Achieving Peace During the Holidays

Ahhh, the holidays…they are HERE!
Parties and dinners with family, colleagues and friends.
Cocktails and fun holiday-inspired drinks.
Corralling your family to take those annual holiday pictures.
Decking the halls with…..well, you know the rest.

Alas, as Intended Parents and surrogate moms, our realities are way different than the traditional idea of holiday perfection. For the majority of us, the holidays represent a very stressful time filled with hustle and bustle, rushing from one holiday event to the next plus determining the right gifts for your family, friends and coworkers.
The holidays can also mean spending time with THAT relative who doesn’t always understand why you are working with a surrogacy agency or how the surrogacy process works. It’s okay, their questions will eventually slow down!

So in the midst of all this organized chaos, where, oh where, is the holiday peace?
Here at Shared Conception, our advice is simple: Find it. Your peace and happiness can only be achieved by you and your internal boundaries. It’s ironic that we have to seek peace during a very and sadly not-so-peaceful time!

Here are a few tips on retaining your sanity while enjoying this season of joy.

1)
Keep the holiday parties and dinners to a minimum. You and your family aren’t obligated to attend and do everything available each holiday. You have permission to do your own thing!

2)
Everything doesn’t have to perfect, after all, your real life isn’t perfect, is it? At Shared Conception, we work hard to achieve perfection for you through explaining the surrogacy pregnancy process, detailing the cost of surrogacy and expertly outlining the plan for finding a surrogate mother. However, in this holiday season, do not try and achieve perfection for yourself and your social gatherings — you will stress yourself out.

3)Recognize that all your events are about the people and not about how many lighted candles you have around the house.
Rest. Savor. Enjoy. It’s the most wonderful time of the year but it’s also a time to reflect and enjoy your friends and loved ones. So do that. Easier said than done, we know-but try.
Be thankful.

Even if your family holidays don’t always look like a Hallmark commercial, it’s your family. Embrace them all.
What additional tips do you have for achieving peace in this fast-approaching holiday season?