Halloween is two days away. That can only mean Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the horizon.

Whatever calm and order in our world will soon disappear into preparations and participation for holiday festivities.

All those preparations are taxing. The family gatherings are too often trying. The constant busyness is tiring. Our to-do lists overflow and our schedules leave little room for relaxation.

Don’t get me wrong. The holidays are my favorite time of year.

At the same time I dread them because these sixty-one days been Halloween and New Year’s Day can be so overwhelming.

Problem is, I can’t stay ahead, and become stressed. I don’t think I’m alone. Most of us experience STRESS during the holidays and need to think of ways to De-STRESS.

<a href="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/img_0844.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5326" src="https://judythewriter.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/img_0844.jpg?w=300" alt="IMG_0844" width="300" height="229" /></a>

You'll find lots of ideas on these sites:

~Woman’s Day offers <a href="http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/diet-weight-loss/12-ways-to-destress-amidst-holiday-madness-100161" target="_blank">12 Ways to De-stress Amidst Holiday Madness</a>

~Huffington Post suggests <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-pritchard/holiday-stress_b_2268356.html" target="_blank">What Are You Doing for You This Holiday Season? </a>

~Focus on the Family recommends <a href="http://www.focusonthefamily.ca/marriage/conflict/de-stressing-christmas-11-tips-for-handling-common-holiday-tensions" target="_blank">De-stressing Christmas</a>

~ Shape.com proposes <a href="http://www.shape.com/blogs/shape-your-life/3-easy-ways-de-stress-over-holidays" target="_blank">3 Easy Ways to De-Stress Over the Holidays </a>

Chicken Wrangler Sara and I came up with our own idea to de-stress our hectic days during the holidays and restore our calm for the next 61 days.

We’re starting a new blog category called <em>Sunday Sampler</em>. Sounds like we’re adding, but we’re not. Instead of posting three times a week, we’ll be taking turns posting once a week.

We’ll let you know how our plan works.