The Holidays are Hectic – Remember to Slow Down!
As we approach the holiday season, it is very easy to get overwhelmed and even mentally exhausted just in anticipation for all the events, errands, cooking and present buying (*Thank goodness for Amazon, right). For those of us that over commit and over schedule, I see you and you are not alone.
But one thing life has taught me over the last few years (since surviving a terminal illness and then going straight into Covid), it is OK to say NO to things that just feel like “too much”… hear me out. I used to attend multiple parties with my young children several times a day during the holiday season. This is really not what the holidays are all about. If you are sitting at a holiday brunch and worrying about how you forgot to pick something up that you agreed to bring to a holiday happy hour that evening, are you really enjoying the brunch? No, you are focusing on the busyness of the day and not actually being present and allowing yourself to enjoy the now. This is not a me problem, so many of my close family and friends confide this is a guilt they feel too.
So how do you avoid this unhappiness trap? Well, first start out by looking at the entire month by setting aside self-care days (or mornings/afternoons); and when invites start pouring in, make a conscious decision to attend some and maybe decline a few. Now this may sound easy in theory but putting it into practice is no small feat. So here is my idea, if you know that a particular friend always likes to have a holiday brunch at a hotel, suggest that maybe instead it can be a weekday event instead on one of the coveted Saturdays (or Sundays) in the month. Another idea is once an invite or request comes in that is on the same day, reach out immediately to advise of the conflict. No one wants their event to be the dreaded “no show” and it might be that several people have conflicts too, which could prompt the host to move it. This should not be a “go to” practice in general because (big shocker) the world does not revolve around you (one of my mother’s favorite sayings) and it is just good to communicate when the days feel like minutes and there is so much to accomplish in such a short time.
Silly footnote – do any of you have those friends or family that buy all their holiday gifts in July or August? I envy that level of foresight and know that at least in my household, my kids taste in what is currently cool, as well as awful seems to change as quickly as Kardashians change their life partners and hair color. But I digress.
Another suggestion, which I have attempted to implement the last several holidays, is to have a family day that revolves around volunteering. Pick a hospital, food bank or even soup kitchen to demonstrate that giving is not always about GIFTS. It can just be about your TIME. Refocusing on what the holidays are all about – faith, family, gratitude and giving, will have a resonating effect that will continue throughout the month.
If you see me running around Baldwin Park in my usual top knot, yoga pants and Amazon t-shirt… barely able to keep my head up in my continuous quest to “get it all done”… feel free to remind me of my own words above. LOL. Happy Holidays Everyone!
*As seen in Baldwin Park Living, December 2024*