If you’re like me, you put a lot of stress on yourself when it comes to holidays. Furthermore, I think it’s natural to want everything to be just right. Even so, it’s not gonna happen if you don’t spend a little time thinking about the possible pitfalls. Read on to find out my recommendations on how to achieve a peaceful Thanksgiving.

Sources of Holiday Stress

Who to invite.

• Family
• Friends
• Co-workers
• Kids
• Pets

Who’s missing and why?

• Family squabbles
• Death 
• Distance

All the effort that’s a part of the holiday is stressful and makes it hard to stay calm.

There’s a ton of work involved in hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. To begin with, there’s menu planning, shopping, preparation, and clean up.

Travel and Weather can add to the anxiety

Let’s face it, bad weather, driving to the airport to pick up out of town guests, and entertaining your company for the whole weekend requires military-like planning and execution.

Expense

Need I say more?

Relieve Stress to Achieve a Peaceful Thanksgiving

Cooperation is what you need to achieve a peaceful Thanksgiving.

As a host or hostess, don’t hesitate to ask your guests to help out.

It’s a lot more fun if everybody contributes to the festivities. As a matter of fact, helping the host and/or hostess stay calm can be done in a variety of ways. For instance, how about bringing a dish? On the other hand, someone could be in charge of setting the table; another can clear. Participating in kitchen clean up is another way to ease the stress on your friends and family.

With this in mind, entertaining the kids is a good assignment for the younger attendees. Isn’t it great when they get down on the floor with the little ones and play alongside them? Can’t you just hear the laughter? That’s better than sitting around watching videos any day!

Music assists in setting the tone of relaxation and calm.

Playing soft, lovely music during the meal will go far to help achieve a peaceful Thanksgiving get-together.

But, let’s make time to get up and dance. Sure, you’ll need a break after your big meal, but having your guests get up and shake it will up the energy. That’s a good thing. You could put on some old-fashioned Rock-N-Roll, Salsa, Hip-Hop, or Country music. It’d be cool to get moving with a couple of line dances. Here’s a video with five family-friendly country line dances demonstrated.

Since we’re already on the subject of entertaining, take a look at this Dance Safari post, “Theme Parties by the Decade for Ballroom Dancers“.

Anyhow, those are some ways you could create the type of calm atmosphere that has everyone looking forward to the next holiday. What do you have up your sleeve for the next one?

“I am thankful and grateful for the good in my life.”

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