Family togetherness at Christmas

The holiday season can be anticipated with joy and happiness, but also just as many people can foresee the festive season as a time of anxiety & stress.   So many stressors with preparation, family arguments, financial hardship as well as feelings of letdowns and spending too much time looking back on the memories of Christmas past.   What can we do about this?  How do we create a wholesome, fulfilling family experience thru the holidays and still come out of it unravelled? We have found 7 key steps that will ensure a joyous Christmas holiday with family & friends:

1. An important concept is to recognize all the fun filled memories you may have had with past Christmas holidays but remember to leave some space for yourself and family to experience new traditions and sentiments that will only build on the past celebrations.  Make an effort to work thru the past challenges and possibly painful experience so they do not become all consuming in order to keep the focus on the present.

2. Spend time prior to the holidays creating ‘realistic’ expectations that you feel capable you and your family can easily accomplish.  Prioritize the most important activities and events you have planned ahead of time to avoid further stress.   Organizing your time over the holiday season is vital to lessen stress and anxiety in order to realize fun, and enjoyment.

3. Realize and develop a life of gratitude, as well as a positive attitude. Remember that your circumstances may change in your life but it is how you perceive each challenge, whether it is positive or negative.   That is a significant lesson in life and one to develop over the holidays.

4. Along with gratitude is spending time enriching someone else’s life thru fundraising, supporting a sick children’s hospital or homeless people who really need some support at this time of year. The charitable experience could very well become an ongoing habit that you can experience each and every year.

5. If money is tight and you are struggling financially there are so many activities and fun events that you can experience that are free. Family enjoyment doesn’t have to be all about spending a lot of money. In fact, many who have little enjoy the most gratifying and fulfilling Christmas times with family.   19th century Philosopher, Henry David Thoreau quotes, " The way you spend Christmas is MORE important than how much"  

6. A key issue that most people face over the holidays is not setting a realistic budget. People wind up spending much more than they expected. Set a budget for yourself way before the holidays arrive so you know exactly how much you can, and want to spend.  I realize there are way too many temptations to keep spending money but a simple and smart budget will make a huge difference in your spending practice and lessen a lot of stress afterwards.

7. Make time for yourself! In order to keep things functioning properly, especially for a women who handles a lot of the Christmas festivities, keeping yourself calm, well cared for and relaxed makes all the difference in the world.  Take time to recharge your own batteries so you can start the next year brand new!

For those who are in need of taking some time off to take care of themselves we recommend our online program,  ‘Renew & Recharge’  It is an effective way to recharge & become empowered and a great way to start off the new year!  For a limited time this online course is being offered FREE,  Register for this program on our main page.