On Gretchen Ruben's Happier podcast the other day, her try this at home strategy was 'find a holiday motto'. Find a theme that resonates with you, and find ways to build your holidays around it.
The holidays are most of our very favourites. It's such a beautiful time of year filled with goodness, festivity and cheer. However, it can overwhelm us if we're not careful and we can find it stressful to immerse ourselves in all the possibilities and activities. By choosing a motto, we focus our holiday time and energies on the theme or motto and allows us to weed out any activities that aren't in line with it.
After careful consideration, my holiday motto for this year is:
I am choosing to focus this holiday season on extending that Christmas joy outside of my own world. This will be through giving a combination of both time and things to those in need in our community to bring them joy. We have a couple things in the works and we are loving treasuring the season of giving.
Joy to the World in our world will also be through deciding what things as a family will bring us joy and really not doing every Christmas thing that we've done through the years. I asked the girls what their top five Christmas things to do was and their little lists were so simple and pure. It made me more resolute that something doesn't bring us the joy it once used to, it's probably not going to happen if we can help it. I'm probably not going to host as much stuff or take the kids to every single holiday event we've signed up in the past... We will choose the events and activities we've loved most in the past, try some new ones and soak in the spirit of the season. Instead of baking hundreds of cookies, I might bake a few dozen.... and that's enough to bring us joy! And no mall Santa for us most likely, ha!
It will be great to focus on the spirit of the season and what really matters to us. Less stress, less doing and more en-joy-ing. This year, the girls want to do a little get together for their school friends and it is bringing them so much joy to plan it. Their excitement is infectious. They cannot stop talking about it. Our joy also is as simple just hanging out, just us four in our comfy clothes at home under the twinkling lights and listening to carols. Or go see the twinkling lights in our neighbourhood. This weekend, we are heading to an event that our mortgage broker hosts-- kiddie crafts, a santa visit, snacks and a trolley ride- incidentally it's on A's top 5 Christmas list as well.. so much joy!
What's your holiday motto going to be this year? It could be a word, a sentence or phrase. It could be even part of a song. Whatever it is, may it bring your peace and lots of joy :-)
And a few irreverent funnies for Friday
THey're back this weekend!!
Can you imagine?
Lol, red Christmas for me!
Cracking up!
Happy weekending!!
LOVE this, I am diligent about spreading Joy outside my own world. So glad others are too. You're the best, Happy weekend!
ReplyDeletebahahaha- your meme game is strong today. Love the idea of a Christmas moto- going to ponder this this morning.
ReplyDeleteLove your holiday motto!! Happy weekend! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston
ReplyDeleteI have Joy to the world in my office for decorations! Love that! Those memes are hilarious.
ReplyDeleteGreat word choice!
ReplyDeleteGreat theme you chose and so good to give joy to those in need. Cracking up at the last funny! Emily @ Martinis & Bikinis
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