It’s the most wonderful time…

…of the year.

Or so they say.

Frankly, I think the holidays suck.

Surprised to hear me say that? Not exactly my usual upbeat fare.

Perhaps it would be better to say that the holidays can suck. They don’t always suck. But sometimes they do.

It’s an extended period of time when society tells us we should be thankful and joyful and full of cheer. But nobody mentions the unmentionables…

Quirky family members. Feeling pressure to spend money we don’t have on gifts, parties, holiday lunches, etc. Loneliness if you don’t have family or friends to spend the holidays with. Loneliness even if you do. Too much to do and too little time to do it in. Being broke. Feeling melancholy about those who are no longer with us. Weather. Cleaning. Decorating. Cookies to be baked. Family feuds. And probably so many other things and variations on these themes that make up each of our own particular brand of holiday experience.

The sum total? Exaggerated expectations of happiness that may not happen, leaving us feeling let down.

My point here isn’t to be negative or down on the holidays. But rather my point is to keep it real.

So let’s be honest with ourselves…the holidays aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. There’s real opportunity to feel lonely and let down, because you’re out of you usual daily routine and unless you’re scheduled with parties or activities from morning ’til night on any given holiday, there will be down time. With often nothing to do but sit around and think. And that can be lonely, even if you’re with your family. Or boring.

Lonely and boring is not how we typically categorize holidays, but for many that is the case.

So what to do?

Plan ahead.

Decide in advance how you’re going to deal with your drunken uncle or what you’ll say to deflect a family member poking at you trying to start a fight.

Make a plan for what you’ll do with your downtime. Find a way to pamper yourself. Perhaps a leisurely walk outdoors and a long bubble bath to warm up afterwards. Throw in an afternoon nap and I’m sold on the plan!

Prepare for the letdowns, recognizing that you’re just responding to all of the pressure that society places on us at this time of year.

Recognize that it’s OK to feel a little sad if you’re missing loved ones who are no longer with us, or maybe just no longer in our lives.

Try not to worry about how you’ll pay the bills after all of the fanfare is over. Maybe even spend a bit less this year. My guess is that most people won’t mind.

And after all is said and done, try to spend a moment at the end of the day being thankful for the good things that you have in your life, even if you’ve had a crappy holiday season. Because life is too short to get hung up on much of anything. Not even the most wonderful time of the year.

In the spirit of keeping it real (and hopefully bringing some holiday laughter and cheer to our readers), we will be tweeting all about our minute-by-minute holiday misadventures in real time on Thanksgiving day (Thursday, November 28 for our non-US readers). And when I say minute by minute, I mean it. Complete with timestamps and all. Good times will be had by most but probably not all. And you’ll hear about it on Twitter with @bringingawesome. Join in the fun and give us some hashtag action with #awesomeThanksgiving.