Motivating Your Family to Help You During the Holidays

At Honda of El Cerrito, we know the holidays are far too stressful for far too many people. Getting your family to pitch in during the holidays can keep the season fun, relaxing, and maybe even enjoyable! Here are some tips for motivating your family to help you out.

Make a plan. It’s a lot easier to motivate others to help if you have a plan, and the plan that includes them. As the holiday season approaches, make a calendar of important events and activities, and a list of things you need to do in preparation for those events. Once your list is complete, ask family members which ones they would like to do. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Have realistic expectations. Don’t expect your four-year old to cook the turkey this year or your teenage son to suddenly love grocery shopping. Play to your family’s strengths.

Use the holiday magic words. "Please" and "Thank You" are called the magic words for a reason. If you’re not an habitual user of these two words, start today and watch holiday magic unfold before your very eyes.

Plan fun family activities. In addition to making Jack a dull boy, all work and no play makes your family members resent you. Participating in fun holiday activities will make family members more likely to participate in not-so-fun holiday activities, or, better yet, it might make the not-so-fun activities fun.

Give praise. Children and adults crave positive recognition. If you want an action repeated, praise it liberally.

Be positive. It’s easy to give praise when you have a positive attitude. It’s very hard to motivate family members to help during the holidays if you’re complaining about how stressful the holidays are, how nothing gets done right, and how much there is to do.

Give family members autonomy along with responsibility. If you’re willing to delegate responsibility, you must also be willing to allow family members to make decisions. If, for example, you assign your teenage son to pick up Christmas lights, don’t scold him when he gets multicolored ones instead of white ones.

Ease up. Trying to do too much during the holidays leads to burnout and a lack of holiday fulfillment. It, therefore, behooves the holiday leader to take a break and give family members a break, too.

Keep the family healthy. Contrary to popular belief, eating 16 servings of holiday candy daily will negatively affect your health. Not exercising during the holiday season has the same unhealthy effect as not exercising in February. Not being healthy negatively affects one’s willingness to participate in holiday help. Make sure that some vegetables get eaten during the holiday season, and keep the family running strong.