Let’s face it - the reality of the Holiday season is no Women’s Network movie. For so many of us, the Holidays can feel like a juggling act of cry-filled trips to Santa, lunch break trips to the mall for gifts, burnt sugar cookies, frantically arranging elf on the damn shelf every morning before work, midnight on Christmas eve gift-wrapping, & pretending to enjoy someone's homemade huckleberry wine (the only option being served at their party).
With the overwhelming to-do list and the over-scheduled calendar, the Holiday’s are just plain stressful! Becoming consumed by this stress makes it almost impossible to enjoy what it truly is you look forward to every Holiday season. Let’s talk about how we can reduce and manage stress this Holiday season so you can get the most out of this beautiful (chaotic) time of year!
Positive habits and routines are known to reduce stress and increase productivity!
Action creates change; this is why practicing and maintaining habits & routines is so effective in creating lasting change in your life! Even taking small actions and pairing them with existing routines (like taking five minutes every morning after you brush your teeth to stretch) can snowball into transformative results. With New Years resolutions around the corner, don’t lost sight of your current positive habits & routines over the Holiday season!
With a forever growing itinerary, try and do your best to maintain habits that keep you grounded and productive! If you’re Sunday 5km walk helps you reset before the work week starts, don’t skip it because it conflicts with your families Holiday party! Instead, modify! Maybe you can’t walk for as long or at your regular time, but find time on Sunday before or after your festive obligations to get a short walk in. Remember this mantra - modify to maintain!
If you would like to learn more about the power of Habits & Routines, I highly recommend the following books:
Perhaps the most powerful weapon against Holiday Stress is…LEARNING TO SAY NO!
The truth is, you just can’t do it all - which means that you should not feel guilty because you can’t do it all! The Holidays are not about seeing every single person in the universe that you know - in fact this can be nearly impossible for blended families, where expectations of visits can sometimes make time divided over the Holiday’s feel like a division of love (which it is not). Compromise, be honest, and be realistic!
Holiday Pro Tip: host or attend an open invite Holiday event! This way - you can invite all of the people you are trying to see over the holiday season, and therefore take the pressure off of visiting each individual person!
It’s one thing to learn how to SAY no to other people, it’s another to be okay with saying no yourself. You’ve set your limits and boundaries for a reason, so you too can enjoy your Holiday and have time for what’s important to you! So remember, when you say NO over the Holiday’s, don’t waste your time feeling guilty that you did.
For some strange reason, the Holiday’s are perceived as time off or vacation. For those of us with big families, Christmas concerts, and commuting in-laws, it’s no vacation. It can often feel like a full time job managing holidays parties, shopping, kids home from school, cooking, baking, and non-stop socializing!
”I just can’t relax!”
How many times have we said this over the Holiday season? Looming gifts to pick up, presents to wrap, and turkeys to stuff; how can we possibly relax?
Finding time and space amongst the chaos and giving yourself permission to take some time for yourself can be a powerful tool against Holiday stress. And yes parents I especially mean you! Snag a few extra minutes of alone time in the bathroom amidst a Holiday gathering, or a little longer in the shower or bath…maybe even bring the wine with you…
Whatever you’re day-dreaming about - do that! Whatever makes sense for you, whatever is going to reset and recharge you even if it’s just a few minutes - do that! Downtime and alone time can be transformational, even if only for a few moments each day!
Can you enjoy the moment, even if it’s not perfect?
Can you still be present and enjoy it? Despite the excitement, the high expectations of the Holiday’s can make it hard to appreciate and enjoy the inevitable imperfection.
To help become mindfully in the present moment, take some time to look around you and notice whats around you using all of your five senses! What do you smell? What do you hear? What do you feel?
Another great technique is to take notice of what you are grateful for (however small) in this moment? It’s important to remember that expressing gratitude doesn’t have to be “I’m grateful for my country” because that’s grand and may not bring you in the moment as effectively as say ,“I’m grateful for the box of chocolates I’m enjoying with family (that was supposed to be for my childs teacher)” - you can always buy another one, but you can’t buy another moment. Gratitude doesn’t have to be GRAND! In fact, when gratitude is small and relevant, it can be very effective in pulling you into the present moment.
So even if the turkey is charred black, 50% of the Christmas lights are dead, the dog chewed the corners of every present, your Great Aunt just asked if this was your second or third husband, and the Secret Santa mittens you’ve been knitting are only 1.5 mittens…can you still be present and enjoy the moment? You don’t need an hour to reset, sometimes just a few minutes of mindful relaxation can be an effective reset!
The magic of the Holidays truly comes from gratitude - maybe you’re grateful for your family (however loud) or your favourite Christmas cookies (even if they’re store-bought). Whatever it is you are grateful for, acknowledge that; revel in that. The Holidays will NEVER be perfect and they will always be chaotic, but at the end of the day, like everything else - they will be what you make it!
Happy Holidays! 💖
