If the family cannot afford to buy the gifts it desires, the awareness of its financial shortcomings can cause tremendous stress. The holiday season presents a yearly opportunity for the family to see how it compares to neighbors and friends in terms of financial resources. Idealized images of family harmony are found everywhere during the holidays. Television specials and commercials show the whole family gathered around the tree singing carols. A family with ongoing conflict may see this in sharp contrast to its own situation.
Family members can take a number of steps to cope with the stress associated with the holidays.
Stressor pile-up occurs when a family experiences a number of different events that disrupt family routines within a limited period of time. If your family is going to a child's holiday program on Saturday morning and the grandparents are scheduled to arrive from Florida on Sunday, think twice before inviting the families of two co-workers to your home for dinner Saturday night. While it might be nice to see the people during the holidays, both you and your friends may enjoy an evening together more in late January when everyone's schedules are less hectic. Research has found that families in which roles are interchangeable in regards to child-care, homemaking, recreation, and many other activities are best equipped to cope with stress. This means that when events are hectic and the baby needs to be changed or dinner needs to go in the oven, whoever is available will perform the tasks regardless of traditional expectations of whose role it is to do them.