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Give Yourself a Break This Holiday

Need more time this holiday season? To create more time for yourself, a University of Tennessee family and consumer science expert recommends that you plan to do less.

"People need to have realistic expectations about the amount of things they will have time to do," said Judy Cloud Berryhill, an expert with the UT Agricultural Extension Service. "People are likely to receive numerous requests and invitations during the holiday season that will likely be in addition to their own plans to bake, decorate, wrap and write cards," she said. "Even with good time management, it is sometimes impossible to get everything done without becoming tense, exhausted and irritable."

Berryhill recommends that we learn to say "no" to some requests and that we use every short cut available for our own plans. "You are not required to be at every party and the cookies do not have to be homemade," she said. "If the only thing you feel when the holidays are over is relief, then you have probably overextended yourself," she cautioned.

One source of holiday disappointment is our own expectation that everything will go as planned. Berryhill recommends that we expect the unexpected to avoid disappointment. "A child may develop the flu on Christmas Eve, the electricity may go off in the middle of your holiday dinner or a storm may prevent relatives from visiting,"she said. "Such unexpected events are not part of the ideal holiday, but they are likely to occur. Do not let them ruin your holidays."

Making time for yourself and being adaptable and flexible are the keys to a relaxed holiday season, Berryhill said.

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Contact: Samantha Hill, 865-974-7141