Thanksgiving is one of my top 3 fav holidays, right there with Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. It kicks off a season of giving and change with a celebration of what we are grateful for. But with more than one Thanksgiving meal to attend, how can you enjoy the day running around like a turkey with your head cut off? Between cooking and travel and greetings and goodbyes the day can fly right by you! Here are my tips for surviving the day with your holiday spirit intact:
1. Make a plan ahead of time. Rushing around to get to where you need to be is stressful enough without Grandma calling repeatedly to see if you’re on the way yet. So plan it out and let everyone involved know when you’ll be arriving to keep stress levels to a minimum!
2. Breathe. When you’re overwhelmed by all the people coming at you asking how classes are and what you’re going to do when you graduate, remind yourself that these people are interested in your life. They’re happy to see you, so give them that stock answer you know you already have planned out, and smile your way through.
3. Stop to ask yourself that you’re thankful for. This part of the holiday can be lost behind the rushing and the cooking and the eating, but it’s what I think makes the day so wonderful. When you start to become overwhelmed with everything going in, just take a second to think about the things in your life that make you smile. Soon the stress will simply melt away.
4. Don’t forget to enjoy the food. I am a firm believer that stomachs gain way more storage space on Thanksgiving, so enjoy all of your favorite parts of the meal from salad to pie. You can walk it all off Black Friday shopping anyway.
Thanksgiving can be full of joy and laughter while simultaneously raising stress levels to their max. But with these simple tips you can use to be sure that this year you’ll spend your day with a smile on your face.