Did you have a fabulous Thanksgiving? I certainly did. We tried to put aside emails, shopping, work, and computers and focus on that which matters most -- each other. It was a refreshing and beautiful week. Hopefully you didn't feel too neglected because you were enjoying your sweetheart as much as I was mine.
{via}
For many couples, the holidays become more a point of stress in their marriage than unity. When the craziness of baking and shopping becomes too much in our marriage, we try to cut things out. Eliminate the good but less important pieces of life. The toilets can wait to be scrubbed and the neighbors will survive if they don't receive a gift this year. What really matters are the moments and memories you create with those dearest and nearest to you.
How do you and your honey overcome the pressure and stress of the holidays?
Cute photo... there is always gonna be stress, but if you try and laugh with each other along the way it's not so bad.
ReplyDeleteI think we just try to go with the flow as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteJust because everyone else has a giant fully decorated Christmas tree with matching ornaments doesn't mean that our scrapbook paper tree taped to the wall with our three penguin ornaments nailed on doesn't celebrate the holiday just as much. (and yes, that's a true story).
But still there's gonna be stress. It comes with the territory of cleaning, cooking and spending money.
My husband just sits and lets me stew, trying not to let me see him laughing at my crazies. Then, when I've released my madness over something very trivial and nuts (this Thanksgiving it was because I couldn't find a table cloth I THOUGHT we had; we don't even own what I couldn't find, and eventually I realized this)he is quick to accept my apologies for being a crazy lady.
ReplyDeleteUsually I work the stress off with a nice long walk, create lists and execute them. We have started to decline invitations based on not only our availability, but our desire to be such places. Sometimes it isn't worth the hassle to be everywhere!
ReplyDeleteWe don't have any kids so usually things don't get to crazy for us. We limit how much we spend on each other and our friends don't buy each other christmas gifts because so many of us are still in college or have small children and just don't have the money for it. We even limit how much time and money we spend when shopping for family members. If we can't think of something for a family member in a half hour, they get a gift card. Our niece and nephews have every toy imaginable so we buy them books, and we usually buy whatever the clerk at Barnes and Noble recommends.
ReplyDeleteOther than that, family is our major stress. My mother in law has it built up in her mind that I stole her little boy, so she'll do whatever she can to hurt my feelings - needless to say that makes spending time with them at the holidays even more stressful. We've asked her to be nicer to me, but it doesn't help, so this year we're putting our foot down and we're not spending the holidays with her, we're not having another Christmas, or our marriage, ruined by other people's issues. I feel a lot of guilt about that, so it does add stress to the holidays, but my husband and I both feel like it's come to the point where it has to end. It feels good to assert yourself, and stand up for your marriage, but boy is it painful at the same time. I feel like I'm a bad wife for not getting along with her, but I've done everything I can think of -sometimes people don't get along with you simply because they don't want to. It's childish, but we're just not going to play into it anymore, and enjoy our own holiday at home.
This year, I'm determined to enjoy the season together and NOT stress. Because it's really about love, not presents and trees. I'm planning to surprise my husband with the "12 Lays of Christmas" from Love Actually blog. I think it's a great way to forget the stress and undress. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://loveactually-blog.blogspot.com/2010/11/12-lays-of-christmas.html