5 Ways to Prepare for the Holidays

I was planning on writing and posting this last week, but alas I caught the winter cold that has been going around (and thankfully it is not COVID), so I finally have the energy to pull this together for you. And although I have thought about and tried all of the “tips” I am listing below, I still fell ill but “powered through” because I didn’t want to miss out. So, I recognize that these are not easy to follow, I fell victim right from day 1 of the Thanksgiving week.

Doesn’t it feel like the holidays get longer and longer each year? I read somewhere that they now start at Halloween! Wow! That is 2 whole months of A LOT of stress!

As the holidays are upon us our cortisol levels skyrocket just thinking about all the cooking, the eating, gift-giving, entertaining, elf-moving, trying not to forget someone, budgeting, spending time with family, not getting to spend time with family, traveling. The list goes on and on and during this short 2 months, all of these things are felt exponentially!

This year I wanted to share with you some ways that you can try to reduce your stress as we enter into the crux of the holiday season.

This is a crazy thought but do you realize that we can actually control how we approach and enjoy the holidays? …that we get to decide how it feels for us?

I have included here FIVE ways that you can do this:

1. Acknowledge how you are feeling

It’s important to recognize how you truly feel around the holidays. Don’t just sweep your feelings under the rug, acknowledge them. This may be a very difficult time for you for many different reasons, and THAT’S OK – you can’t force yourself to be happy, just because Hallmark says this the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. The more we suppress how we are actually feeling, the longer those feelings linger. But you also don’t want to wallow in the stress or sadness.

Acknowledge that it’s hard and stressful and that that is just how it is for you.

AND be open to the possibility of turning that around.

2. Acceptance

Accept your feelings – it’s ok to feel stress, depression, worry, sadness. We are allowed to feel this way. We often set unrealistically high expectations of ourselves and others during the holidays because we want them to be just perfect, we hold on so tightly to this expectation.

What would it feel like if we let go of that expectation? If we recognized that not everything has to be perfect. If something didn’t go as planned, would it be the end of the world? When we can put that into perspective and accept the worst-case scenario, then we can let go of the expectation of perfection. The weight of a perfect holiday would be lifted off of your shoulders. And what a relief we would feel.

3. Honoring your Yes’s and your No’s and Be Present

I saw some graffiti on a wall the other day that said “Take Me Back to Lock Down”. If that time taught us anything, it taught us that we live life at such a fast pace and because we are so busy, it just passes us by. When we are that busy, it’s hard to be present and stay present. We all too often either dwell on the past or our minds are racing to whatever is next.

This holiday season, take the time to truly honor what feels right for you. Maybe you choose to go to one party, instead of two in the same night. Maybe you take a night off in between all the dinners, parties and gatherings. Since we are still in a pandemic, maybe you just stay home and bake cookies with your kids or choose to just see your closest friends and family this year. Honor the people and traditions that bring you joy and commit to being present in those moments. The happiness and fulfillment you will feel may surprise you.

On the flip side of this, let go of the things that are no longer serving you. Take stock of the things you do just because you are trying to please others. Check in with yourself to determine if it serves you in the way you want to feel. Honor yourself by saying no to the things that don’t serve you.

So, pause and take a moment before you say yes and ask yourself if it is aligns with what you want this holiday season. You will enjoy every moment so much more.

4. Don’t abandon your everyday healthy habits

It’s so easy to indulge in all the delicious, heavy, sweet foods that surrounds us over the holidays. It’s also really easy to eat and drink more than we normally do. You have been working hard all year to maintain your health, so continue to honor those healthy habits by creating time for exercise and movement, eating healthy meals before and after the meals in which you plan to indulge, get lots of sleep – don’t stay up really late and drink lots of water! Come January, your body will thank you!

5. Make time for yourself

Lastly but most importantly, take time for yourself. We as women and mothers typically do all the prepping, cooking, gift-buying, gift-wrapping, baking etc. So, in order to have the energy to do all of these things, and remain present, and enjoy it all, we need to take care of ourselves. We need to keep the batteries charged up. Self-care is a basic need for us, just as is food on the table and a roof over our heads. It doesn’t mean a day at the spa. It can be a 15-20 mins stretch, meditation or workout. It might mean a nice long soak in the bath while you watch your favorite show, it might mean lying in your room with the door closed (or locked) and reading a book. Whatever nourishes you, make time to be alone with yourself.

Take control of how you want the holidays to feel for you this season. Don’t let the holidays overrun you and become something you dread.

Enter them with intention because YOU get to decide how YOU are going to feel this year.

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