As students and adults prepare for the break, the stress of the holidays takes a mental toll. There are many causes of holiday stress. Some of these stresses are time-management and gift-giving/financial strain.
The financial aspect of the holidays can affect families in many ways. According to Holidays Are Not A Good Time To Overspend Your Budget, here are some statistics about holiday spending: “Americans spend approximately $1,000 on Christmas each year. 7 out of 10 Americans exceed their budgets during the holidays. 37% of those taking on holiday debt said it would take them at least five months to pay it off.”
Spending money shouldn’t be a big priority during the holidays, but it’s hard for some adults, and even teens, to not get gifts for their loved ones. There are ways to organize how much you spend on each aspect. Start by deciding your total holiday budget. Think of all aspects: gifts, travel, food, and decorations. Don’t just think, “I’m going to spend x amount on mom and x amount on my friends.” Consider every expense.
Teens can still enjoy the holiday season even if they don’t get the most expensive gifts. Yes, I agree that sitting around a tree with your family and opening gifts is enjoyable, but there is a way to do that without spending a bunch of money. Christmas with Teens Can Be Expensive states, “before you drop a dime, write down exactly how much you plan to spend on each person.”
“I would say the financial aspect of the holidays can cause a little stress but should never be anything too stressful or serious. I completely understand the feeling of not getting someone enough, if they won’t like it, but at the end of the day nobody should care and giving is literally the smallest portion of this holiday. I think a lot of people take it too seriously, and add way too much stress to their plate,” sophomore Tanna Howe said.
Another major stressor is time-management. According to Time Management for the Christmas Holiday Season, one of the best ways to manage your time is to, “get to know how busy your holiday season is going to be by making a list of things you have to do like gift shopping for example. It would be wise to divide this list into two sections: tasks you have to do in preparation for the holiday on one side and activities you’d want to do on the other section.”
Family stress is hard when you are pulled to multiple households. Some kids may think that having multiple christmas’ is fun because you get more gifts, but for others it really takes a mental toll on them having to bounce back from house to house. This can also be a time-management conflict because the children and parents have to stress about getting their kids to the other parent on time.
The true meaning of Christmas hasn’t changed for everyone, but there are so many people that stress and worry too much about getting gifts and paying a lot of money to get their loved ones someone special. Christmas is a holiday where you should be spending time with family and friends.
We need to keep in mind that the real purpose of the holiday is a joyous time and a chance to enjoy time off from school/work and to be with those we love. As the Grinch points out, “What if Christmas doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?”
