Top 10 holiday Survival Tips

Lela Gilbert, author of the book On Our Own: Help and Hope for Single Moms, gives 10 holiday survival tips that everyone could use:

1. Make sure the kids have lots of happy events to look forward to


2. Find new ways of gift-giving that do not involve expensive gifts


3. Determine a Christmas budget and stick to it


4. Send each of your children a Christmas card with a person note


5. Take the time to list out the gifts of love you have received and have given (a great exercise to have with your kids)


6. Pray with your children, thanking God for His many blessings


7. Attend a holiday worship service together


8. Give yourself the gift of forgiveness - forgive others and yourself


9. Remember to "put your oxygen mask on first" - take care of yourself so that you can take care of your loved ones


10. Treat yourself with kind words

Ten ways to relieve stress during this Christmas season!

Holiday Parties at 20 Year Low

In a recent post, I told of research of how many are uncomfortable with meeting strangers during holiday parties. Well, you might not even get the chance. According to an annual survey conducted by Battalia Winston Amrop, only 81% of businesses in the U.S. will have a holiday party of some kind. This marks the lowest percentage in the last 20 years which surpasses 83% after 9/11 and 82% during the 1991 recession. In addition, 37% of those polled say that the economy has impacted the planning of their holiday celebrations - either they have cancelled them altogether or the parties will be more modest.

Other findings of interest:

• No bonus this year - 62% of businesses will either give the same or smaller bonuses this year.
• Increase the chartiable giving - even though the economy is difficult, many businesses will continue to participate in charitable giving (74%)
• Time and Place of Christmas parties - those that will give a party this year they will happen in the evening and not during work hours.
• Gift giving - 42% of employees polled said they are still planning to give co-workers Christmas gifts this year