The holiday season in December is supposed to be a fun time filled with joy, love, and relaxation. Even though many of us intend to enjoy our holiday season and keep it completely stress free, the reality is that sometimes things can get stressful. Here are 20 tips to promote positive mental health outcomes during the season:

1.     Make a list of what is important and prioritize: There can be a lot to do during the holiday season. Whether it’s events with family, friends, or other things, it can all get overwhelming when there’s too much to do. It can be helpful to make a list of what is important for you to do during this holiday seasons. If you can’t get to it all don’t worry, not everyone does.

2.     Prepare a COVID safety plan ahead of time: The holidays will bring together a lot of family and friends that may have different opinions and perspectives regarding COVID, COVID protocols, and vaccination. By planning ahead of time, you can create an environment for yourself that maximizes comfort and minimizes stress even with all the potential different perspectives on the matter.

3.     Make a holiday plan as early as possible: Having a plan can make things seem less overwhelming. Schedule at least one activity that you think is important for you to celebrate. If you know there will be a lot of stuff coming up, you can even plan one important activity in every day. On some days, this one activity can even be a “rest day” where you focus on yourself and mental health.

4.     Monitor and manage your spending: Financial stress during and after the holiday’s can be daunting. It’s easy to get carried away with spending during the holiday season. Everywhere we look around we see direct or indirect pressure for consumerism. Set a budget and stick to it. Remember that a gift does not need to come with a hefty price tag and often times, it’s the thoughtfulness that counts more.

5.     Set & enforce boundaries: There will be a lot of demands during the holidays and it’s important to set boundaries with yourself and others. There may be things you don’t want to do and it’s okay to say “no” for your mental health.  Give yourself the opportunity to grieve the loss of some of these activities.

6.     Create pockets of time for yourself: The holiday season is a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself. In between all the craziness it is important for you to make time for yourself too to do what promotes your mental health and physical health. Schedule some relaxation or recreation activities that you enjoy. Even though social gatherings and other events can be exciting, it’s important not to overextend yourself to the point that it compromises your mental and/or physical health.

7.     Maintain a schedule & routine: With so much stuff going on, maintaining a schedule and routine can be important for both our mental and physical health. Focus on simple things like waking up on time, going to bed on time, eating meals on time, exercising on time, and so on.

8.     Communicate with others on how they can support you: The holiday season can be overwhelming between all the gift-wrapping, events, gatherings, and more. Often times, people around us want to help and support us but they don’t know how to without us asking. Communicate with them and let them know! Don’t be afraid to ask for help at any time. Need help with gift-wrapping? Many stores offer gift-wrapping services or you can ask family/friends to help too. Need help with food preparation? There may be family/friends that can help or you or restaurants that can help with catering. The list goes on. What’s the worst that can happen? They’ll say “no” and you’ll be at the same point you were at before asking for support.

9.     Don’t be afraid to reach out for mental health support: Holiday season can be a difficult time for some people. Don’t be afraid to reach out to some of the free mental health supports available. Most major cities have a distress centre, crisis centre, or similar service that has trained crisis counsellors to support people in those cities and surrounding areas. In today’s world these services are often offered via call/phone and text too if needed. If you’re a child, adolescent, or young adult, Kids Help Phone Canada could be great too.

10. Schedule a session with a therapist: While many therapists may also be off for the holiday season, there are many therapists who may be available during the holiday season. Don’t be afraid to reach out to a therapist who has holiday availability to preserve and promote your mental health. If you anticipate the holiday season may bring on some stressful or adverse experiences, it may also be helpful to schedule a session with your therapist after the holiday season ends.

11. Maintain a healthy lifestyle: During the holiday season it can be easy for many of us to get carried away with our food and drink choices – we’re all human after all. Try your best to make healthy food, drink, and exercise choices so that you can stay energized and happy about your decisions later on.

12. Monitor your alcohol consumption: For many of us, it’s easy to overindulge in alcohol consumption and immediately regret it after. Balance and moderation is key. Everyone has different limits for what we can handle and what is healthy for us. It’s important for us to be mindful of these limits. As a general rule, many guidelines suggest no more than 15 drinks a week for men (with no more than 3 each day) and no more than 10 drinks a week for women (with no more than 2 each day). These are just general guidelines and everyone should monitor their own limits to know when to stop. It can also help to have an accountability partner (friend or family member) who reminds you to slow down when you may be drinking too much. In return, you can be the accountability partner for this person too.

13. Monitor your medications: Holiday season can be a busy time but it’s important to remember to monitor your medication(s). Continue to maintain your daily medication schedule. Missed medication can lead to you feeling less than your optimal self or cause medical issues that lead to emergencies. If you don’t normally consume much alcohol, are taking new medication(s) and/or taking a new dosage, it is important to consider how the alcohol and medication may react.

14. Arrange for transportation ahead of time: During the holiday season you may be in a new place visiting family/friends, engaging in alcohol consumption, or have other variables impacting your transportation options. It can be helpful for you to arrange your transportation method ahead of time so that things are less stressful/hectic at the time of need and so that you are not driving after alcohol consumption. Perhaps talk to a friend or family member who is sober to transport you. If that’s not an option, there are many other ways: ridesharing apps (Uber, Lyft, etc.), taxis, public transportation, and more.

15. Be satisfied with “Good Enough”: Often during holiday season, many of us want everything to be perfect. The reality is that things may not always be perfect. There may be various constraints due to our life circumstances at the time or things may not always go according to plan and be perfect. Sometimes it’s important to remind yourself that “good enough” is enough.

16. Recite some affirmations: Take some time during your holiday’s to recite some affirmations for yourself. Here are a few examples of self-affirmations you can repeat to yourself “I am enough,” “I deserve a happy holiday,” “I am in control,” and  “I am loved.”

17. Have realistic expectations for family gatherings: The holiday season often brings together multiple generations and multiple families. This often means a variety of different perspectives and opinions on a lot of topics. This can sometimes lead to feelings of not being understood, stress, and more. Being realistic about what you can expect will help avoid arguments and disappointment at the time. Being realistic can also help you prepare ahead of time for times when your mental health is not doing well during these gatherings.

18. Remember to have fun: Sometimes during all the commotion during holiday season, it’s easy to forget that holidays are meant to relax and have fun. So this is just a gentle reminder to have fun!

19. Avoid unhelpful comparison: There’s a popular saying: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” When we make unhelpful/unhealthy comparisons we may begin to have feelings of inferiority or superiority – none of which lead to us being emotionally healthy. Feelings of inferiority can be bad for our self-esteem too. Reducing or limiting social media and television consumption during the holidays can reduce the comparisons since they may make us sometimes feel like we don’t measure up to others.

20. Seek a fresh perspective: reflect on what went well during the holiday season and changes you want to make for the next holiday season. Naturally, there will be some things that go amazing this holiday season and others that don’t go quite as planned. After it’s all said and done, it’s important to take a few minutes out of your day to think about what you want to keep the same and what you want to change for the next holiday season.