Enjoy a Stress-Less Holiday Season Have you ever noticed that despite your best intentions, the holidays often turn into times of distress and overwhelm? Instead of the happy times you envision bonding with friends and family over celebrations, cooking and gifting, it seems like the holidays just add more stress to your already busy life. There is extra shopping to deal with, relatives, decorating, cooking, and eating… in excess! This month’s challenge is an invitation to step back, relax, and connect with loved ones in meaningful, simpler ways. My wish for all of us this holiday season is that we will be filled with joy. Let the season bring “tidings of comfort and joy” and “peace on earth” starting within ourselves and in our homes. Simple Tips for a Simpler Holiday Here are a few holiday tips to help you relax and refocus.
- Sip some holiday tea or coffee. Companies like Celestial Seasonings offers yummy holiday teas. My favorite is Candy Cane Lane with a hint of stevia or honey. Holiday teas and coffees are flavored with healthy spices like peppermint, cinnamon and ginger. These spices aid digestion, immunity, circulation and warm you up. Watch the snow fall or the fire roar for a few quiet minutes of mindful meditation with warm drink in hand and reflect on the joys of the season.
- Tune into feel-good holiday movies. They often fill the airways this time of year and cue us in to the real meaning of the holidays. Snuggle up with the family and a big bowl of air-popped popcorn glazed with coconut oil and a little butter and real salt.
- Bring an attitude of gratitude to your holiday chores. As you shop and wrap gifts, imagine how happy the recipients will be as they open your presents. Focus on something you appreciate about them. As you decorate and bake cookies, give thanks for your home and food and those who will enjoy all you have done.
- Do activities which bring you and your loved ones joy and meaning. Eliminate some of the others. Involve your children in making holiday snacks, gifts and ornaments for loved ones and our fellow humans and animals in need. A few meaningful activities done with people we enjoy are worth more than many done hurriedly in stress.
- Avoid the temptation to bring up unhappy holiday memories or fuel an argument with cantankerous relatives. If you have to say something, offer to talk about it another time or change the conversation to something more pleasant, like how good dinner tastes or a holiday project your family did together.
- Enjoy your favorite holiday scents. Some natural essential oils trigger happy memories, reduce stress, and give you the chance to “relive” joyful moments. Try vanilla for a feeling of well-being (and to reduce cravings!) and the uplifting scent of pine. What smells better than pies and cookies baking in the oven or a fresh Christmas tree? Aromatherapy candles and potpourri can help you enjoy these scents throughout the season.
- If you are tempted to buy a young child an expensive gift that will stress you and the family budget, remember that children often leave these gifts under the tree while they enjoy many hours playing inside the big cardboard box that packaged it. Sometimes the most enjoyable gifts are the simplest. And when you join in the fun, they are always the most favorite.
- Share traditions and stories with your family and friends. Children and adults love the feeling of connection and continuity that comes when we share the familiar in our lives. My family often sits around the table during the holidays telling stories we’ve heard over and over from our past and hope to hear again.
