Stress around the holidays

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How do you handle stress around the holidays, how do you manage the chaos?

I tend to feel tired most of the time at this time of year, What I try to do to manage it;
Always have an escape route
Don't force myself to do more than I can handle in one go.
I cannot do it this year, but I like to know what at Christmas one of my presents are so I know I'm getting at least something I want.
Try to keep holiday events low key, with just a few people at a time.

For me at least this isn't enough.

I try to keep things as small as possible and also have a way to handle overstimulation. Even at small events that can be a big problem. That's why I try make sure there's a either an empty room I can head towards or a chair in a corner of the room that is fairly isolated.

I usually don't stress too much over "Christmas" (secular for us), but this year will be a bit different. I want my husband to spend time with his family, but I dread going there myself. Perhaps I will drop him off and pick him up later. We are elderly, so the thought is always "there may not be too many times left" and especially for him, age 77 and with Alzheimer's disease. I guess I'll keep my options open until the day of.

I've overspent recently so I think I will not buy any more gifts. I have some for those that deserve them.

One thing I do every year is to donate a toy to Toys for Tots. It makes me feel good that some underprivileged child will have a happier Christmas.

as to knowing what one present is, I always get myself a birthday pressie (I'm a NYD baby) that way i know I'm

getting something that was bought with thought and it takes the pressure off. I find opening my presents the most

stressful part.

Avoid as much as I can

Holidays, almost everything is closed

Winter, snow

Holidays music

Illness

I try to be a little easier on myself; take my time doing obligations, don't burn myself out with social interaction, and try and make time for my hobbies/special interests. I find it's a lot easier to handle if I'm not already in burnout. Usually when we go to family's houses on the holidays I kind of just go off into a separate room and do my own thing, and occasionally come out if I desire. Of course, though, I am not an adult, and my family is used to this, so I'm not really obligated to "be part of the group".

TLDR; try to not stress yourself out, and take care of your work beforehand. If you're stressed about obligations ontop of having to interact it's a lot harder.

I cope with the stress by avoiding participating in the holiday festivities a lot. I don't care about things like giving people gifts & I'm not into other things like picking out & decorating a Christmas Tree & putting up decorations ect. About the only real holiday stuff I do is go to family gatherings; my girlfriend's family nowadays cuz mine don't really do it anymore.