What if you didn’t have a perfect holiday?

What if your new recipe flopped? What if there was conflict between two people you love? What if you were ill or sad about the recent death of a loved one?

Joy remembers Christmas 2010 when she spent Christmas Day in bed with pneumonia, with only enough strength to make a brief appearance for Christmas dinner. By New Year’s Eve, she was better, but not well enough to stay awake until midnight. She was sad and a little angry that her illness affected her holiday and her family’s holiday, too.

What if you didn’t have a perfect holiday?

If you didn’t have a perfect holiday, consider these suggestions from Fayteen.

Take a few breaths and remind yourself that life is not always fair or easy.

Ask yourself if there was anything you could have done differently. If there was something you could have done differently, remember to do it during the next holiday season.

Give yourself credit for making it through the holidays.

Ask yourself how can you move forward now—and how can you let go of some of your sadness or anger.