Christmas: How the Christmas season easier and more relaxed - With an exaggerated, all-out frenzy of Christmas to an extreme and an all-natural, homemade Christmas worthy of Small house on the Prairie to another, I guess most of us have a Christmas that is somewhere in the middle. If you have trouble balancing a desire for simplicity and sharing profound lessons with the desire to make Christmas memorable, fun and festive, you are not alone. Here are nine ways to simplify the holiday season - just enough .
Set intentions
Try to summarize the Christmas experience you want to have in one or two words. For example, "fun" or "significant". Use this word or sentence easy to remember as a litmus test when deciding what Christmas activities and traditions to continue.
Create small special moments every day
Treat yourself to a hot chocolate at breakfast, light candles and sit around the tree in the evening, read a special Christmas story, listen to music from the Nutcracker and dance around the living room. Often these small moments of everyday are what end up being the most memorable.
See simple ways to add festive cheer to your home
Try to summarize the Christmas experience you want to have in one or two words. For example, "fun" or "significant". Use this word or sentence easy to remember as a litmus test when deciding what Christmas activities and traditions to continue.
Create small special moments every day
Treat yourself to a hot chocolate at breakfast, light candles and sit around the tree in the evening, read a special Christmas story, listen to music from the Nutcracker and dance around the living room. Often these small moments of everyday are what end up being the most memorable.
See simple ways to add festive cheer to your home
Jeni Lee
think of ways to simplify a tradition
instead of ditching a popular festival tradition altogether, think of a way to make move back a bit, so it is easier and more enjoyable for you. For example, cook three favorite types of cookies your family instead of 10, or ask everyone to prepare something.
instead of ditching a popular festival tradition altogether, think of a way to make move back a bit, so it is easier and more enjoyable for you. For example, cook three favorite types of cookies your family instead of 10, or ask everyone to prepare something.
Jeni Lee
Limit gifts
There are so many ways to do it, and many of them are actually fun!
There are so many ways to do it, and many of them are actually fun!
- give local Perfect if you want to avoid the supermarket. Shooting shopping in small local businesses can be a fun self-imposed limit and will benefit your community too.
- Give thought There are so many cool old stuff there! Think vintage recordings and a hub for a teenager obsessed music or a beautiful china plate for your mother-in-law.
- Giving hand either made by you or purchased from a crafter online or at a local store.
- Leave experiments or even better shared experiences. Try tickets to the theater, museum or a membership or cooking classes zoo.
Jeni Lee
- Give gifts that give back Choose gifts for which all or part of the purchase price goes to charity. It feels good to know the gifts you give are really help people or the planet.
- Tell a number of donations per person This can be useful to control things, especially in households with children. If you have given with wild abandon in the past, may reduce gradually, with fewer (but carefully chosen) gifts this year.
- Give gifts under a certain amount Decide on a realistic budget for all your gift shopping, understand how much to spend per person and stick to it.
Fill the bottom with consumables and necessary - that is, the things you want to buy anyway
down gifts, if you participate in this tradition, are supposed to be fun surprises. But for many tired and shopped-out parents, filling the bottom with lots of trinkets at the last minute can feel like a burden.
Since last year, I adopted the low filling tradition with only the things that are necessary - and it works very well so far. Think pencils, watercolor underwear sets and silly for children; hand cream, beautiful stamps and socks for adults.
See how to make a village of Advent
down gifts, if you participate in this tradition, are supposed to be fun surprises. But for many tired and shopped-out parents, filling the bottom with lots of trinkets at the last minute can feel like a burden.
Since last year, I adopted the low filling tradition with only the things that are necessary - and it works very well so far. Think pencils, watercolor underwear sets and silly for children; hand cream, beautiful stamps and socks for adults.
See how to make a village of Advent
hoo Interior Design & Styling
Clear visual chaos
regularly remove the packaging, shopping bags and glossy magazines instead of letting them accumulate. These are visual reminders of your Christmas list to do, and they have no business cluttering your home. Be aware about TV viewing and screen time can also go a long way toward keeping the feeling of home as a safe haven.
regularly remove the packaging, shopping bags and glossy magazines instead of letting them accumulate. These are visual reminders of your Christmas list to do, and they have no business cluttering your home. Be aware about TV viewing and screen time can also go a long way toward keeping the feeling of home as a safe haven.
Laura Collins Design
Try a new tradition for the size
Want to make things a bit this year? On the theory that many small moments can be more significant of a major eruption event for December to try to adopt a daily tradition that gets in the spirit of the season. Here are some ideas:
Want to make things a bit this year? On the theory that many small moments can be more significant of a major eruption event for December to try to adopt a daily tradition that gets in the spirit of the season. Here are some ideas:
- Daily giving Popping a few coins in the parking meter of a stranger, shoveling snow from the driveway of your neighbor, volunteer animal shelter, donate to the food bank - it all counts
- Daily gratitude Begin each day by quietly thinking (or write) anything you are thankful for in your life. If you have kids, by all means to involve them, too.
- daily moment of silence Every night after dinner, turn down the lights and sit quietly or candlelit table or next to the Christmas tree, for one minute.
Laura Collins Design
Breathe
This is another way of saying stay in the moment. Christmas stress usually comes not so much from our experiences, but from this running commentary in our heads listing the many things we feel we should do.
The next time you find yourself wrapped about the holiday season, breathe . Realize what is really important is to just enjoy what is happening around you right now, in all its flawed glory.
This is another way of saying stay in the moment. Christmas stress usually comes not so much from our experiences, but from this running commentary in our heads listing the many things we feel we should do.
The next time you find yourself wrapped about the holiday season, breathe . Realize what is really important is to just enjoy what is happening around you right now, in all its flawed glory.
The Eclectic Creative Studio
take some time
Put non-Christmas music for a change and do something you usually enjoy, but have escaped during the agitation of the season: take a walk, read or just take a nap. It need not be all all the time holidays!
Tell us ...
How do you keep things simple during the Christmas period?
Put non-Christmas music for a change and do something you usually enjoy, but have escaped during the agitation of the season: take a walk, read or just take a nap. It need not be all all the time holidays!
Tell us ...
How do you keep things simple during the Christmas period?