holiday planning...start it early

If you never have a chance to enjoy the holidays because you're always running from one home to the next, it's time to do something about that this year.

Avoid stress by planning holiday visits early, so everyone in the family is aware of who will be where, and when.

See if you can visit one house on Christmas Eve and another on Christmas Day, for example. Or perhaps visit one family on Thanksgiving and another on Christmas. Perhaps your family might even be willing to celebrate on odd days, like the 23rd or 26th--you don't know unless you ask.

If you must visit two homes in one day, how about suggesting a holiday breakfast at one, and a holiday dinner at the other--in doing so, you get to see everyone, but there's enough time in between to relax.

Another possibility is just having everyone over to your house. If you don't want to cook, you can always have it catered, or ask everyone to bring a dish to pass.