Who can you say no to this holiday season? The short answer is, everyone. There are some things that no matter what, we have to do them during the holidays. It is tradition. Sometimes we do have to sacrifice a tiny bit in order to make someone else very happy. That is okay, but you don’t have to sacrifice everything.

You can say no to your parents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, and yes, even your kids.

Saying no doesn’t have to be the final answer. It is an opening for you to make a compromise. Saying no doesn’t mean you say no to everything. But instead we can adjust our plans. Sometimes we all have to give a little to get a little.

We already covered that saying no is difficult at times.

Here are some tips on how to know who to say no to:

• Don’t make these decisions on your own
• Talk it out
• Refer back to your list(s)
• Decide if you can make a compromise
• Explain your predicament to whomever you may need to say no to
• Be honest

As mentioned above, it is okay to say no to your kids. It’s okay if they don’t have the perfect Christmas. The perfect Christmas isn’t measured by the amount of gifts they get or the quality of them. As parents, you want your kids to have everything they could ever want. But they don’t need everything. They need their parents to be happy. Maybe you are a single parent, or a divorced parent, that may be difficult for the child but if they know they are loved and treasured, that will mean more to them than the newest Xbox. Taking the time to build traditions, memories and time to how them love in ways that don’t involve presents will be the thing they remember the most.

The presents break, get old and kids get tired of them. The heartfelt memories are the ones that will last them a lifetime. So, it’s okay to tell them no, they will only be mad for a short time, trust me.

Coming up soon –  Part three: How To Stay Calm During The Holidays