Christmas is almost upon us, and along with it comes too much stress! How do you cope at Christmas? I guess every year I tend to change my strategy. Being an Australian we are faced with the challenge of Christmas in the heat! Hot lunches tend to be a thing of the past for many Australians, preferring to savour or wonder seafood (which we are renowned for) with salads and nice light refreshing food. The most important thing before and during Christmas is to try to avoid the heat and thus reduce our stress levels!

Last year Christmas shopping for me was done by a girlfriend of mine. I was living and working in Las Vegas with adult children living in Australia, so my good friend attended to all my shopping the week before, did all the wrapping and delivered my gifts to my children Christmas morning! That’s probably the least stressed and most organised I have ever been with my Christmas shopping! I promise myself every year I will start early in the year, but somehow I never get to it and before you know it Christmas is upon us and I’m out time!

Here are some unique stories from Five New Jersey residents on how they manage stress throughout the holiday.

Anne Gadsden says that she handles Christmas shopping the “new fashioned” way. She puts on a CD of classical music such as Pachelbel’s Canon in D, logs on to the internet, and starts surfing. The Newark mother of three says, “I’ve already done the going to the mall thing and now its time for me to get gifts for family members who don’t live in New Jersey. I visit Amazon and Buy.com; between the two companies I usually find something that I need. Besides, shipping is free if I spend at least $25 and let’s face it that isnt hard to do!

 Tasha Crimson says that she shops very early in the year. “I shop all summer long starting after July 4th all the way up to Labor Day. That’s when I’m done. I don’t have to put up with the rush or the crowds, I shop at my own pace, and I don’t have to freeze running from my car to the store!,” the East Orange grandmother of eight chuckled.

In Wanaque, Bob Caprioti has his own unique style of shopping. Or not. He simply has his wife pick up everything for her family, his family and for their three children. “She knows I hate to shop. Fortunately, Rita loves to shop; so I figure why not let her do what she wants to do and let me do what I want to do?” So, does Rita buy gifts for herself and mark them from Bob? “No, I won’t go that far. My mother loves to shop so I go out with her and we find what I need for Rita. Mom knows what my wife likes and makes it as painless as possible for me.

Angela Rodriguez of Fair Lawn laughs when asked about her shopping methods. “I don’t begin to shop until the day after Christmas. My family is from Peru and we celebrate the Feast of the Three Wise Men when we get together in early January. We are scattered all over the place and it is too difficult to meet up on Christmas. So, instead of shopping ahead of time, I wait ’til after Christmas and get all the markdowns.” When asked what she does on Christmas Angela replied, “I’m single and work in New York. I hang out with friends and co-workers who are by themselves for the holidays. Then, on New Year’s Day I fly to Florida for a week to be with my family. I ship everything out ahead of time, so I’m not lugging all the stuff through the airport.

Tamara Williams loves to shop, especially in crowds. The Hackensack resident replied, “I do a little bit in early December, but I really don’t get going until a few days before Christmas. The best prices can be found then and it just seems more like Christmas.” When asked how close to Christmas she shops Tamara answered, “I usually don’t finish up ’til Christmas Eve. One year, while I was working at Stern’s at the Bergen Mall I got off at 2 p.m. and began my shopping. When the store closed at 6 p.m. I made my final purchase and went home! I was working at the store and attending college full time. My finals were done only the day before, so my first opportunity to shop was on Christmas Eve. I start late, but not that late anymore!”

By MaryAnn Roche

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