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How To Navigate (And Survive) The Holidays With Your Partner
Kathleen Maiman • Dec 11, 2019
The holidays can be a stressful time for you and your loved one, especially if you have kids. From traveling to visit relatives to picking up last-minute gifts, you’ve got a lot on your mind during the holiday season.
Not surprisingly, all this added weight on your shoulders can lead to anxiety, stress, and depression. Sometimes, you end up taking out your frustration on your partner. It’s not uncommon for couples this time of year to fight, as stressors reach an all-time high.
Holidays are supposed to be a way to strengthen your relationship and not damage it. While everything that happens can have an impact on your life, remember that the holidays are only temporary and will pass. It’s more important that you keep up the strong foundation you and your partner have worked so hard to build.
Understand what parts of the holiday are impacting your well-being and how you’re responding to these difficulties. I’ve written this post to show you how to build up your relationship over the holidays rather than strain it. Here are a few tips I have for you.
3 Tips to Help You Be a Better Partner Over the Holidays
Focus on these three aspects of maintaining a relationship through stressful times: communication, setting expectations, and being empathetic.
1. Communication Is Key
Communication is the foundation of any secure relationship, and that rule is no different during the holidays. The idea of spending money, visiting relatives, and maintaining a busy schedule can stress you and your partner out.
Also, insecurities may pop up during the holiday seasons when it comes to any of these activities. You might disagree over gift-giving practices or believe your partner is spending too much time with one side of the family’s relatives than the other. Know how to communicate your concerns clearly.
Communication is the best tool you have to ensure that you both understand each other. Your partner should know why you feel a certain way so that you can determine an empathetic approach rooted in compromise.
2. Set Your Expectations Early On
Holiday activities can be expensive. While we all want to give gifts, it’s not uncommon to feel pressured into giving gifts when we don’t have the means to do so. Before the holidays start, you and your partner should talk about expectations.
Lay a framework for what you plan to spend, who you plan to spend it on, and who you’ll visit to develop a better understanding of how things will go.
Discussing these tricky topics early will help you to avoid challenging situations later that may catch your partner off guard.
3. Be Empathetic During the Holidays
Successful relationships require an empathetic approach. The rush of the holidays can bring out different behaviours in you and your partner. It’s in times like these where empathy reigns supreme. Try to understand why your partner is feeling a specific way. Someone may feel flustered during this time because:
- They feel like you spend more time with your family than theirs.
- They’re still upset about a traumatic experience from the past.
- They’re not that interested in the holidays.
Whatever the reason, understand that everybody has their own approach to this busy time of the year. Don’t sweat the small details and think extensively about whether the incident you’re fighting about will even matter in a few days. If not, then it isn’t worth fighting about, so focus on enjoying your time together.
Conclusion
Are you and your partner feeling stressed about the upcoming holiday season?
Consider setting up a consultation to improve your existing relationship for the holiday season and the coming new year. We can help you and your partner understand the problems you’re experiencing and develop an empathetic approach to overcoming these conflicts.
The Love of Attraction offers a variety of couples counselling
and retreats that are designed to strengthen your relationship.
Get in touch with us today by calling 403-809-8282 or to learn more about the couples’ retreats, counselling, and other relationship services.
Have a safe and connected holiday season.
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