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aze Tips for Moms to Survive and Thrive this Holiday Season (ARA) - "˜Tis the season to be stressed. Between cooking the meals, cleaning and decorating the house, choosing the right gifts for everyone and getting them all wrapped, it's easy to feel like a Grinch during the holidays. A new survey of 2,858 moms, conducted by ClubMom, the free national membership organization for moms, reveals that 45 percent of moms get no more than a few minutes a day to themselves during the holiday season - a 48 percent reduction in "me-time" from the rest of the year. Although many moms feel excited or joyous about the approaching holiday season, 71 percent say the holidays are stressful. The survey reported that 38 percent of moms are most anxious about balancing everything they need to do every day with preparing for the holidays, while 29 percent are worried about how to pay for it all, and 17 percent agonize over choosing the right gifts for everyone on their list. "To avoid stress, don't obsess," says Monica Bernstein, ClubMom's Mom Expert. "Few of us can be Martha Stewart (and at this very moment, few of us want to be!). So instead of aiming to create a picture-perfect holiday season, ask your family what traditions really 'make' the holidays and concentrate on achieving those things. Your family will be so thrilled you've included their favorite traditions, they won't even notice if the rest isn't perfect." To help make the holidays less stressful, 74 percent of moms do their holiday shopping ahead of time, and 32 percent plan to shop online to avoid long lines at stores. If moms are going to shop online, Bernstein recommends they check out the ClubMom Gift Card Store - www.ClubMom.com/giftcards - an online store where moms can choose from more than 100 gift cards to popular retailers, to treat everyone on their holiday shopping list. Moms also get the added benefit of earning up to 15 ClubMom Points for every dollar spent to redeem for rewards for themselves including free housecleaning, spa services, movie tickets, dinners out, and vacation packages. Secrets for Survival To survive the stressful holiday season, Bernstein also offers these tips for moms: * During carpool hours, commandeer the radio (for once) and listen to your favorite, relaxing tunes. * Add a splash of spa-style to your morning shower by indulging in a delicious-smelling bath gel or fancy shampoo. * Don't just cook to please the family, put your own favorite dishes on the dinner menu too (hey, if you're going to do the work, you might as well savor the results!). * Surround yourself with signs of serenity when doing household chores - hang photos of favorite things (vacation destinations, puppies, rainbows, etc.) on the bathroom mirror, the fridge, even in the laundry room. Moms could use some help from dad and the kids decking the halls and getting ready for the holiday season. Only half of moms report that their husbands help out around the holidays. Kids need to pitch in more too - only 40 percent help their moms prepare for the holidays. Bernstein suggests some ways moms can entice their kids to help out with holiday preparations: * Turn housecleaning into a relay race, where each child is assigned a room and "hands-off" the vacuum with the shared goal of finishing by a certain time. * Crank up the music and get them singing and dancing as they wrap presents, cook, clean, or fill out party invitations. * Make a play date out of chores. Encourage your children to invite their friends to help with special tasks like baking holiday cookies, shoveling snow, decorating the tree or removing and repacking ornaments. When asked what their husbands could do that would mean more than any gift they could buy, 39 percent of moms wished their husbands would say "thank you" for all they do to make the holidays special and 36 percent would give anything for their husbands to take the kids out so they could have a day to themselves. Courtesy of ARA Content Image 1:
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