2? (NAPSA)—This holiday season, you might want to give yourself a gift by avoiding seasonal overload—that stressful feeling brought about when shopping and prepping for parties and gatherings collides with an already busy schedule. In fact, a survey conducted by StrategyOne found that eight in 10 momsagree that the holiday season creates more work. Fortu- nately, following a few tips could help you cut stress: Plan Ahead—Make a list, then check it twice. Break up chores and shopping so you're not stuck running all of your holiday errands at once. Group tasks by category: shopping over one weekend, baking over another and decorating over one more. An added bonus: Grouping your tasks keeps you from running all over town, saving time and gas money. Clean Sweep—Divvy up the holiday housecleaning among family by assigning each person a task. Also look into useful technology like home robots to help with your chores so you have more time to enjoy the holidays. The iRobot Roomba Vacuum Cleaning Robot will vacuum your floor while you get to spend time with family and friends. The Roomba 560 model lets you program the Roomba to clean whenever is convenient for you, including when you are not at home. There is even an iRobot Roomba Pet Series to suck upall that pet hair and dander before your party guests come over, and an iRobot Scooba Floor Washing Robot to wash your floors after you finish preparing that holiday Getting some help with household chores can help cut holiday stress. mall before it officially opens and walking a few laps, parking far from a store to get extra walking in or stealing off to the gym for an early-morning workout. Explore Online—To make gift-giving even more simple, take advantage of Internet deals. Lots of stores have exclusive online sales or reduced shipping and handling costs when you order several items at once. Somestores even let you pay for an item on their Web site and then pick it up at the storeitself. Indulge—Remember to take some personal time each day. Whether that means taking a few minutes to relax and read the paper, treating yourself to a pedicure or that foot-massage machine you’ve had your eye on at the Just Do It—Few things bust stress as well as exercise, so find mall, or simply taking a long hot shower, it’s important to decompress your holiday stress. minutes a day. Try getting to the www.irobot.com. feast. sneaky ways to get in your 30 For more information, visit
