Savor the Holidays
Focus on your priorities this season.
Take a moment and brainstorm all the things that you have going on for the rest of the year. Include things like the following:
- What’s already scheduled for the rest of the year?
- What are things you did last year that you plan to do again?
- Include mundane tasks and chores, along with the bigger events that happen during the holiday season.
I really want you to spend 15-20 minutes doing this and jot down every little thing that you do. Push yourself to keep thinking even when you’ve thought you’ve got it all.
With the list that you brainstormed, categorize them into the following:
- I enjoy doing
- My family enjoys
- Other people enjoy
- No one enjoys it
- This doesn’t need to happen now (just cross those off)
There’s no reason to be doing things that no one enjoys, so just cross those to do’s off your list!
Now, go through and highlight the to do’s that YOU enjoy doing in one color. Repeat that and highlight what your family enjoys in another color.
Choose 1 thing from your list of what you love to do and one that your family loves to do — and do them this weekend!
Slow down and make your child’s day
Part of savoring the holidays is to just slow down and enjoy the things going on around you.
Throughout the holiday season, or when you’re out running errands, breathe a bit and watch your children. Say Yes when you’d normally have said No.
Spend a little extra time chatting about the next Lego set they really, really want.
Look at the holiday lights a little bit longer than usual.
Just really, consciously, slow your mind down and let your child really enjoy what’s going on around them.
Will it really hurt if you’re 3 minutes late?
Bonus reading: 10 Ways to Slow Down and Make Your Child’s Day
Count Your Blessings
Be sure to take a moment here and there throughout the season to just think about what’s going on around you.
Feel the warmth of love that’s in your house and embrace it.
Be grateful for the house over your head. The food on the table. The gifts under the tree. The love that you have for your kids, and that they have for you.
Count your blessings. Appreciate your life.
