Don’t poison your loved ones: shopping tips for a non-toxic holiday season

With the holidays upon us, here are a few rules of thumb that can help consumers avoid buying gifts that may poison a loved one this holiday season.

 Already hating everything (and everyone) this holiday season? This can help

It's the most wonderful time of the year… except when it's the absolute worst. Unrealistic expectations, awkward family dinners and the stress of checking off that long gift list can grind down even the most cheerful among us.

 How to Approach the Holidays

This is our third pandemic holiday season, so a lot of us are really tired of taking precautions and the mental gymnastics they require.

 Stressed During the Holidays? There’s an Exercise for That

Exercise can be a key way to combat the stress of the season. And it can take whatever shape and form you prefer.

Happy (Awkward) Holidays

Think of the holidays as a time when good manners pay off: Tear open a package containing a brown macramé poinsettia and have the grace to say, "Thank you."

De-Stressing the Holidays

For advice on taking the stress out of the holidays, I checked in with Marcia Ramsland, a San Diego personal organizer and writer of several organizing books, including the new book “Simplify Your Holidays: A Classic Christmas Planner to Use Year After Year” (Thomas Nelson, 2008). Ideally, your simplification efforts should start at the beginning of the holiday season, she said, but there are still ways to de-stress at the last minute. Here’s her advice.

How Do You De-Stress During the Holidays?

Most people will roll their eyes when I say this, but I try to get all my shopping done before Thanksgiving, except for small gifts like stocking stuffers. I managed to do this last year and was amazed at how I got to enjoy the holiday season without stressing about how I was going to fit shopping time in around work.

How To Avoid Weight Gain During the Holidays, Really!

The question is…how do you avoid packing on the pounds while still eating, drinking, and being all kinds of merry? There has to be a way, right? There is, and certain very fit celebrities are sharing their secrets with us.

How To Reduce And Deal With Holiday Stress

Even though songs such as "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells" can make the winter holiday season seem like a time for pervasive cheer and mirth, in actuality, holidays can bring stress, depression and anxiety, which in turn can lead to physical problems such as weight gain and Holiday Heart Syndrome.

Lower Your Expectations

Even though the holidays are supposed to be the “most wonderful time of the year," we all know that's a joke because it's actually the most stressful time of the year.

May Your Holidays be Stress-Free

So, how do we deal with this (self-imposed) stress? How do we get through the holidays without needing a January stint in rehab, or developing an eye twitch, or chewing every fingernail down to the quick?

Rub Holiday Stress Away

Stressed out by the holidays but don't have time for a professional massage? Try these do-anywhere, self-healing moves from a celebrity massage therapist.

Stress, Anxiety and the Holidays

The holidays also seem to exacerbate family issues and conflicts, high expectations (having the perfect tree, dinner and decorations), excessive eating, and financial concerns arising from unreasonable spending on gifts. And of course there’s the holiday noise and bustle in stores and malls that can irritate even the calmest shopper.

Suicides actually go down during the holidays

It's not just wrong to say suicides are more common during the holidays. It's dangerous.

The Holidays Suck For Gig Workers

In 2019, gig workers across the United States suffered a series of changes to their pay algorithm that have left many scrambling to pay for food and utilities, and seeking assistance from charities over the holidays.

When Shopping Puts the Happy in Your Holidays

The pleasure you feel from every shopping victory is real. Shopping, like any new or exciting experience, activates the brain’s reward center, triggering the release of dopamine. That’s the same brain chemical released by drug use, gambling and other addictive behaviors.

Why Heart-Related Deaths Spike around Holidays

Cold weather may not be to blame, a creative New Zealand study suggests.

What Exactly Is the Holiday Season?

You may have heard people, companies or advertisers talk about the “holiday season”. For example, “are you going home this holiday season?” or “Save money this holiday season with a discount card from our store!” If so, you might be wondering exactly what “holiday season” means. Don’t people take vacations all year round? And aren’t there public holidays at different times during the year? The answer to both these questions is yes, but “holiday season” is a North American term that refers to the period of time from Thanksgiving until the New Year. This covers many of the most important holidays in American culture, when most people in the USA and Canada are likely to travel back to their home town or take time off to spend time with their family.

Why Heart Attacks Rise During the Holiday Season

Winter and especially the holidays are the time when heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems spike, doctors say. More cardiac deaths happen on Dec. 25, Dec. 26 and Jan. 1 than on any other days of the year, research has shown.

Holiday stress is real. How you can cope with it all

For some people, the holidays really are "the most wonderful time of the year," but for others they're anything but. Stressors can include anxiety about travel or pressure to drink. Thankfully, it's become more acceptable to talk about these challenges during the holidays and throughout the year. Activists, celebrities, and everyday people are increasingly sharing their struggles, which has reduced the stigma surrounding mental health.

Talking about advance directives is a perfect holiday conversation

As families gather for the holidays, fretting about food, finances, gift giving, politics, and more, I urge them to ask everyone around the holiday table — middle-aged, old, young at heart, and everywhere in between — the following questions. (They’re the same ones I ask my patients who find themselves at various stages in the trajectory of life-limiting illnesses, bringing into razor-sharp focus what matters in the time they have left.)

The Dark Side Of The Holiday Season

Every year, there are always people who don't look forward to the holiday season. Some have difficult relationships with their family members, some are feeling lonely and isolated, some are financially strapped and embarrassed that they can't afford presents for their extended family.

The Fantasy Vs. the Reality of the Holidays

Why aren’t we happier during the holidays? Perhaps because we set unrealistic expectations. We focus so much on creating holiday magic, but the season’s enjoyment is perhaps best found by limiting the number of daily aggravations we face.

Top 10 Misconceptions About Kwanzaa

Holiday traditions are the fabric that binds a society together. Holidays promote a sense of identity, brotherly love and good cheer as people join together in mutual celebration. The upcoming holiday season is a time period that truly represents these timeless concepts. Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years, and Kwanzaa – holidays that are celebrated in close proximity to one another – all resonate in the hearts and homes of countless revelers.

We Are Happier on the Holidays

Of course, this is not to say that everyone is happy on the holidays or that we are as happy as we could be, but holiday misery is the exception rather than the rule. Why is this the case?