Home For the Holidays
By: Gingerbread
Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and so many more. Throughout the whole month of December, and fall and winter as a whole, there are so many holidays to celebrate. With this, comes many opportunities to visit and celebrate with family. While your immediate family may be one thing, your extended family is on a whole nother level.
For me, visiting extended family is full of ups and downs. It’s a great time to catch up with relatives you haven’t seen for a while, eat delicious food, and get away from work or school. Still this is a time for lectures from your aunts and uncles, dating advice from your very single cousins, and out of context questions from your grandparents. This back and forth rollercoaster can be confusing, but you have to remember your mission; to stay centered in the spinning room that is the holidays.
First of all, a key tip is to be conversational and engage. Although daunting and boring, it is important to make a good impression on relatives who you might not see all the time, for if you are in a bad mood, they’ll love for you will always be tinted with the fact that you didn’t hang out with your precious little cousin like a mature adult. Okay, that might be a stretch, but it still is important to be kind and generous to all, even if it means being drilled about your love life in front of your parents.
Another important rule is to compliment the chef. While this is important at all times, it is crucial during the holiday season. Cooking full meals are 10 times harder than ever, for you have to cook for long hours, making things that everyone can eat. In my family, we have to have vegetarian, gluten free, and dairy free options. Complimenting someone after all their hard work can release any tensions the struggle of cooking can build. This is also just a polite way to thank someone for the delicious food.
My last tip would be to avoid conflict and arguments with family. No one likes to spend the holiday season screaming at a loved one, so why not avoid it as a whole? My advice for this is to avoid talking politics with someone who has different views. While it is very important to have predictive conversations with those who you disagree with, the holidays are not a great time for that, especially when these days a conversation can turn into a screaming match in the blink of an eye. Another tip I use is to remember that you can’t have everything the exact way you want it. With so many opinions on how to plan out your holiday, it is important to compromise. Don’t get stuck on the small details, and pick your battles and what you really care most about.
Now that you have my advice, remember to have fun and enjoy this holiday season. Be happy that you get to spend time with friends and family and maybe get out of a little work. Happy holidays from Flair and Keleanor’s newest writer, gingerbread.
Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and so many more. Throughout the whole month of December, and fall and winter as a whole, there are so many holidays to celebrate. With this, comes many opportunities to visit and celebrate with family. While your immediate family may be one thing, your extended family is on a whole nother level.
For me, visiting extended family is full of ups and downs. It’s a great time to catch up with relatives you haven’t seen for a while, eat delicious food, and get away from work or school. Still this is a time for lectures from your aunts and uncles, dating advice from your very single cousins, and out of context questions from your grandparents. This back and forth rollercoaster can be confusing, but you have to remember your mission; to stay centered in the spinning room that is the holidays.
First of all, a key tip is to be conversational and engage. Although daunting and boring, it is important to make a good impression on relatives who you might not see all the time, for if you are in a bad mood, they’ll love for you will always be tinted with the fact that you didn’t hang out with your precious little cousin like a mature adult. Okay, that might be a stretch, but it still is important to be kind and generous to all, even if it means being drilled about your love life in front of your parents.
Another important rule is to compliment the chef. While this is important at all times, it is crucial during the holiday season. Cooking full meals are 10 times harder than ever, for you have to cook for long hours, making things that everyone can eat. In my family, we have to have vegetarian, gluten free, and dairy free options. Complimenting someone after all their hard work can release any tensions the struggle of cooking can build. This is also just a polite way to thank someone for the delicious food.
My last tip would be to avoid conflict and arguments with family. No one likes to spend the holiday season screaming at a loved one, so why not avoid it as a whole? My advice for this is to avoid talking politics with someone who has different views. While it is very important to have predictive conversations with those who you disagree with, the holidays are not a great time for that, especially when these days a conversation can turn into a screaming match in the blink of an eye. Another tip I use is to remember that you can’t have everything the exact way you want it. With so many opinions on how to plan out your holiday, it is important to compromise. Don’t get stuck on the small details, and pick your battles and what you really care most about.
Now that you have my advice, remember to have fun and enjoy this holiday season. Be happy that you get to spend time with friends and family and maybe get out of a little work. Happy holidays from Flair and Keleanor’s newest writer, gingerbread.
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