7 Things to Keep in Mind This Festive Season

The festive time is well upon us with Diwali just around the corner. Look around and you are bound to find happy faces, lip-smacking food, addictive sweet treats, bright lights, traffic and of course chaos. So, while the festive season brings a lot of cheer and occasions to look forward to, it also comes with its fair share of stress and potential feeling of overwhelm in its wake.

This could be about managing money in this period or even about putting your best foot forward in these social occasions or making the best of this time. In the spirit of making it much more about the happier aspects, read on for 7 things to keep in mind this festive season:

1. Ditch perfection, focus on the basics

There was a time when Diwali was simply about earthen lamps lighting up the darkness of a moonless night. However, with every passing year, the events leading to it seem to multiply while the complexities of getting things right seem to keep getting more muddled.

This year, ditch that research on the latest fashion or the best themes for house parties. Let’s keep the basics in mind when it comes to festivals, be it quality family time, good food or even good doses of spirituality.

2. Fix a festive budget and follow it

One of the easiest things to do in the festive season is to go overboard and splurge financially. Most manufacturers and retailers come out with their best collections and merchandise in this period, well aware of the peer pressure and the emphasis most of us feel of making the most in festive seasons.

To ensure you do not suffer from any festive financial hangover, make sure you fix a budget, track it and follow it over the period and avoid any nasty surprises at the end.

3. Be smart when it comes to festive sales

You know the festive season has started when Amazon and Flipkart bear down on us with the Big Billion Days and the Great Indian Festive sales. One look at newspapers with big ads screaming it all out is enough to see that offline retailers are not far in trying to lure and entice consumers with a lot of lucrative deals and offers.

Do not depend on your will power to look away from the latest gadget available at a steal, which you have no need for. Make a list for all that you need to buy, compare to find the best deals on those products and stick to it.

Additional Reading: How to Get the Best Online Deals This Diwali

4. Do not play the comparison game

Keeping up with the Joneses or comparing ourselves to our peers and others around us is probably one of the easiest things to succumb to. Festive season is like social media on steroids, with everyone trying to outdo everyone be it in socialising, home décor, clothing, gifts or even the money spent on crackers.

Remember that comparison is the thief of joy, and it is a zero sum game be it financially or otherwise. Make your own benchmarks and find happiness in the little things in life, whether they are better than others or not.

5. Limit the gifting

Festive period is often a good excuse to show gratitude to the people we care about, through the medium of gifts. With the range of gifting expanding every year, from bare minimum to gourmet hampers, we often lose sight of the main message of simply the other person that they are being thought of in this time of festive cheer. Make a list of people you want to gift to.

If the list is long, make the gifts simple or check out some easy DIY options. Alternately, if you heart is really set on something costly that you believe will bring that light of joy in your loved one’s eyes, cut down on the number of gifting recipients. Either way, ensure you don’t emerge out of the festive haze with any regrets on the gifting front.

Additional Reading: 15 Unique Gifts This Diwali That are Light on the Pocket

6. Plan in advance to get away from it all

Festive period means different things to different people. While for some, it is all about absorbing the colour, buzz and chaos, for others the only way to not get overwhelmed by it all is to get away. If your idea of the festive season is a quieter retreat, far away from the madding crowds, plan it well in advance.

Festive time is also when the aviation industry tries to cash in on the last minute desperate travel that a lot of us end up doing. When planned a few months in advance, tickets to even the most exotic locations can be booked at pretty reasonable prices.

7. Self care

In trying to keep up with the hectic activities that the festive season entails, it is easy to get on to the bandwagon which leaves us harrowed and our mental health suffering. Remember to take care of yourself in these months too.

Work out for that healthy dose of endorphins, have enough water to keep yourself energised and when it gets too much snuggle into a corner with your favourite book or TV show for some much needed me-time.

When we take some small measures, we can enjoy the festive season in the way it is really meant to be, than look at it as an obstacle course with hurdles to be jumped at every turn. May the season of joy and cheer this year bring health, wealth and happiness in your lives.