Halloween is over and the holiday season is upon us. Many of you will probably spend the holidays with your family, unless you come from a family of insanity…and all you want to do is avoid them at all costs.
Perhaps there are bad gifts you will never use, family photos you don’t want to be in and an annoying cousin who drives you up the walls. Maybe you just want to sit in a room and read that book you’ve put off all semester. But at the end of the day, they are family. So, here are some tips on how to survive the holidays with your crazy but lovable family.
Schedule it out
I come from a family of divorce. It can make the holidays stressful, but I enjoy having so much family to see every year. I love multiple meals during the holidays – that could be a week of leftovers to take home. If you also come from a divorced family and there are multiple stops to make for each holiday, try scheduling a time for each stop.
Make plans with each household to see what time they are eating or what time the festivities will begin. Then, make your schedule. Mom’s house for lunch, dad’s house for dinner and dessert. It may not always be that simple, but it’s a start.
Maybe you are in a relationship and your significant other invited you to a family gathering. On top of your own family, you now have to make time for another family. Again, plan times to visit each house to alleviate some stress. Keep thinking, “More food.”
Let everyone know you will only be able to spend one hour and 26 minutes at each location. House #1 gets one hour and 26 minutes. Remember, there’s traffic and depending on how far away the next location is, you may need significant drive time. House #2 gets one hour and 26 minutes. This, hopefully, will leave you and your significant other a little one-on-one time to exchange gifts of your own.
Gracefully accept gifts
Now that there is a schedule of events, prepare for gift-giving. You may have an Aunt Sue and Uncle Bob, who inevitably give the worst gifts to all the nieces and nephews. This year, it could be another hideous knitted sweater. There’s no way you will be seen on social media in that thing.
Here’s the plan: layers. Layer clothing under your main shirt. Get some tank tops or thin undershirts and stack those babies. Then, put an oversized t-shirt on top. Perfect. Now, when you try on the sweater, you can tell Aunt Sue and Uncle Bob it’s too small.
That was a close one. Even though the sweater is something you would never wear, politely accept the gift. It won’t take up that much room in your closet.
Don’t ditch the family photo
Next up, the annual family photo for great-grandma Betty who couldn’t travel but is now an email expert and always wants a family photo to put on the wall. You know, the family photo everyone is vying to take so they aren’t actually in it.
Luckily, that sweater was too small. No one needs to have proof you wore it, even if it was just for the family photo. But darn cousin Maria brought her new boyfriend this year and he offered to take the picture so you’re stuck standing next to your obnoxious cousin John.
Relax and breathe. Just take the picture. It will be over in two minutes and you can retreat to another room and go back to reading with your headphones on the highest volume possible.
All in all, it won’t be so bad. They are your family, and despite how crazy and kooky they may be, you love them. Just think: it may be a whole year before you have to see them again. With these tips, you’ll make great-grandma Betty the happiest woman in the world with a new picture to show all her friends at bingo. Most importantly, you’ll survive the holidays with your family.
Photo Credit: N. Chasteen
Photo Caption: Holidays with your family can be interesting.
