Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanaka, Ramadan or summer holidays with the family. What do they represent to you?

A time of happy families, a season of peace and goodwill or a time of all-out war or siege where you are trapped under fire with the stepchildren or and the Mother In Law? Do you look forward to the holidays or are you of the “humbug” persuasion? So many people I speak to dread the holidays were getting together when their families are involved.

The holidays become a pressure cooker of old disappointments caused by a year on year failure in trying to live up to the fairy tale ideal of playing happy families with the husband or wife, the children, in-laws, the stepchildren....

The financial cost can be crippling. The emotional cost is even more costly. All the work is often left to the same people who end up feeling frazzled, tired and taken for granted.

And if that isn’t enough there are holidays where there is an even greater sense of dread because finding, buying and wrapping presents that people will like on your budget seems impossible.

Then there is all the food shopping and catering. This is tricky as you don’t know if you are catering for the hoards or just the two of you because no one is making a decision and you don’t want to start a family row.

Add the fact that you are working and don’t have enough time to do everything normally. It is no wonder that people go into overwhelm! Or perhaps you are dreading the holidays because you are facing them on your own and hate the thought of being lonely.

Whatever your situation in this series I’ll be sharing with you the approach and techniques I use myself and with clients to help manage the family holidays whether they are Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Ramadan or any other major family celebration.

So, if your whole holiday is taken up with shopping, cooking, hosting and clearing up.

No sooner than you have the house straight it is time to go back to work. If you dread the family arguments, especially when these are fuelled by alcohol and close proximity.

If in the past you find yourself under huge pressure and struggle with the workload the holidays with the family creates. If long after the holidays are over you are left struggling with disappointments, damaged relationships and a shed load of debt.

It’s time to find a different way so you can look forward to enjoying the holidays.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?  CHECK OUT OUR FREE 12 DAY HOLIDAY SURVIVAL GUIDE