Decorating a tree, shopping for presents, planning holiday dinners and balancing your budget -- Christmas can be the most stressful times of the year.

Perhaps one of the best ways to keep stress at bay during the holiday season is to acknowledge and accept the fact that you are human and can only do so much.

Keep a sense a humour, remember that even Santa Claus has a bad day and don't forget that Christmas is not about expensive gifts -- it's about the birth of Jesus Christ.

Spending time with family and friends, singing Christmas carols, attending church or taking an evening stroll around Hamilton to enjoy the festive lights and decorations are all ways to get into the spirit of the holidays without parting with your hard-earned pennies.

To cut down on the pressures of entertaining friends and family, get your guests to bring a dish. This will get you out of the kitchen and give you more time to spend with those near and dear to you.

If you feel inclined to give presents -- give something personal and from the heart.

Homemade gifts, like baked goods and crafts, showcases your imagination and reveals that you truly thought about a gift.

And nothing shows someone that you care then giving them something that is precious to you -- your time.

Make festive-coloured gift vouchers stating that the receiver is entitled to an allotted amount of your time doing something your enjoy. If you love children, then offer to babysitting for an evening. If you have a green thumb offer your gardening services for a Saturday afternoon.

For those who want to purchase gifts, sit down and devise a Christmas budget.

Once you have figured out what you can realistically afford to spend - stick to it.

And remember there are ways to `deck the halls' without wearing out your favourite pair of shoes in the process -- catalogues and the Internet.

To make use of catalogues you have to be organised and get you orders in early -- you may be pushing your luck placing an order now since there is only three weeks days left until Christmas. But keep this in mind for next year. The information highway has easy, stay-at-home ways to get all of your Christmas shopping completed by December 24 without worrying about finding a sitter, getting bunions on you feet or fighting for parking spaces.

The Internet allows shoppers to buy goods 24 hours a day and provides an endless variety of goodies to place beneath the tree. Top brand names and even local stores like Triminghams have Web sites on the Internet.

And gift certificates provide shoppers with a foolproof way to ease the stress over finding the perfect gift for the person who has everything.

But if you are determined to shop till you drop, a massage at one of the Island's spas or salons will help ease your tired aching body.

Each facility offers a variety of relaxing treatments like Swedish massages, Shiatsu or reflexology.

However, if your Christmas budget does not make allowance for indulgences like massages, then bring the spa experience to you.

Inexpensive and soothing bath salts, beads and gels help to relieve a tired body, while scented candles calm frayed nerves.

Lavender promotes relaxation and induces sleep, chamomile reduces irritability, rosemary energises and geranium reportedly lifts the spirit.

Scented candles can be found at a number of local stores in a variety of price ranges.

For those who want to pick up long-term stress-fighting tips, check out this weekend's free public lecture on the ancient Vedic tradition of India -- Transcendental Meditation.

The Transcendental Mediation Society of Bermuda will host a lecture by Dr.

Emily Liddell and Dr. Brian Horsefield on Sunday, December 6 at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research.

The TM-Bermuda is a non-profit organisation that has offered on-Island instruction in TM for the last 23 years.

Over the years TM-Bermuda has taught over 1,700 locals, from politicians to prisoners, TM techniques.

Dr. Horsefield said the TM technique reduced stress by settling the mind for 20 minutes twice a day.

Introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Togi 40 years ago, TM is practised by sitting comfortably in a chair with the eyes closed. The meditation has been practised by Hindus for hundreds of years in a bid to relieve stress and increase awareness.

Numerous scientific studies suggest that in addition to decreasing stress, meditating twice a day for 20 minutes can lower cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

If none of these suggestions help to alleviate your stress and you find yourself needing professional help to get through the holidays, there are several counselling services, including the Psychiatric Clinic at 236-0224 and the Salvation Army at 292-5159, listed in the blue pages of the telephone book.

STRESSED OUT! -- Christmas is the most stressful holiday of the year.