The holidays are either someone’s favourite or most hated time of year. At least, that is what I have discovered in my very unscientific survey of my friends.

However, experiencing the holidays as either one extreme or another makes sense. It can be a time of warmth, family, delicious food, and wonderful memories. Or, it can be hectic, noisy, stressful, and even lonely.

As someone who views the holidays somewhere between these two extremes, I have discovered three major coping mechanisms that I hope will help those of you who have a harder time at this point in the calendar.

• Don’t put so much pressure on yourself for everything to be perfect. Cakes burn. Punch spills. Relatives argue. Take it with a sense of humour.

• Catch up with people you care about. Maybe you have a friend you haven’t heard from in a while. Maybe you haven’t visited your aunt in the nursing home for months. Then, make an extra effort to stay in touch throughout the year.

• Reach out to others who are less fortunate. Help make their holiday season better. In doing so, you may also change your perspective on a few things in life.

Consider these points my holiday gift to all of you. Happy Holidays!