The Gretzky 'game plan' for the holidays

The holidays are a great time to celebrate family and friends, but the holidays can also be stressful. Walter Gretzky, Canada's favourite hockey dad – and this year's Christmas Seals Ambassador for the Ontario Lung Association – offers some coaching tips to help you stick-handle your way through the season:

• Be game-ready: Get to the big season early and ready to play. Crowded stores and parking lots can be stressful so think of shopping as something you do in the first period, not the last minute of play. That way you can focus on more important things, like grandkids.

• Rely on teamwork: Let's say you're buying a gift for someone who is difficult to please or you just have no clue what he or she would want. Like any good team player, you work with others to achieve your goal. You pass that puck. Hand over that task to someone else who enjoys shopping while you kick back and enjoy a good hockey game. Everybody wins.

• Focus: The holidays are about family and friends. Everything else can wait. Your gift to others can be putting away your cell phone and other personal devices so you can be a part of the gathering. There's nothing like family conversations over a great meal. In our house, that includes a big plate of perogies, made with my mother's recipe.

• Prepare the next shift: Traditions are passed on from one generation to the next so be sure to enjoy them year-in, year-out. One of our favourite traditions is our pick-up hockey game on the outdoor rink at our family farm. We love getting everyone laced up—young and old—to enjoy one of Canada's greatest sports. It's a tradition that will live on in the Gretzky family.

Walter Gretzky's commitment to family is one of the reasons he was named the 2011 Christmas Seals ambassador, another holiday tradition enjoyed by millions of Canadians. The colourful stamps can be used to decorate cards and packages, and show others you care about their health.

Christmas Seals support people with serious lung diseases like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. To make a donation and receive yours, you can call 1-866-333-4045 or visit www.on.lung.ca.

This holiday season, the Gretzky family will hold traditions close to celebrate the special mom and wife they lost to lung disease a few short years ago: Phyllis Gretzky. Have a healthy and Merry Gretzky Christmas.

www.newscanada.com