This time of year often evokes a wide range of feelings – excitement, joy, sadness, longing or all of the above. Especially for moms, any and all of those emotions often come with holiday stress and anxiety – “How can I possibly get everything done?!” Family researcher Dr. Anna Kudak has spent recent years interviewing women about their holiday experiences and even following some moms into the kitchen or shopping mall, and she has a lot to say about why the holidays stress us out. But she and Marti & Erin also have some good ideas about how to ease up a bit and find your true meaning in whatever holidays you celebrate!

 

Think about the last big holiday you celebrated. To what extent did it capture the meaning you wanted it to have? What messages do you think your children received from you about the meaning of the holiday? What would you wish to do differently the next time the holidays roll around to reduce your holiday stress?