Organizing Holidays in the midst of Uncertainty

Right now, it’s hard to say when the pandemic will be over. It’s easy to feel as though you need to push holiday plans. After all, everyone feels desperate for human connection. But organizing holidays during a period of uncertainty can be more stressful than anything else, especially when you know that plans may need to drastically change. What can you do to make sure that your plans go off without a hitch, even when things seem so chaotic?

1. What Does Uncertainty Mean to You?

Learning to cope means adapting to uncertainty. All uncertainty means is that there are variables outside of your control. You might wonder whether certain family members will be available, whether travel might be restricted, or whether venues will be open. These are things that you can control. Isolate the aspects that you can’t control and the ones that you can. Take it step by step and it will feel less overwhelming.

2. What Can You Control?

Every gathering serves a purpose. You might want to share food and drinks with friends and family. You may want to deliver gifts. Take a look at what a gathering achieves for you and how you can achieve that by other means.

If your gatherings are to catch up with family, consider contingencies. Are there smaller guest lists? Are there more neutral territories? Can events be held outside rather than indoors? Can you potentially take the event virtual if you need to?

By planning contingencies, you can feel less uncertain about where you stand. Always focus on why you’re doing things; after all, if you’re doing things to take care of your family, you won’t want to take any actions to risk them.

3. What Can’t You Control?

There are some things you will always be uncertain of. Uncertainty is part of life. Accept that your plans may not work as you want them to and be kind to yourself. If something has to be canceled, that’s not your fault. That’s just a situation that you’ve found yourself in. Don’t dwell on the things that you can’t control. Just make sure you have a plan B (or C or D).

4. Make Your Plans Now

Or don’t. Sometimes you may find that it’s more prudent not to plan at all. Take the pressure off yourself and recognize that it’s very likely you may be able to celebrate holidays another time. If holidays are a joyous occasion for you, you don’t want to muddle them up with stress.

Everyone is trying to feel their way through drastically new situations now. By getting organized, you’ll be able to figure out whether you can complete your holiday plans, or whether you’d rather put them off for later. You can take your planning step by step and determine what to do if situations get better or worse.