Yogendra174, flickr

The holiday season is right around the corner, and those pants that feel sooooo good right now, fitting like a glove and your new best friend, will turn on you in a heartbeat, come January when the sins of your holiday noshing become reality. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year's Eve are lurking in the hallways of stores with their blinking lights and enticing sales calling to us like sirens.

Just yesterday I chatted online with my daughter-in-law about possible Christmas gifts for my son. Because they live out of state and we visit to celebrate the holidays early in December, I want to start thinking about possible gifts now. Everyone has a trigger that puts the holidays up front and personal; some of these triggers are positive and some negative (read: family dynamics and/or money).

One way to 'look better naked this holiday season' is to go with the tried and true practice of eating healthy and in moderation, with a dose of exercise thrown in for good measure. This piece of advice is a no-brainer that most of us find really hard to do.

Cathy Guisewite, the retiring author of the comic strip Cathy, has captured the angst of millions of women around body image for 34 years. So, if body image and weight issues are your issues of the season, start planning now for how to deal with this demon.

Another way to 'look better naked this holiday season' is to think about nakedness as emotional vulnerability. People are more prone to be hurt by the words and actions of others when they feel naked emotionally and thus get defensive. This is a surefire recipe for holiday gathering disasters. It's not too early to begin to plan how to navigate the tricky holiday punch bowl of whom to visit when, how to have enough time for yourself and your family, how to protect yourself from relationship time bombs, and how to stay within a reasonable budget. When we are on top of our game, we are less likely to feel resentful, tired and angry -- common triggers for emotional reactivity.

Because the holiday season brings out the kid in all of us, we can be especially vulnerable to personal slights, unrealistic expectations, fatigue, loss, loneliness, and unresolved family and friendship dynamics. It's not too early to start planning for the holiday season.

Chris writes a blog and has a website. She helps people move live saner lives through psychotherapy and life and business coaching. You can reach her at 734-669-7202 or by e-mail.