Even if you have a great relationship with your family, holiday visits can be stressful. Travel is more difficult during the holiday season, and spending a lot of time with relatives you only see a few times a year can be draining for all but the most outgoing of extroverts. If you’re nervous about visiting family over any major holiday, here are three easy tips to make your trip dramatically less stressful.
1. Enjoy Big Holiday Meals
One of the most treasured parts of many cultures’ holiday traditions is having a large, celebratory meal. Food can connect a family to its history and bring members together, but it can also be a source of stress for people on a diet or those with food restrictions.
Contribute a Make-Ahead Side Dish
If you know how to cook and are staying with family, consider making a dish a day or two in advance for the holiday table. This a generous and kind gesture, but it will also ensure you have something you enjoy that falls within your dietary needs.
Feasts Can Be Part of a Healthy Lifestyle
If you’re worried about indulging for the holidays, know that your day-to-day dietary choices are a much stronger reflection of overall health than a big holiday meal. Enjoying a feast with your family won’t wreck a diet.
Ease a Full-Stomach Feeling After Your Meal
While enjoying a heaping plate of food with family is a joyful experience, the full-stomach sleepy feeling that follows isn’t always pleasant. A tasty digestive health drink is an easy way to help with this common holiday problem. These drinks are also useful for maintaining comfortable digestion at any time of the year.
2. Plan Travel Thoroughly
The best antidote to travel stress is planning. Avoid frustration from flight cancellations and overbooked hotels by looking up alternatives while you’re making your reservations. Keep these in a “just in case” list, and you won’t be thrown by travel dilemmas.
Research Stress-Relieving Activities at Your Destination
Many people believe that when they’re visiting family, they have to spend the entire trip in the family home, but that’s not often the best strategy to avoid stress. Taking an early morning walk in a nearby park or visiting a local tourist attraction is a great way to refresh your energy during your trip. Look for sights and leisure activities that might interest you to recharge during a holiday visit with extended family.
3. Take Time for Yourself
According to an international psychological survey, introverts need between 5 and 6 hours of waking time alone each day for optimal mental health and energy levels. This is true even when visiting family. Since many people sit between total introversion and total extroversion, you likely need a little ‘me time’ during your trip.
Go For Short Walks
In the middle of a heated game of charades or a long discussion about your life choices, don’t be afraid to take a break with a short walk around the neighborhood. Only a few minutes of quiet walking can clear your mind and reduce occasional stress while visiting family.
Schedule Time for Yourself To Unwind
Tiny breaks can only do so much to relieve holiday stress. Set healthy time boundaries with your family and carve out a few hours each day for your hobbies, work or just to relax and get back in touch with yourself. If your family objects, consider waking up early or taking these hours after you’ve retired to your room to sleep. Visiting family often causes a resurgence of childhood memories both good and bad, and time alone helps you reconnect with your identity as an adult.
For many people, holiday visits are important times to reconnect with family members. These trips don’t have to be stressful, even for introverted people. Sort out your holiday meal, plan your travel thoroughly and don’t forget to take time for yourself on your trip to visit family.
