The holidays are filled with so many good things: food, family, friends, fun, and chart-topping levels of depression!? With Hanukkah, St. Nick's, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Festivus all around us, I thought it would be a great idea to introduce a few concepts that can make your celebrations more fun and less stressful this year.

1. Get Rid of Static, Stale Pictures. I'm not talking about the stack of Christmas pictures we get from our friends and family members this time of year. I'm talking about the pictures in our mind of how everything is "supposed" to go and how everyone "should" act. These visual cues we have locked in our head are usually from the past and out of step with the reality of our situation. It doesn't help becoming more upset because things aren't going the way they look in the "perfect" picture in your mind. Whether these pictures are from when you were young or from the millions of marketing messages we're inundated with this time of year, they don't depict what's really happening. When you open up to how the holidays are actually going in your life, you'll be surprised to find joy where you weren't expecting it.

2. Forgive/Forget the Past. It's a running joke in our culture that at the holidays you sit around a table with a group of people that you can't stand because of emotional baggage - your family. I'm not saying you have to solve all of your relationship problems to have a happy holiday experience. What this time of year does offer is an opportunity to make up and move on, if only for a little while. It's better than glaring at each other across the mashed potatoes.

3. Set Your Intentions. It's helpful to get rid of the baggage from years past, and it's also a great idea to set up (in your mind at least) how you want this year to go. And don't necessarily predicate it on needing to control how other people are going to act. You only have control over what you do and how you feel. So set your intentions for how you are going to react this holiday season. It can be as simple as, "I am going to be relaxed and enjoy myself - and if someone does something that would have irritated me in the past, it's not going to affect me this year." Or here's an idea - think of whatever holiday chore bugs you the most, the one thing that always irritates you, and figure out right now how you will make it fun. Can someone else wrap your presents, or can a little eggnog make holiday card writing a little less painful?

4. Take Time for Yourself. With so much going on, it's really easy to forget about your own well-being. Be sure to keep to your current (positive) routines like exercise and sleep, and put some new ones in if you feel over- stressed. It doesn't make sense, for example, to have a wonderfully prepared meal if everyone is too cranky to enjoy it. And if you are doing a lot of activities surrounded by people, and it's getting overwhelming, take yourself out of the mix and go for a walk in the brisk air. (Or the cooler air than normal, if you're in California)

I hope that these ideas can make these holidays a more relaxed and joyful time. Take the time to rejuvenate yourself and to enjoy your time with friends and family.