3 Tips to Beat the Holi-daze

An appreciation for elf culture is important during this season. "I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite."  Love the movie Elf!  Buddy beams joy.  The holidays are supposed to be a happy time but all too often they can leave you frazzled and exhausted.  When your schedule starts to stress you out, whoop it up with these three tips.

• Feeling Overwhelmed?  Take a short break to wrap presents.  Performing monotonous task can actually boost creativity and problem solving skills, according to study from UC Santa Barbara.  Could explain why I clean the house when I am mad.  

• On a tight budget?  Make the holidays about GIVING with a visit to a soup kitchen or nursing home.  Volunteering releases a trigger of feel good hormones.  Match your volunteer skills with a worthy cause at volunteermatch.org.

•   Grumpy, Scrooge-like?  You are not the only one who falls in a funk at the "most wonderful time of the year."  It’s the expectations.  Write a letter of gratitude or count blessing to rewire the brain's pleasure circuits. (Family Circle Dec 2013)  

BONUS MOST IMPORTANT TIP OF ALL:  MAKE FUN! Think "how can I CREATE some FUN" at a time when you are in the full throws of Stressmas?  Be your own best funmaker.   Here's a site that delivers a quick fun-fix in tune with the holidays.  Create an elfie!  Go to elfie.me, upload a photo, put on some antlers, and viola!

Coming next week:
Pop Up Comedy Video - Quest For Christmas Cheer where I visit the dump, talk with my exterminator, and sit on Santa's lap.