Low Cost Family Activities for Stress Free Holidays

The holiday season is here. The kids are home, family is coming and you are trying to figure out how to keep everyone busy and happy. This is a task that can bring a great deal of stress, especially if you are hosting the family dinner. The time together should be enjoyable for everyone, even the host. The pressures associated with planning and carrying out the “consummate” gathering is often overwhelming.

Our family enjoys spending quality time together and building memories. We have also developed a few traditions and activities that have made each holiday special to us.

I have compiled a short list of some of our family’s favorite holiday activities. I have also added a few suggestions for your family to try. Hopefully some of these ideas will help you to decrease your stress level. Comment in the box below to share your favorite.

Community Jigsaw Puzzle – we set up a jigsaw puzzle and work on it during our time off. We have graduated to a 1000 piece puzzle now that our daughters are teenagers. We put it on a table that is centrally located but not in the way. When they were younger, the girls had their own puzzle. As they became older we chose a single puzzle for the family to work on together.

I could talk about how putting together fosters mindfulness principals, but that will be another time. We have had wonderful conversations and lots of laughter while doing the puzzles. It is a low cost, low stress activity that brings us together.

Board and Video games – Every year, we get a new board game. We love board games. Actually we love games. We played age appropriate games when they were younger. We then progressed to more challenge like Scrabble. You may think that getting everyone to agree on which board game to play may cause conflicts. It could. Choose 2-3 games that you know excite your family and let them choose from those. There are always game system games. Encourage your children to invite the older members to try Super Mario or similar games. You will hear lots and lots of laughter.

Family Baking and Meal Prep – Only one of our daughters likes to cook and bake. The other enjoys the fruit of our labors. This year, we will bake chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. The energy that is generated when family members gather in the kitchen is infectious. Kitchen gatherings allow us to share stories of past holidays and make memories for years to come. Our family goes an extra step, as each of us is responsible for making one dish for the holiday meal. It can be as simple as opening a bag of pre-mixed salad or making macaroni and cheese. Everyone makes a contribution.

Decorating –Our Christmas tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving. The ornaments our daughters made in elementary school are now beginning to show their age, but we continue to use them and recount the year, teacher, and story behind each.

Movies – Rent DVDs from Netflix, Redbox, or the local video/DVD store. Choose several titles that will entertain across the family’s age span. Have a designated area set up for family to watch the movies. Have written instructions so they will know how to start the movie of their choice. You will not have to stop what you are doing or find someone to show them.

Movies – Part 2. Have the local movie theater schedule available and visible for visitors. They may decide to go to a movie while you are putting the finishing touches on dinner. Get them out of the house and out of your hair.

Memory Book – Most of us have a cell phone with a built in camera. Encourage family to take candid pictures throughout the visit. Use the pictures to create a memory book using a service like Shutterfly, Snapfish or Picaboo. Similar products are available using photo processing centers in retail stores like Walgreen’s, Walmart or big box stores like Sam’s Club or Costco.

Outdoors – When all else fails, send them outside to enjoy the fall weather. Encourage a pick-up game of football before the kickoff of the games on television. Send them on a nature walk and ask them to collect leaves or twigs for natural table decorations.

Wishing you and yours a very happy and stress-free holiday.

I help social workers and other professionals to “get through the day without losing it.” I would love to hear from you. You may join the conversation by commenting on this post on our Facebook fan page Happy in 30 Guided Relaxation, or connecting with me on LinkedIn. Learn more about Happyhalfhour.club, created for “hardworking professionals who want to be happy.” We provide stress relieving tips and techniques to calm your mind and relax your body in 30 minutes or less.

Happy Half Hour Club was created for “hardworking professionals who want to be happy.” We provide stress relieving tips and techniques to calm your mind and relax your body in 30 minutes or less. Like our Facebook page to share comments, questions, and suggestions or to just say hello. Click here to receive tips directly in your inbox.