Holiday Guide 101

Holiday Guide 101There are tons of wonderful holiday guides, apps, and blog posts available for making your holidays more organized, less stressful, and much happier.  Resources like List PlanIt, Real Simple, and The Happiness Project blog are chock full of ideas and tips. As we have begun the holiday season, I wanted to share some tips I use to keep me organized, sane, and happy during this season of celebration.

Plan – Before doing anything including saying “yes” or “no” to invites, decide how much activity you want to participate in during the holiday season. Do you want to host? Do you want to be a guest? Do you want a combination of each? Look at your calendar. Talk with your family. Stop to review and block out the time you want to devote to the upcoming festivities.

Prep – Now that you’ve done some planning, taking time to prepare for the various events (whether hosting or guesting,) will help keep you calm and make the gatherings more enjoyable. If you’re hosting, set aside some quiet time to review the things you’ll need to buy, cook, order, or get ready. I’m a big fan of list making. For annual events, I use an electronic version of the event and update it each year. If you’re going to be a guest, is there anything you need to bring? If so, add this to your list. Give yourself calendar time to both think and do.

Play – Along with the holidays, comes a lot of doing. This might include food shopping, gift buying, cooking, organizing spaces for guests, or changing schedules and routines. There might be more people, sounds, and activities happening in your home than you’re used to. If you adopt a playful attitude and focus on the joy of doing whether that’s baking apple pies, changing sheets for the umpteenth time, or running to the market for the few ingredients that you forgot on your last trip, you will significantly increase your happiness factor. Practice mindfulness while you’re actively doing. Be present. Enjoy each step.

Pace – It’s so easy to get caught up in the frenzy of the holiday eating, shopping, and cooking. Usually social interaction is increased and personal time is decreased. Remember to pace yourself, paying special attention to self-care. Get enough sleep, watch your caffeine intake, stay hydrated, build in exercise time, eat nutritiously and take short “me-time” breaks before you’re feeling frazzled.

Pause – Shifting our thoughts to a positive state of mind, becomes especially important during the holidays. These are special times when we gather with our loved ones, enjoy wonderful meals, extra time together, and express our gratitude and love for one another. As much as we love our family and friends, so much togetherness or “family dynamics” can add some holiday stress. Think about being gratitude-focused. Let those that you love know how you feel. Time is precious. Life is precious.

I am so grateful for this wonderful community of people that contribute so generously to the blog. I’d love to hear from you. What are your favorite holiday tips or thoughts?