The Holiday Season the joy and challenges it brings

The Holidays can be very stressful, especially when it comes to family and friends. I personally consider the holiday season starting in November with Thanksgiving. The site of fall and the many colors it brings, Autumn is in full bloom, the smell of food through out the house is a joy. And, being born on Christmas eve is a plus. I have always enjoyed the holiday season, especially being among family and friends. There is no better time of year.

Just In, It's already Christmas

Today, on the "Today" show there was a story about how retailers have already starting promoting Christmas. K-mart has a commercial out about it already. They are poking fun at themselves and trying to humorously insist that they are not trying to work us up into a frenzy about Christmas and that the commercial itself is not "really"' about Christmas. The commercial is kind of cute and I have listed below. The reporter stated that the reason the retailer start to promote Christmas so early is because this is what is demanded by the consumers. In the story, the reporter mentioned that at least 20% of consumers have already finished some of their Christmas shopping.     

 

Enjoying the holiday season

One of my favorite things about the Christmas holidays are the homes decorated with Christmas lights.

 I enjoy nothing more than just viewing how people have decorate their homes. I'm like a little kid again and it has a calming effect. I generally really can't relax enough to do this though until after Christmas is actually over here lately. I will make a point to start trying to make time for this event earlier this year. This house is really over the top. I would never decorate my house like this, mainly because I don't know how, I but sure enjoy looking at.  I even make the kids go kicking and screaming all the way. I make them put down all their devices and gadgets and really take in some of the holiday spirit. I love a beautifully decorated neighborhood.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRN7oN4XGKU

 

Another thing I enjoy and look forward to doing every year is our escapade of going to cut down to our own Christmas tree. From when I was a kid, my parents would take us out on a tree farm and we would pretend to be lumberjacks and cut down our own tree. We still do until this with most of our extended family,  in-laws, and a few close family friends. We dress up like we are going to the  North Pole and my mom cooks a breakfast feast and invites everyone she ever met in life to come. It's great!

Black Friday

 This is a highly anticipated day for retailers and most often dreaded day for all that have to actually work that day. I now refer to Thanksgiving as the day I coined "Green Thursday". I refer to it this way because after you have eaten your collards or green been casserole along with your turkey and other traditional dishes, I have to report to work before midnight to face the biggest sale of the year which is going to bring plenty of green money for the retailer I work for. No longer do companies wait for the day after Thanksgiving in the early morning hours to start the sale. Right after you finish dinner you can go and join the melee and frenzy of Black Friday or Green Thursday shopping. I use to enjoy doing it myself but now because the sale starts so early I can't attend any because I have to be to work myself.     

Sharing time with relatives

This can be quite a juggling act. Especially if you have small children and you actually want to engage in some family time in your own home. We don't have to travel to see my parents they are both local. Trying to get my sibling all in in one room together at the same time due to their own family obligations seems to be an impossible task .I have a sibling that has small children that are close in age to my kids that I would love for them to spend time with especially on Christmas but it's almost impossible because her in-laws are local and she wants to spend time with them as well as she should. It's difficult to pinpoint a time when we all are  free to get together at the same time. Not to mention that this sibling and I have very difficult time getting to any one place on time. I am really trying to work on that. Just the thought of getting three children together even with the assistance of my husband to get to a family function on time is very stressful and can feel daunting. Yet, you want your kids to spend time with all their family and you don't want anyone to feel left out or slighted.

Overspending at the holidays

Labor day has come and gone. This signifies the end of the summer and our thought turn to the fall and the holidays. Retailers are thinking up ways already to get us in the mind-set of the holidays. What you do not want to do is overspend. You don't want to overlook anyone. You don't want anyone to feel left out or overlooked. Do you have to buy for all relatives in the house if you buy for one? Do you have to buy for relatives that you barely interact with or don't interact with all. What are the rules? All of these questions can lead to a lot of stress and holiday blues while putting a little damper on the holidays. In our quest to please everyone and get that to die for gift we have to be careful to not go overboard while playing Santa Claus. After all tomorrow is another day and we don't want to go into the new year lamenting the previous one.

This article that is associated with the link below gives some guidance on how to manage holiday stress and spending.

http://www.nomoredebts.org/blog/holidays/christmas/manage-christmas-holiday-stress-to-avoid-maxed-out-credit-cards-debt.html

 

 

 

 

Retail salespeople and the holidays

Well, because of the type of work that I do, I had to take some vacation time. I work in retail sales and this is the most anticipated time of the year for retailers. I don't really have anything planned to do  as of yet. I just had to take this time off before October. October thru December are peak months in retail sales. After November there are no week-ends off allowed. The weekends are reserved for big sales and more staff will be needed. This is the time of year that salespeople that generally work a Black Friday, start to begin to get those anxious feelings and try to appreciate the sense of calm that precede the holiday season.

Thoughts of the holidays in the air

 
Today I attended my son's 1st football game for the new school year. My parents are divorced and they both remarried. I spent my time enjoying the game and splitting the time between both of my parents who were in attendance. It reminded me of the balance that I have to engage in during the holidays which are impending. Fall seems to be in the air and I guess it will soon be that time again. It seems to come earlier every year. It many retail stores before Halloween the Christmas trees are up and the stress and pressure are on. Planning ahead and trying to get organized in many cases can help relieve some anxiety. Also trying to focus on the real reason for the season and remembering what's really important which is spending time with and appreciating family.