While some people look forward to the holiday season and truly enjoy decorating their homes, shopping for gifts, baking, addressing cards and planning get-togethers others dread the season and don't find much about it fun and 'magical'. Some even find Christmas and Hanukkah stressful and overwhelming.
Where ever you turn there are advertisements promoting joyful get-togethers and happy times but as many of us have experienced, it's also a time overrun with expectations, obligations and more commitments that our calendars can schedule.
No wonder many of us resent the season before it begins. Just knowing the annual time crunch is on the horizon and we have to juggle our work and family expectations with even greater skill is enough to put a person on edge. Then there's the unexpected that always falls into the mix - the additional time spent in long line-ups, drop-in visitors, the extra cleaning and preparation, and the last minute invites we feel compelled to say yes to.
Have you ever given any thought to the difference between how you wish your holidays were vs. how they really are? Do you sport a happy face, put family conflicts, religious differences, deaths, divorces, remarriages and co-parenting arrangements aside; and find the silver lining or do you let negativity cloud the season and fall victim to resentment, sadness, anger and guilt?
There's also the commercialism of the holiday season to contend with. Do you have a habit of depleting your bank account or maxing out your credit card in an effort to create the perfect holiday?
What about scaling back on everything that isn't truly important?
There's still time to set some priorities and de-clutter your holidays before they start. Vow now to create a balance that works in your favour.
Scaling down on gift giving is a great start. Spend less but give more thoughtful gifts. For instance, give everyone on your gift list the same thing e.g. books, speciality foods, or gift certificates for experiences like restaurant meals, lessons, spa treatments etc. Or if you truly enjoy crafts, cooking or baking give a handcrafted or homemade gift from the heart that enhances (not clutters up) someone's life.
The holiday season should be a time for pleasure and joy not stress. Take a stand. Don't place undue pressure on yourself to conform to the expectations of others. If your soul is better fed enjoying a hot cup of cocoa and a good book or spontaneously going tobogganing with the kids instead of attending yet another festive open house then do it. Live in the moment and do what you truly enjoy. You'll thank yourself for it and so will your loved ones.
Never feel guilty about turning down the volume of your life and tuning into yourself and what you value most.
So how do you weed out the unnecessary and the unimportant?
You need to be ruthless - take stock of what's most important to you and your loved ones. It's like creating a family scrapbook - you need to take inventory of everything, select only the best, and leave the rest behind.
You should also...
*Plan ahead.
*Keep decorating simple.
*Feed your soul with holiday music.
*Maintain only meaningful traditions.
*Delegate and share the load.
*Focus on relationships.
*Enjoy the season.
"Celebration provides us with the opportunity to underscore what we hold sacred...Each of us has the capacity to shape and control the vibrancy of our celebrations and our lives." Herbert Rappaport
Published by Sherrie Le Masurier on November 9, 2007 02:52 PM
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