Aren’t holidays supposed to be fun filled? Full of light, warmth, serenity? Why have they lost that spectacular holiday glow? What’s happened?

A lot of us, [not all by any means] remember the holidays as a joyful occasion. Being surrounded by those we love, by warmth, by food, just surrounded by happiness. But to our dismay we’ve grown up, holidays aren’t this splendid thing we remember them being anymore. Many of us are crushed by society’s standards. Distracted by the quota we have to fill. Or even just being surrounded by family we know deep down silently judge us, or maybe even verbally. Everyone deserves to find joy and be happy around the holiday season. It’s time we start destressing the holidays! So here my tips how.

A lot of us have lost someone near and dear to us. Holidays just aren’t the same without this person around, this feeling can make holidays a dreadful time. I have coped with this oh-so-familiar feeling in a multitude of ways.

• Embrace memories with said loved one. It’s important to be happy that you were able to experience a life with them, instead of being sad that they’re gone.
• I know you’re tired of hearing, “Would they want you to be sad?” or “That happened so long ago you need to get over it!” So remember its okay to be sad; we all mourn differently.
• Reach out for help! Sometimes things are to difficult to deal with on your own that’s okay!

Gift shopping is a truly daunting thing for some of us; it’s stressful. A lot of people go into debt during the holiday season trying to pick out gifts without looking cheap or like you don’t know who you’re shopping for. There are tons of options for you.

• Candles! Candles come cheap, and there are tons of scents to perfectly match your loved ones
• Always remember that with gifts, price shouldn’t matter as long as it’s sincere or useful enough for a family member to use.
• If you don’t know who you’re buying a gift for all that well, just get something broad enough to put a profound but rational enough meaning behind it.
• Make their gifts to you the blueprint, how much money are they going to spend on you? Are they even going to get you a gift?
• Acts of service! Sometimes actions speak louder than words. Do something nice for someone and don’t spend a penny.

Sometimes family is tough; family conflict can ruin the holidays! So always remember these few things:

• One day, you’ll move out of the house, you won’t have to be around these people forever.
• It’s always okay to celebrate holidays with your chosen family; just because you’re related it doesn’t make them TRUE family.

Black Friday shopping is a force unlike any other. The horrendous herds. It’s like people lose all manners and common sense over a damn tupperware set! Black Friday should be used to help those who are not finically able to get gifts or basic home necessities, but it has become a free for all for T.Vs and furniture. This part of the year has become stressful for those who work these shifts and those of us who just want to save a buck or two, here’s how we can avoid these stressful feelings.

• Online shopping! Lots of our favorite shopping websites still have black Friday sales and a bunch even have their sales earlier in the year!
• Take a mental health day! You should do something you enjoy before and after your struggle-filled work shifts around black Friday.
• Avoid the day all together! Black Friday isn’t a necessity for most of us so just don’t partake in it!

We can’t just eliminate holiday stress, but it is something we can certainly work on!

Happy Holidays From the lever staff <3