**When the year draws to a close and the holidays approach, it triggers stress in many people - and it's not uncommon for there to be difficulties in the relationship. With these five tips, you can start the next year stress-free.**

And before we know it, the year is almost over. Slightly surprised, we look back over the last few months and wonder where it has gone, that time again. A glance at the supermarket shelves then immediately confirms: Christmas will soon be here again. And the prospect of it not infrequently triggers subliminal stress in couples: Where will we spend Christmas Eve? How can we organize the perfect dinner? How will we get through it as a couple? These tips will get you through the holidays unscathed.

## Tips for couples: get through the holidays stress-free.

#### 1. Lower expectations

A lot of the stress that happens around the holidays is expectations that are too high. The perfect dinner is very likely not going to happen if you're longing for it. Just the pressure we create for ourselves to do something especially well triggers stress. And that can quickly build up. However, if we lower our expectations of ourselves and our partner, we will gain a lot. Then the food tastes twice as good!

#### 2. Take stress seriously

And if stress does come up, it's worth accepting it. Especially if you're in a relationship and one of you is stressed, the other can do something to alleviate it: take the stress seriously instead of trying to downplay it. Couples therapist John Gottmann, for example, writes that it's important to first understand the other person's stress before offering solutions. This makes the other person feel understood and valued. Then it is also much easier to meet challenges.

#### 3. Consider your own needs

The kids want presents, dinner has to be cooked and grandpa is nagging again? It can quickly happen that we forget to think about ourselves because of all the tasks we have to do. After all, Christmas is a time for giving - but we **mustn't forget to give something to ourselves**. This makes it all the more important to practice mindfulness and to take a moment for ourselves again and again: What do I need right now? What would do me good? Am I perhaps taking on too much right now? Try to ask yourself these questions again and again and act accordingly.

#### 4. Prepare well

Make a plan for how you will spend the holidays and what you need. And don't wait until two days before Christmas. Take a few hours on a day off and write down everything that will be important in the next few weeks: Gifts, food, preparations for possible travel. Then make a to-do list and try to get as much done as possible before the holidays start. That's the only way you'll be able to glide into the holidays stress-free without driving yourself crazy at the last minute. If there are two of you, all the better. Then you can divide the tasks among yourselves and get everything done together.

#### 5. Plan time for two

Even though it won't be easy: Try to schedule some time for two. Just you and your partner! Even if it's just for an hour or two. Take a walk, go to the movies, or do something you've wanted to do for a long time. This way you can calm down together and focus on what is really important: your mental health.

*You're already dreading the holidays and could use a little professional advice? Then book a session with one of our coaches today. We're sure to find a good solution.*

When the holidays approach, it means stress for many couples: How do we create the perfect evening, who gets which gift? With these 5 tips, you can get through the festive season stress-free.

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Stress-free gift-giving - These 5 tips will get you through the holidays as a couple