Keep Calm and Enjoy Christmas

“In order to love who you are, you can’t hate the experiences that shaped you!”

 

One of the biggest problems with Christmas or the Holidays is that it causes major stress, and we end up just rushing blindly trying to accomplish way too many things, that by the time Christmas day comes, we are frazzled and not enjoying ourselves.

 

I remember when I moved over to the U.S. from England and celebrated my first Christmas here, I loved all the lovely lights, decorations, trees and how much everyone seemed to get into the spirit.  We hardly ever had homes decorated with lights outside and not everyone even put up a tree.  What I realized is that Christmas has become very commercial and we don’t pause to enjoy the opportunity our families and the true meaning of Christmas.  Even if you are not a religious person, having a holiday that is centered around “giving” rather than “receiving” is something I love to teach my children about.  We celebrate Boxing Day which is the day after Christmas and it is a National Holiday in England.  It originated when the Noble class would box up their unwanted things and deliver them to the poor.  Now it is just another reason to have a day off and spend time with friends and family, and I am sure there are a lot of people that are not even sure of the origin.

 

So, when Christmas Day was over on my first year here, and the next day everyone went back to work and I even saw some Christmas trees discarded or put away.  It seemed like such an anti-climax and I was very disappointed.  It was at that moment that I decided I was going to continue some traditions with my family and focus on “giving” and spending time together.

 

Even if you don’t have traditions that give you an extra day off, or you are running around crazily trying to finish up some last minute shopping, planning meals, or travel…I have always found that if I just pause and take a small amount of time to contemplate what I have in my life that I am grateful for, it always makes Christmas that much more satisfying for me.  It allows me to focus on feeling good feelings and let in love, and gratitude.

 

If you take the time to relax a little more and enjoy some Christmas spirit, I am sure you will enjoy the Holiday season so much more and not feel like it went by too quickly or that it was very under-whelming.

Most importantly, as you head into 2018 don’t look back and dwell on things you can’t change, only look forward to the great things you want to accomplish!

 

Happy Christmas or however you welcome in the season…

Michelle
XOXO