So how can you have a happy Christmas?

Some would say the answer to this question is to get drunk. At least that is why people started using the phrase in the UK. However, most people would say that being drunk on Christmas is an indicator of being unhappy. Instead of turning to mood alternators, or alcohol to gain happiness over the holidays, consider some of the following ideas:

1. Spend time with family and friends.

   One of the things people tend to love most about the holiday season, and in particular Christmas, is the excuse it gives them to gather with friends, family, neighbors, and even co-workers to celebrate. Often these gathering are loud and festive, and can put you in high spirits, however, you do not have to have a party to be happy at Christmas. Christmas is a time where you are supposed to reconnect with those you love, share your joys with them. There once was a time when spending time with family and friends was the highlights of Christmas. These days, however, more people use Christmas as a chance to move in social circles, and to buy lavish gifts then to reconnect with family and friends. If you want to have a happy Christmas, it is time to change that cycle. Really since its beginning Christmas has been the season of spreading good cheer, of spending time with your family. It is a time for sharing, caring and giving, as well as the perfect stage to express love and compassion and work on family bonding.

   If you truly want to be happy this year at Christmas, stop treating this holiday as a time to fill your social calendar with parties, and instead, make sure that you take time out from your busy work schedules and social schedules to have a long Christmas at home. This Christmas should be spent with your close friends, and family, immediate as well as extended, although the immediate is the most important.

   Invite family like parents, children and their spouses and your brothers and sisters with their families for Christmas, but do not make a big deal out of it. If you are overly worried about the meal being perfect, the décor looking like it came out of a magazine, and the gifts being popular, you will miss out on the opportunity to bond and connect with your family.

   Make a point to spend quality time with your kids, parents, and your extended family. Greet each person with a smile, hug, and a heart full of love.

   In addition to seeing and reconnecting with family, Christmas is a good time to teach your family values and show them through example how to put those values, like love, compassion, giving and sharing into practice. Sometimes expressing these values is a perfect way to bond with your family. Together you can show compassion by volunteering at a shelter, show love by including everyone in the cooking, decorating the house and the tree, and wrapping up gifts. You can make it an extra special holiday for everyone involved.

2. Give a little.

   One of the reasons people generally are unhappy during the holidays is that they let the pressures of spending money, and giving and receiving gifts get them down. You are worried you will forget someone, or that someone might forget you. This is especially common amongst teens, they are more worried about what will be under the tree for them Christmas morning then what is under the tree from them. If you want to be happy at Christmas it is time to flip the mind set and get excited about giving rather than receiving. Take the time to put thoughts into your gifts and make them something extra special that the recipient will enjoy. You do not have to do things that are lavish, or even expensive, but give from the heart, with no expectations of something in return. If you can do this you will find your joy will overflow, and you will enjoy the delight on the face of those who open your tokens more than what you get yourself.

3. Don't worry about doing it all.

   This is a concept that can apply to anyone, but is most commonly an ailment for mothers. They get so caught up in baking all the right Christmas goodies, wrapping all the gifts perfectly, meeting and exceeding everyone's wish lists, and of course preparing the perfect meal, set on the perfect table, in a perfectly clean house. If you spend all of your time and energy worrying about all of that, what will you have left to use to just enjoy the time spent with family, and the holiday spirit? Nothing. This is exactly the point. Instead of trying to do it all, do what you can and be happy to give that much. If you know you won't be happy until you do it all, get jump start on things. Start your baking early and stick things in the freezer, watch for Christmas gifts throughout the year to help chip away at the endless list, make your hand-made cards in July, or let one of those wonderful online services take care of your Christmas cards for you (Shutterfly is a great one), hire someone to help you get your house ready for parties and gatherings, they could probably use the money, and you could certainly use the extra time (budget for it early if money is a concern), but most importantly, if things do not go perfectly, let it go.

4. Relax.

   The key to a happy Christmas is not to get too involved in planning the feast and the party, but to give yourself a break and to spend maximum time with your family. You are not supposed to leave the holidays exhausted, instead you are supposed to leave them feeling refreshed and reconnected to friends and family. The only way to do this is to relax and let yourself enjoy your friends and family. So, ask for help, buy rolls if you do not have time to bake them (apply this idea to many other things as well), you do not have to be Martha Stewart, and what you do not realize is she has someone else cleaning up the mess and doing her shopping, so you really can't be. When it is all said and done, whether you buy your Christmas cards or hand-make them, it is all the same. So, cut out the unnecessary things, and just relax and enjoy the holiday.

5. Remember the reasons.

   Last, but not least, to be infinitely more happy at Christmas you have to get away from the secular mindset and commercialization that is so prevalent and remember why Christmas is celebrated in the first place. Christmas is a time to celebrate and commemorate the birth of the Christian Savior, Jesus Christ. If you take the time to remember and focus on why the date is important, and reacquaint yourself with the life and deeds of Christ you will feel the peace and joy that Christmas is supposed to bring rather than the stress of shopping, baking, and decorating for the holiday. Those parts are fun and important as well, but should not take priority over the religious aspect of the holiday.

Try these five great tips for having a happier Christmas, and if all else fails, go ahead and get drunk, but remember, there are consequences to finding happiness in a bottle, the least of which is likely to be a splitting headache the next day, the worst of which could be infinitely worse. Seek your happiness elsewhere.