It is a well-known fact that stress levels spiral during the holidays. The first step in dealing with holiday stress is to be aware of it and to seek out ways to ease the situation.

Mayo Clinic, WebMD and Parenthood.com’s sites all offer some common-sense tips for keeping the stress factors related to the holidays under control.  For creative and less typical ways to de-stress, try Prevention Magazine’s How to Have 31 Days of Healthy, Happy Holidays or Martha Stewart’s tips to Simplify the Season.

Then take some time out and explore the Organized Christmas website for lots of ways to simplify the holidays, including easy gift and craft recipes and printable pages that will guide your holiday planning.

Stressed about gaining weight during the holidays? Let Choosemyplate.gov help you make healthier eating choices for those holiday get-togethers.

Last, but certainly not least, be sure to check out these Monroe County Library System materials that will help you keep it simple and reduce stress.

Happy Holidays!