchase pre-made meals at deli
Ask for help from family
Call a caterer
Use shortcuts to ease party prep
Hire housecleaners
Reduce number of dishes served
I
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
How can gift-giving and planning be more joy-filled?
ift giving can either be a nightmare or something that is really enjoyable. We
may overrun our joy with perfectionism. We sometimes struggle for just the
right gift. What could you do to make gift-giving a more joyful experience? If
you are stuck on ideas, check out this link to my Pinterest holiday board:
Pinterest: Holidays - Christmas
You will find there more ideas than you could ever complete! Record all your favorite
ideas here.
G
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
Getting real about the emotions of holiday spending.
n this space, I want to you make of list of everything you NEED to purchase this
year for the holidays, then the things you WANT to purchase, and finally the big
WISH LIST for this year. Now, let’s talk about the emotions behind your purchases.
Do you make a reasonable budget for the holidays that you can stick to? If not, why
not? What emotions do you feel when you think about making purchases for the
holidays? Dread, anxiety, excitement, contentment, pleasure, spend some time getting
it all out.
The only way to deal with your emotions and make good rational decisions is if you
know WHY you are feeling the way you are feeling. If you are stuck, then go back to
asking WHY 6 times so you can get to the root of the emotion.
I
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
Let’s be real about what your budget is.
t this point the holidays are quickly upon us. While it would have been nice to
have thousands of dollars saved for the holidays, something tells me that this
didn’t happen this year.
Now is the time to sit down and do a real assessment of the money you have. Go back
to your list of the things you NEED to purchase and check over them again. Then go
through each of the other lists.
What do you really NEED to spend money on, and do you have the money in your
budget to do it? What can you let go of this year, but make sure it is at the top of your
list for next year?
But for now, what will you do this holiday season to reduce financial burdens?
A
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
Let’s be real about gift budgeting.
houghtfully consider how you can reduce your gift list and/or the amount of
money you spend per person. Maybe you need to consider giving a gift for the
whole family instead of a gift for each person. This could be a gift card to an
event or a location like a trip to the Zoo or Aquarium.
Check out this search on Pinterest for some new ideas.
Note your favorite ideas here.
T
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
Let’s be real about tension in family visits.
amily gatherings in a Norman Rockwell world they are calm, peaceful, blissful,
and FAKE. Yes, you heard me. They aren’t real. Almost every family has at least
one relative that gets on your nerves. This is the relative that you talk about on
your way home and all the things they said or did.
With these obvious tensions among some of your family members, what can you do to
make an effort to reduce tension-filled incidents?
Before you start writing, I want you to think about one thing. There is NOTHING, and I
mean NOTHING you can do about those toxic or annoying people in your life unless
you want to avoid them forever, and something tells me that you don’t because you
downloaded this journal.
I want you to consider two important things: be willing to step away—even if that means
you leave the house and the party, or leave and go home if you are just done. If you are
out of town and staying with family, then consider the first option and run an “errand.”
F
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
Do you have holiday travel to plan?
his could very well be the biggest expense in your budget if you are travelling
across the country or even more so if you are coming from a different country.
Is your holiday trip by car, bus, air, or train? How do you feel about the trip? For
example, do you find things about the travel to enjoy or do you view it as a giant hassle?
If it is a road trip, what specific things could you do to ease your stress during the car
ride?
If you are flying, what can you do to make this go as smoothly as possible?
What parts of travel, if you chose to do it, are out of your control that you will just have
to deal with since you made this decision?
T
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
Do you have church obligations?
t is the time of the year when many people have religious obligations. From Advent
to midnight services, there are many things to consider this time of the year.
Do you need to plan for Advent? Do you have a plan in place for how you will do
this with your family? Do you have breakfast meal planned for after midnight services?
Figuring that out right now will make it so much easier when the time comes.
These things don’t have to be stressful! If we take the time to get it out all on paper, we
can be ready.
I
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
Does your family have any volunteer or charity work to do?
he holidays are often a time for charity work of all kinds. It is picking an angel
off of the tree, building boxes for Operation Christmas Child, volunteering to
serve food, giving money to your favorite charity, or just quietly helping a family
in need. These things can turn the holiday from being all about me, to being
about others who don’t have the blessings we have.
My family has two things we really love doing. The first is Operation Christmas Child.
Every year we fill at least one if not two boxes of goodies that are sent to a child who
has little. There are so many amazing stories not only about the people who have
received the boxes, but also the people who sent them. It has become our favorite thing
to do; and I think my children, even the adult children, are more excited about this than
I am—and that’s saying a lot.
Another thing we love to do is make cookies and deliver them to our local Fire
Department or Police Station. I usually deliver the food on a day when someone I know
is working there, so they don’t think I’m a crazy person trying to poison them.
Take some time here and write down some ideas of what you and your family could do
to celebrate the holidays as a charitable time as well.
T
HOLIDAY MEMORIES: THE STRESS-FREE WAY WORKSHEET
www.inspiredbylucile.com
Now is the time to take back your holidays!
eally, holiday time does not have to be a nightmare if you don’t want it to be!
Yes, even if you have a relative who makes a spectacle of themselves, you
don’t have to let it affect you and how you feel. You are in charge of your
emotions, and this year you will have the best holidays EVER, if that is what
you set your mind to have.
So, this year, vow to make some much-needed changes to how you celebrate the
holidays. The decisions won’t be easy and the boundaries you must set to implement
them will be even harder, but you can do this.
You’ll enjoy the season more and so will your family and friends. Create cherished
memories this holiday season by taking steps to reduce your stress.
From our crazy house of laughter to you,
Have a wonderful Holiday Season!
See you in the New Year.
R
Cover art used under license. ID 131460716 © Duiinman3d | Dreamstime.com
