In the area of holiday-related stress and crisis in residential treatment of children and youth, risk can be conceptualized as rising from three distinct spheres: child vulnerabilities, worker vulnerabilities, and contextual vulnerabilities. Child vulnerabilities are those characteristics individual to a particular child that increase risk and may include developmental, history of loss, religious conflicts, and memories of holidays past. Residential staff members are not immune from the same holiday stress that afflicts their clients. The holiday season brings an increase in client crises, residential units may be short-staffed due to the holiday season, and the pressure of the season may lead some staff to overwork. Contextual vulnerabilities may be social, political, cultural, or environmental in nature. Recommendations are presented to assist residential staff in minimizing the potential for holiday-related stress and acting out. Figure and references