3 Things that Ruin Christmas Before it Happens

The holidays can be a very polarizing time for many of us. While some can’t help but get caught up in the festivities and excitement, getting the Mariah Carey Christmas album back into regular rotation before the kids had even gone trick-or-treating, others experiences are more like the winter weather itself; dark and cold. Well, we don’t just want you to make it through and survive the Christmas season, we want you to be able to celebrate and enjoy it! All month long, we’ll be tackling a few of the many difficulties some of us have with this time of year so that you and your loved ones can do just that.

Scrolling through your newsfeed, seeing your friends posts on Instagram, constantly being bombarded with Christmas specials and holiday movies on every channel and streaming app, one of the easiest Christmas spirit killers to fall prey to is comparison. Think about it, you're getting Christmas postcards and letters from people you only hear from once a year, sharing all of the amazing highlights from everyone in their family, the hallmark movie channel has a constant stream of the same exact love story but with different names in a different small town and your coworkers are bragging about their awesome holiday vacation to Hawaii.

With all of this going on, it can be difficult not to be constantly reminded of what you don’t have. When everyone else’s life seems like a perfect Christmas card, it can make it that much harder to view your own life with gratitude and contentment. If you recognize yourself growing with envy or resentment, try to pinpoint where you find yourself falling into the trap of comparison; is it online, on tv, at work? Do what you can to cut out the excessive influences that drive you to envy and work on being grateful for what you do have while celebrating the joys of those around you.

The second Christmas Spirit Killer is unrealistic expectations. Maybe for you growing up, there were Christmas cookies and treats, big gatherings with extended family coming in from out of town and everyone dressed in their Christmas best. Now, you’re lucky if can get the gifts wrapped in time to facetime with your grandparents. Life is getting busier and busier and it’s not slowing down. Don’t allow yourself to get caught in trying to live up to what you think the perfect Christmas should be. Don’t try to make your friends and family now be just like it was for you growing up or what some influencer is saying you need to make your holidays perfect. Learn to rest in the friends, family and life that you have rather than trying to live up to an impossible standard in your head.

This leads right into our final Christmas spirit killer, pressure. Maybe you wish that you could spend more time with the ones you love, but you’re working right up through Christmas Eve or even Christmas Day. Maybe you wish that you could buy a very specific gift that is way out of your budget or that you’re being pulled in a million different directions. There’s never enough time, never enough money, never enough of you to go around. Some of this pressure is coming from outside sources and some of it is directly from you. This pressure can build and build and leave you too drained and exhausted to enjoy a moment of this Christmas season. Learn to let go of the things that you can’t control. If you have to go into work, you have to go into work. This is a season of life, but it won’t always be this way. Celebrating Christmas on the 25th is not the most important thing. Maybe having a smaller celebration a few days before or after can release some of the pressure of trying to squeeze too much in or miss the festivities altogether. As much as the advertisers online want you to think it’s true, spending more money than you have on a gift is not what your loved ones truly need or even want. Giving gifts is a great way to show people that you love and care about them, but it is only one way. Plan your spending budget ahead of time and sticking to it can ease some of that pressure and recognizing that it’s not about what is given but the love behind the gift is what really matters.

Well, there’s our list of 3 Christmas spirit killers. Join us next week as we take on one of the hardest aspects of the holidays; should you get together with your family or not? If your family can’t seem to get together without igniting WWIII, then this one will be for you!