It is Almost Holiday Time: Can you Handle It?

The holidays are quickly approaching.  Whether your celebration revolves around Christmas, Hannukah, Diwali or something else altogether, the time that is bookended by Halloween and New Year’s always seems to be filled with a hustle-and-bustle of activity.  There are parties to plan for, gifts to purchase, cards to be mailed, baking and cooking to be undertaken – the to-do list seems to grow exponentially.  Simultaneously, the feeling of overwhelm seems to swell.

So, how does one get through the holidays without feeling burnt-out by the end of it all?  Believe it or not, there is a way.  It’s called “playing a different game”.  That’s right.  It’s time to rewrite the holiday rules so that you can move through the festivities without losing your sense of perspective, your experience of joy, and the “happy” in “happy holidays”.  To help you out, here are 5 tried-and-true steps to follow:

1.    Ask yourself, what is it that you want to EXPERIENCE?
So often we focus on the trappings – the gifts, the food, the decorations – that we forget what we really want to feel.  Maybe it’s “meaning”, or “memories”, or “fun”.  Whatever it is, find the word that resonates for YOU.

2.    Brainstorm ways to infuse the holidays with the particular quality that’s
important to you.  For example, if you want your holidays to be about “memories”, plan activities to support this.  Perhaps you provide a disposable camera and mini-scrapbook for everyone.  Or maybe you come up with a theme for this year so that forever after, 2007 is known as the Christmas of _________.  Get creative; after all, this is about rewriting the rules!

3.    Lose the sense of guilt.  “They’ll expect a big gift”, “But I have to spend a certain amount”, “They won’t like a homemade card”, are all examples of the external expectations which we take on internally.  It’s time to let these go.  Remember, if you want the holidays to provide a certain experience for you, then it’s up to you to set the parameters that will allow such an experience to be real.

4.    Get comfortable with being different.   This may be a challenging idea, but in many ways, it is the key.  Stop trying to be like everyone else.  Make the holidays unique and representative of you, so that you’re not trying to be the square peg fitting into a round hole.

5.    Find a structure to help you remember the essence of what you’re going for.  Perhaps you wear a treasured piece of jewelry as a reminder of the memories you want to create.  Or maybe a pair of reindeer antlers becomes your token accessory as you strive to infuse the holidays with fun.

Bottom-line:  identifying how you want the holidays to be is the first step to experiencing a truly happy holiday.  Once you know what you want to experience, then you can choose the activities that will help you live that out. Trust me – the holidays aren’t meant to be a time of stress.  My wish for you is that you feel able to wish everyone a “happy holiday” and mean it.  Have fun rewriting your holiday rules.  May your holiday experience be exactly what you’re looking for.  Wishing you a joyful, meaningful, fun-filled holiday time – and yes, I absolutely mean it ? !