Quill’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays: Stress Less!

You feel it coming...your head starts to throb, your stomach gets upset and your palms begin to sweat. Could it be the cold and flu season? Not quite. Welcome to another holiday season. Try as you may, there's just no getting away from it. Completing year-end deadlines, finding the perfect gift, or creating the most memorable family gathering can be a burden for anyone and can stress out the most even-keeled person. Stress and the holidays go hand in hand. But, there are ways to make your celebration tolerable and preferably enjoyable. The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, has come up with some practical tips for helping you minimize the stress and survive your holiday activities.

• Recognize how you feel - Feeling sad or upset due to distance away from family or a loss is normal. Just because it's the holiday season doesn't mean you have to pretend to be happy

• Ask for help - A stable support system consisting of family, friends and co-workers can provide you with comfort and companionship

• Be flexible - Recognize that as families grow and change your usual holiday routine may change as well. If your entire family can't be together, consider alternate ways to celebrate-phone calls, digital photos by e-mail or video are perfect ways to share holiday cheer

• Worrying about money - Determine the amount of money you can spend on gifts and then make sure you don't go over that limit. Buying someone else's happiness with gifts will only cause unhappiness for you when the bills start rolling in

• Perfection is overrated - We all want to have a Martha Stewart moment when the holiday meal is served or the gifts are opened. Inevitably, we forget something-the dinner rolls, the gravy, the shiny paper or the pretty bow. Realize that things may not go as planned and accept those imperfections.

Holidays, although meant to be a time of joy, can also be a time of stress. Keeping these two things balanced can help you survive...at least until next year.

Check out what is new on Quill's Office Living community for December! Learn how to do a little something extra for your holiday houseguests to make them feel welcome and comfortable in your home.