How to Have Happy Holidays

How to Have Happy Holidays

I know many people who dread the holidays. There is the shopping, the Christmas music, cooking, traveling, Christmas cards, and visits to relatives when you would rather stay at home by the fire with a glass of wine and a good book.

Each year, even before Thanksgiving, stores start playing Christmas carols on the loudspeakers and tinsel, plastic trees and gifts line millions of shelves in stores across the world. Already stressed out and overly tired from everyday life, people take on holiday preparation and feel obligated to purchase things that are not needed and perhaps unwanted, or wanted and then discarded for the next new toy/appliance/electronic fad.

The holidays can be joyous when mindfully approached. Here is a list of ways to simplify the season and bring joy to the occasion:

1. Talk with your children about the real meaning of the holidays. Tell them holidays are not about making a list of things they want and receiving presents. Holidays are a time for families to enjoy time together to celebrate their religious beliefs.
2. Talk with your children about the joy of giving. The holiday season is a good season to brings warm clothing and blankets to homeless shelters, visit people in nursing homes, sing Christmas Carols for neighbors, bake cookies and share them with neighbors.
3. Talk with family members about ways to give without purchasing gifts. Yankee swaps, handmade gifts, homemade goodies are great ways to make holidays festive and fun.
4. Stay at home for the holidays and conserve fuel, energy and time.
5. If you find it impossible to change holiday rituals, begin to cut back what you buy and ask relatives to give what they would give to you to a charity.
6. When you feel tired and stressed, take time for quiet meditation. Even ten minutes of sitting quietly and focusing on your breathing can help you take the stresses of the holidays in stride.

And keep the faith, the holidays do come to an end, and the New Year comes with opportunities to make New Year's resolutions to make changes in how you celebrate the holidays for next year.

Nancy is a twenty-year veteran of teaching, consulting and coaching. Assisting people to live with skillfulness, compassion and mindfulness is the focus of her mindfulness coaching. For information on meditation and mindfulness, and her coaching, click here http://mindfulworkshops.com

by Nancy Nicolazzo; Sunday, December 11, 2011 @ 08:29 AM [221]

Featured

Luxury Villa Holidays - Delighting You All the Way

There is something about luxury villa holidays that would not let you settle for anything less. Coming to think of it, there can be no substitute for luxury and it should come as no surprise that luxury villa holidays have caught up among the...

[ Continue reading ]