Happy Holidays! Use Occupations to Balance Seasonal Stress

Prairie Doc Perspective Week of December 14th, 2025
Happy Holidays! Use Occupations to Balance Seasonal Stress
By: Karen Hebert, Ph.D. & Mackenzie Feldhacker, OTD
The holiday season is fast approaching with all its festive occupations like decorating the house, buying and wrapping presents and preparing and serving holiday meals. Between the additional time requirements, costs, travel and interactions with family members, this can be a particularly stressful time of year. Difficulties with getting around the house or community, remembering and managing multiple to-do lists, and feeling comfortable socializing for long periods of time can compound holiday stress.  While some people experience a sense of deep engagement and enjoyment with holiday preparations and celebrations, others find the additional demands tiring and overwhelming. Many of us experience a variety of emotions, from deep joy to stress, during this busy time. No matter how you view the season, faculty in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of South Dakota have some advice to help reduce stress and enjoy your festive occupations this year.  
    Take a moment to think about your favorite holiday activities and identify what makes these moments enjoyable for you. This might include visiting friends and family, the smell of peppermint hot chocolate or memories associated with listening to songs from your childhood. Early in the season, map out the preparations that need to occur ahead of various celebrations or events. Using a calendar or planner to proactively schedule activities and tasks reduces the demand on your memory, especially during times of high emotion. This may involve scheduling a time to wrap presents ahead of a gift exchange or planning when to make appetizers ahead of an after-work party. Break larger occupations like decorating the house into smaller tasks that can be spread over time. Try to balance completing stressful tasks and fun activities across a week. If a large holiday gathering is planned for a Friday, consider scheduling quiet activities that you can complete independently the day or two before. Physically demanding occupations like hanging holiday lights or going shopping can be balanced with smaller activities like writing greeting cards. 
    You can also reduce stress during holiday preparations by avoiding multi-tasking.  Evidence from the occupational therapy and cognitive psychology literature suggests that trying to engage in multiple activities at the same time results in worse performance and higher feelings of stress and anxiety.  Use this as an opportunity to fully engage your senses and emotions in the event. Put on holiday music or a favorite movie while decorating the house or wrapping presents. For those who enjoy socializing, seek out small groups for wrapping or cookie decorating parties. Don’t forget to engage your other senses by enjoying the special tastes and smells of the holidays. Finally, be sure to schedule quiet moments for yourself to relax and recharge.  Research has found that scheduling periodic breaks ahead of time provides greater stress reduction than waiting until you feel overwhelmed to take a break. Go for a walk, enjoy a holiday coffee, take a long bath or just take a moment to rest and remind yourself of the joy of the season.  
Karen Hebert, Ph.D., OTR/L, is an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of South Dakota. She studies how working memory and cognitive processing influence the experience of positive and negative emotions during the completion of daily occupations, particularly among those with neurological and mental health conditions. Her favorite occupations include reading, swimming and traveling with her husband and two girls. Mackenzie Feldhacker, OTD, OTR/L, CLT-LANA, is an associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of South Dakota. Her interests are the scholarship of teaching and learning and the needs of individuals with neurological conditions, particularly Parkinson’s disease. Her favorite occupations include baking, spending time outdoors and playing games with her family. Follow The Prairie Doc® at www.prairiedoc.org, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Tik Tok. Prairie Doc Programming includes On Call with the Prairie Doc®, a medical Q&A show (most Thursdays at 7pm on YouTube and streaming on Facebook), 2 podcasts, and a Radio program (on SDPB, Sundays at 6am and 1pm).