Here’s our 2022 holiday survival toolkit to give you and your employees helpful tips & tools to get through the holiday season happily and safely!
Holidays are a time of festivity, family, and happiness for many, but they can also be super stressful. This year, in addition to lingering health concerns, we’re all coping with high inflation, climbing prices, and the need to make money stretch. Plus, although it’s normal for families to have disagreements, lately there are many divisive issues that can be the fly in the ointment at a family gathering. There’s pressure to overeat, over imbibe, and overspend, all in the name of having a good holiday, Plus, let’s not forget – there are many among us who can’t enjoy the holidays for a variety of reasons, such as the recent loss of a loved one, an illness, loneliness, or being apart from loved ones.
We’ve compiled our 2022 holiday survival toolkit to offer resources and tips to help you have as happy, healthy, and stress-free a holiday as possible. We remind our Members that your EAP is available 24-7-365 for help with any difficulties you may experience. Call for counseling or coaching to deal with grief, stress, maintaining health and fitness, coping with budgets and finances, family and relationship dynamics, and more!
Note: While we’ve aimed for free and accessible resources, some links may require registration.
Managing money, finance & going green
- ‘I’m a Financial Planner, and Here’s How I’m Preparing for Holiday Spending Amid Inflation’
- No Grinch Allowed! Inflation-Beating Tips for the Holidays
- Holiday Budget Planner – Calculator
- How to Budget for the Holidays
- Financial Wellbeing During the Holidays: 3 Tips to Avoid Money-Related Stress
- Debt “don’ts” for the holiday season
- Is Overspending a Problem for You?
- 18 Tips to Save Money on Your Holiday Shopping
- 35 ways to save money and time during the holidays
- Smart Ways to Handle Holiday Credit Card Spending
- 5 Credit Card Benefits You May Not Know About
- Happy holidays! Shopping tips from the FTC
- Tips on Tipping This Holiday Season
- 12 Ways to Have an Eco Friendly Holiday
- Go Green for the Holidays
Managing stress
- Managing the Seemingly Inevitable Holiday Season Stress
- Surviving Painful Holiday Emotions
- Holiday Stress Resource Center – The American Psychological Association offers various tips to avoid or minimize common holiday stress inducers.
- Nine Keys to a Resilient Holiday – How to make the most out of the holiday season
- 19 Female Leaders on Saying No to Holiday Stress
- Coping with the super-stress season
- Seasonal Survival Tips
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.)
- Stress, depression and the holidays: Tips for coping
Staying healthy & well
- Strategies for a Healthy and Safe Holiday Season – National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection (RSV) – Information and prevention
- Another Covid Wave Could Be Coming. Here’s How to Make Your Holiday Plans
- ‘Are You Vaccinated?’ How to Ask Others Before Holiday Gatherings
- This Is How I Navigate a Healthy Diabetes-Friendly Diet During the Holidays
- 8 ways to hack your holiday recipes
- How Many Calories Are in Thanksgiving Dinner?
- How to enjoy the flavors of the season without derailing health
- Healthy Eating Tips and Light Party Recipes for the Holidays
- How to Stay Active and Exercise During the Holidays
- How to fit in some fitness amid the holiday hustle
- Avoid a Holiday Health Crisis
- 10 Tips for Coping with Eating-Disorder Stress Over the Holidays
- For Those With Eating Disorders, Holidays In A Pandemic Can Create Extra Anxiety
Keeping a Sober Season
- Why Are the Holidays So Hard for Those in Recovery? A sober holiday survival guide
- Happy Sober Holidays – How to survive the festivities without drinking
- Tips for Protecting Your Sobriety during the Holidays and Preventing Relapse
- The Holidays: Challenges and Survival Guide for Sober Alcoholics
- How to Cope with Family Holiday Events… Without Alcohol!
- Addiction during the holidays: Recovered or not, it’s important to be prepared
Family Matters
- Tips for Preventing Inter-Personal Conflict During the Holidays
- Do’s and don’ts for surviving holiday family dynamics
- How to Avoid Family Feuds During the Holidays
- 5 Ways to Survive Your Next Family Gathering
- Spread the Spirit of Meaningful Giving This Holiday Season
- 5 tips for celebrating the holidays with a blended family
- Blended Family and Step-Parenting Tips
- 10 Tips for Caregivers During the Holidays
- Caring for an aging parent? Tips for enjoying holiday meals
- How to Handle Holiday (Military) Separations
- How to tell your family you are not coming home for the holidays
- Estranged at the Holidays? 8 Strategies to Get Through
- If Your Family Fights About Politics, Here’s How to Avoid a Big Blowup Over the Holidays
- How to Survive Political Conversations Over the Holidays
Holidays after a divorce
- Children of Divorce List Holiday Dos and Don’ts
- Divorce and Holidays: How to Help Kids
- Holidays Are Tough After a Divorce. Here’s How I Learned to Prepare.
- Top Ten Ways to Survive the Holidays During and After Divorce
- Children, Divorce and the Holidays
- How divorced parents can help their children survive the holidays
- Planning for Seasonal Success: Holiday Tips for Parenting Apart
- Divorce and the Holidays — Putting Children First
Handling special situations
- Grief and loss throughout the holiday season
- Grief and the holidays
- Holidays After the Death of a Loved One
- Helping Someone Who’s Grieving
- At The Holidays: Coping with Anticipatory Grief
- McLean’s Guide to Managing Mental Health Around the Holidays
- 16 Tips for Enjoying the Holidays With an Autistic Child
- 5 Tips for a Sensory-Friendly Thanksgiving
- How to Reduce Holiday Stress for Your Child With Autism
- Holiday Hints for Alzheimer’s Caregivers
- Coping with Loneliness During the Holidays
Navigating holidays at the workplace
- Holiday Ideas for the Remote Workplace
- The do’s and don’ts of giving holiday gifts to your co-workers
- Holiday Office Gift Giving Do’s and Don’ts: A Guide for Workers to Surviving the Season
- Workplace Party Etiquette – Don’t Be “That” Person
- 11 Tips for Surviving the Office Holiday Party
- Holiday Office Party Do’s and Don’ts
- How to Make Holiday Celebrations More Inclusive
- Holidays Can Be Stressful. They Don’t Have to Stress Out Your Team.
Keeping safe
- Enjoy a Safe Holiday Season
- Thanksgiving Home Fire Safety
- Top 12 Holiday Decorating Safety Tips
- 2 tips for safer holiday home decorating
- W.A.T.C.H. Toy Safety
- Food Safety
- Keep Food Poisoning Off the Menu
- ‘Tis the season: Party hosts should be aware of liability issues
- Have a happy New Year: Plan to party safely
- Holiday Safety Tips for Your Pets
Maintaining cyber security & avoiding scams
- Don’t Let a Scam Derail Your Holiday Travel
- Stay Safe from Online Threats When Holiday Shopping
- Don’t let email scams hijack your holiday!
- 5 Holiday Scams to Avoid
- Pass It On – FTC Info for consumers on common scams and fraud
- Don’t Lose Money on PrePaid Debit Cards
- Scammers are tricking more people into buying gift cards
Giving charitable gifts and donations