Have you begun to feel it yet…the time pressure, the end of year drawing near, the need to shop and bake and wrap and more? If you’re already there and wondering how to get through it, you’re not alone.
While this is supposed to be a time of family, reconnection, joy, and peace, these are often the first things to go in the rush to get the right gift in time to impress our friends, make our kids happy and appease our families. Am I exaggerating? Studies show that I’m not.
Too often, we trade gifts and parties at the expense of our peace and joy during this season. We forget why we’re celebrating and lose our focus in the holiday crunch.
Want to return to the basics with me? Here are some ideas to help you out:
- Renew or begin a self-care routine. Take time each day to spend quietly by yourself
…take a walk, make a cup of tea, build a fire, read a good book, close your eyes and rest. Whatever slows you down and restores your energy and vitality, do it. Ten or fifteen minutes a day is all it takes to restore focus and perspective and help us be the women we want to be, rather than the ones we vowed never to become! - Track your successes. Whether you track them for the day, the past week, or the past year, take a moment to remember what you’ve accomplished with your time. If you work outside the home, you’ll have work successes, but don’t forget the successes at home. If you work at home, think about the development of your ideas and business, your personal growth, and the things you do for your family. If you’re a stay at home mom, think about the daily routines you’ve created, the home you build day after day, any volunteer work you do for friends or organizations. Write it all down. Don’t discount the “little” things…no editing content. This exercise will help you feel better about your year and your time by focusing on what you’ve done rather than what you still want to do.
- Get fit: physically, emotionally, financially. You may not be able to make drastic changes in the next two weeks, but
now is the perfect opportunity to assess your fitness level in all of these areas. Make some specific, reasonable, and actionable goals for 2007, write them down and find someone to keep you accountable. Physically that may mean joining a program or gym, or committing to work with a friend. Emotionally you may want to find a book that challenges you in a new area, something about your marriage (Your Time Starved Marriage), your kids (Boundaries with Kids
- Consider giving handmade gifts or services. They make take a little more time, but things like the altered journal I described in the last post or the bag book I demonstrated are gifts you can make in a few hours. They don’t require a lot of supplies, and can be given from the heart. Even if you’re not crafty, there are plenty of gifts that can be made easily. Also think about what you can offer: if you’re a blogger, think about giving the gift of starting a blog for someone else, offering editing or writing services, offering scrapbooking services or babysitting. You may feel like these aren’t as good as “stuff” but I assure you that if someone offered me a gift I could use versus a gift I could put on my shelf, I’d vote for the former. To make it more exciting, create a fun gift certificate to give that they can redeem.
These are just a few ideas to help you clear out some time and space to experience the joy and love this holiday season. You’ve worked hard all year long…enjoy this time. Drive around and see the lights, make hot cocoa and sit in front of a roaring fire, browse the bookstore just for fun…take time and make time for you and your loved ones. You deserve it!
On Pinterest? 
