"Honey, you know I do best with schedules and that the holiday stress ramps up my anxiety. Please help me enjoy the holidays by helping out at home. Coming home to a mess is stressful and preparing meals round the clock tips me over the edge."

You will be back on routine by Jan. 2. Just keep reminding yourself that there is an end date.

So with that in mind...you might as well give in to this a little bit. If you come home to a messy kitchen, tell him he needs to either clean it now or cook dinner for your family/order take-out.

And then relax and enjoy the take-out!

Since it's only for a few days, you can do this. Pour a tipple too much wine in your glass if that is what it takes.

What is the worst that can happen? A mess. You have time to clean it up/get help cleaning it up.

Do not let yourself be chained to his parents. Spend part of the day with them, then run some errands. Take a long walk or run by yourself. Invent movie plans with a friend, if you have to. Hell, see a movie by yourself!

You do NOT have to sit around staring at each other to be spending holiday time together. Get thee out of the house!

I'm Type A, but even I recognize the value in letting go of my schedule and shaking things up.

Holidays, in laws, messy kitchens, and disrupted schedules all suck.

It really really helps if you tell yourself you don't give a shit.

I operate best with a schedule and have a very difficult time dealing with the changes to schedules. In addition to Holiday stress I feel like my anxiety is really put to the test with so many things operating on different schedules than typical.
An example, I work a full day today but DH got off at noon. He is baking some brownies for his family tomorrow and i know i will come home to a messy kitchen. His parents eat lunch at almost 10:30 in the morning and then the afternoon drags on, so tomorrow I am already feeling anxious.

I do take some meds, but man, does this time of year really push my limits.