As a parent, you know how stressful the holiday season can be. Between work, your children’s schoolwork, holiday cooking, holiday shopping, and family gatherings, you can feel tapped out before the holidays are even here. To reduce stress in your home, try these activities as a family so your holiday season can be a joyful and happy time spent together.

1. Try Yoga

Did you know that 28% of Americans have practiced yoga at some point in their lives? Perhaps your family can join in on the fun. Yoga is a practice that can get your mind off of any stress you may be feeling. With so many free yoga videos out there, you can find a beginner’s video and have your family sit in your living room. As a family, you can try yoga together. It may feel awkward at first, but if everyone gets into it, it can be a very stress-relieving activity.

2. Get More Sleep

Getting more sleep will guarantee your family a happier holiday season. Be sure your family is getting at least eight hours of sleep by having everyone go to bed around the same time. By setting a stricter nightly bedtime routine for the entire family, everyone will be going to bed at a decent time and waking up feeling much more refreshed. Keep this routine going – you may find any stress in your home to disappear.

3. Try a Family Art Night

Whether or not your family consists of artists or not, engaging in an art night with your family is a stress-relieving activity everyone will enjoy regardless of talent. Art therapy was discovered in the 1940s and has been a growing industry ever since, and this is because creating art allows people to feel calm as well as express themselves. Your family’s art night can consist of painting on small canvases, painting birdhouses, coloring a picture, or even drawing each other. With the holidays nearby, your art nights can be holiday-themed, too. Put some light holiday music on and sit in the living room as a family.

4. Have a Family Game Night

Are your kids into board games? Having a board game night is a wonderful stress-relieving activity the entire family can take part in. Whether your kids are into Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, Sorry, or Yahtzee, surely there is a game your family can get into together. If board games aren’t really your style, or if your kids have aged out of playing these games, then try a card game night.

With so many card games to choose from, your family can surely find one that gets everyone rowdy. Card games can really be fun. You can try Garbage, Golf, Hand and Foot, or Rummy. You could even try simpler card games such as Uno, Crazy Eights, or Old Maid. Enjoy a card game night over some holiday snacks and some music. You’d be surprised how playing cards as a family may become a bonding activity.

5. Get Some Exercise

One of the more common ways to relieve stress is by getting some exercise. Working out can be an individual activity, but it can also be something the entire family can do together. Try going on a hike and enjoying the beautiful scenery in a park, going sledding or skiing, or even going for a walk around your neighborhood. By getting outside and spending some time together as a family, exercising won’t feel like a chore.

6. Dedicate a Day to Cleaning

Almost 50% of the housing stock today is 37 years old or older, and most of these aging homes have roofs, furnaces, flooring, and appliances that have reached the end of their lives, says Nino Sitchinava, principal economist for Houzz. With aging homes comes a greater need for maintenance and upkeep. If you live in an older home, or even if your house is on the newer side, consider taking a day to clean your entire home. With the entire family onboard, cleaning will be easier and take a shorter amount of time to complete.

With some music on in the background and the smell of a yummy dinner in the oven, have each family member be in charge of cleaning a couple of rooms in your home. Be sure you have the proper cleaning supplies, too. Take turns with the broom, mop, and vacuum. Even consider utilizing a deep cleaner to wash your carpets. Not only does cleaning feel extremely good when you have a clean, finished product, but it can be a stress-relieving activity that everyone in your family can take part in. With the holidays and family gatherings coming soon, having a clean home will put you in a better mood and make you feel more prepared for the business of the holiday season.

The holiday season can bring stress to yourself and your family – but you don’t want it to ruin the fun of the holidays. Try out these activities with your family, and you may be surprised by how much fun you all have together.