Kimberly Frey Consulting

November marks the start of the holiday season, and for many there’s a shift in energy that can be hard to ignore. As we enter into the final weeks of 2025, our thoughts often turn to the pressures and demands this time of year brings. While the upcoming holiday season is marketed as “the most wonderful time of the year,” the truth is that it can be a very stressful time of year for many of us.

For me, November is a month of polar opposites. If you follow my podcast, you have heard me say on a pretty regular basis that two opposing things can both be true at the same time.

November is a month of great joy in my life. My birthday is in November, but more importantly, so is my grandson’s. His birthday is actually only three days before mine, and when my daughter was pregnant, there was a part of me that thought it would be pretty cool for him and me to share a birthday. (There was also a part of me that wanted to keep the actual day to myself! See? Two opposite things can both be true, haha.) I love having our birthdays so close to each other, and since I’m a person who likes to celebrate her birthday year-round, that means there are a lot of birthday shenanigans that take place each November.

November is also Thanksgiving, which is tied with Christmas as being my favorite holiday. I love having a day where the family comes together to just enjoy each other, eat good food, watch some football, and there is no pressure of exchanging gifts. I’m such a Thanksgiving-lover that I refuse to put up any Christmas decorations or listen to Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving! We also actually have TWO Thanksgivings: one on the actual day and another one on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We call that one “Thanksgiving Re-do,” and it’s specifically to bring together family and friends that couldn’t come on the actual day of Thanksgiving due to traveling or having to spend it with different family members. It’s also a great way to go through whatever leftovers there might still be, although we also make a new turkey and fresh sides so that there’s enough food for everyone.

November is also the month of my greatest heartbreak. On November 28th, eight years ago, my childhood best friend unexpectedly passed away from a medical emergency. It was sudden, and no one even had a chance to say good-bye. She and I had been best friends for over thirty years, since we were eleven-year-old girls, and her loss devastated me.

So when I say that November is the month of my greatest joys and my deepest heartbreak, that is a very real statement.

While your greatest joys and deepest heartbreaks might not be as widespread as mine, chances are that this time of the year has some polar opposites for you as well. Research tells us that there are many stressors that occur during this time of the year.

• Disrupted routines – there are so many demands on our time during this season that it can be extremely stressful to try and manage them. Knowing what to say “no” to so you can protect your peace can be difficult, especially when there are expectations around family or work obligations.
• Family dynamics – speaking of family, managing all of the expectations around family during this time of the year can be extremely stressful. Even if you feel you have a healthy and loving relationship with your family members, planning for family gatherings, gift giving, and everything else is still difficult. And if you don’t have a healthy relationship with your family? Then it becomes almost impossible.
• Unrealistic expectations – between social media, the Hallmark channel, and commercialism abounding, there is an extreme amount of pressure around how we are supposed to celebrate this time of the year. Matching pajamas? Check. Pictures with Santa? Check. Looking at all the Christmas lights? Check. Getting every present on our loved ones’ lists? Check. Baking cookies together? Check. Check. Check. Check. To the point where everyone is so stressed and miserable. Or worse yet, feels like a failure because they didn’t meet the so-called expectations of the season.
• Managing grief and loss – whether you’ve experienced loss during the holiday season like I did or you experienced loss at another time of the year, this time of year always has you feeling that loss even more deeply. Going through this time of year without that person makes you miss them even more.
• Financial strain – this time of the year can be very expensive! It seems like everyone has a party of some kind, and for every party you’re expected to bring something for the gift exchange or at the least a potluck dish or host/hostess gift.

With all of these demands during this time, it’s easy to see why we are often stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, or even depressed during this time of year.

The good news is that there are things you can do to minimize the negative impacts of this season.

1. Take care of your life balance. Make sure that you are purposefully creating ways to nurture your body, spirit, and soul so that you maintain a healthy life balance. Learn more about my healthy life balance framework here.
2. Set a budget or spending total for yourself at the beginning of the season and then stick to it. I try to save money each month all year long towards Christmas so that I’m not having to max out credit cards or be strapped for funds.
3. Set boundaries & protect your peace. This is going to look differently for each of because we all have different social batteries, relationships, and family dynamics. You need to decide what’s best for you and then not feel guilty for following through.

Here’s a bonus way to make a shift from surviving to Thriving this season:

Book your FREE strategy session with me today!

Neurodivergent Brains Thriving in a Neurotypical World: A strategy session to help you thrive vs survive through the end of 2025

is a 45-minute deep dive strategy session designed to help you move from survival mode into Thriving mode.

In this session, we’ll identify your biggest challenges and then create an action plan for navigating them. You’ll leave your session with strategies or tools you can implement right away.

The last time I offered a special session, spots filled up quickly, so be sure to book your session today for best availability.

Because You Can Do It.

And I Can Help.