Why is the most wonderful time of the year so stressful? With the holiday season approaching, there is a lot to be stressed out about.

  One of the major factors of holiday stress is making sure one has money for everything. Most high school students work a part-time job that pays minimum wage, but with this low pay, they are expected to buy all of their friends and family Christmas gifts. Most of the time, this is a huge stress factor for teens because they cannot afford to spend this much on presents. 

Present giving has turned into a Christmas tradition that is expected to happen every year. Not everyone can afford to buy gifts for everyone, which results in stress and guilt because their present may not be accepted by the receiver. 

Another issue that can cause a lot of stress is family expectations. When the holidays come around, people tend to spend most of it with their family that they do not see all the time. This can cause stress for multiple reasons. One of the most common reasons is because of the expectations family members may have. When visiting family, people will comment on what others wear, what they do with their hair and even other things outside of the house that they may have seen on social media. One of the most common comments at family functions are to teenage girls when they get asked if their jeans were half-off because there are holes in them. When family members make jokes about these things, it can ruin someone else’s day completely. So, when visiting family, people may feel like they need to wear something that they are not comfortable in to be accepted by their family, which can cause people to not attend family functions anymore. 

Another stress factor dealing with family is when people have broken families. Every year, more married couples get divorced, which can affect their children in many ways, especially around the holidays. Children with split parents have to always “share” the holidays with their parents at different houses with different people. In turn, they always have to worry about whose house they are going to and try to have a peaceful and seamless holiday without upsetting the other parent. 

Many retail workers are also hit hard during this time of year. When people come out to shop, most people are very greedy about it. People go to stores for all sorts of things during the holidays (food, gifts, normal household necessities, etc.) but because of this, it can cause a lot of rage in shoppers. If the store is out of whatever someone needed, they automatically go to the store to complain. When they are complaining, they usually get very angry. Most retail workers are high school students who are trying to make some money, and sadly, they are the ones who have to deal with this. They get screamed at all day about things they cannot even control, which can make the holidays super stressful for them because they will dread going to work, and possibly even quit. 

Even though the holidays can be super stressful for everyone, it is not fair to take it out on others. Everyone experiences holiday stress in different ways and may not even show it. Remember, the holiday season is the season for caring and giving, not rudeness and greed.