Tonight, we head down to my father-in-law’s to celebrate Christmas Eve and morning. Then we’ll zip back up to do Christmas dinner with my mother-in-law and the next day we’ll be on our way to the mountains for a few days of rest, ease, and gathering with my mom’s family.
In our family, Hanukkah and Christmas both get celebrated but Christmas can often feel more stressful because of all of the travel in a short amount of time. I’m easing into this year, feeling incredibly grateful for the time spent connecting with family, and focusing on simplicity and love.
I want to share with you a few things I’ve done to keep the last weeks of the year joy-filled instead of stress-filled, in the hopes that you can find the same for yourself and your family. Here’s the best part – these tips are perfect to return to all year long.
Release anything that doesn’t feel like flow – I have let a lot go in the last few weeks and spent many work days feeling incredibly productive but not rushed. When you try to do things that don’t feel right, they don’t typically turn out so well. If it feels like it’s blocking energy, let it go.
Keep gift giving simple – For years I’ve wanted to make handmade gifts, but honestly, I’m just not there yet. I do feel strongly about supporting local business, and I got my holiday shopping done for all of the women on my list in one night, in one place, and guess what? I got them all the same thing! Sometimes when it feels right, there’s no need to complicate it. (tweet this)
Give yourself lots and lots of soft space – Soft space is that time where you don’t have to do anything, where you can fill up with whatever makes you feel good. This helps you tap into the flow (see above for why that’s so important).
What has soft space looked like for me? Rearranging furniture, creating lots of vision pages (more on that next month), reading, getting back in the practice of morning pages and my gratitude journal, eating meals while doing nothing else and taking off the last two weeks of the year.
What feels like soft space to you? Leave a comment and let me know!
I hope that whatever this week looks like, you can release some stress and find some joy and flow.
Peace, Love, and Wellness,
