Tag: holidays

The holidays are officially over, but that doesn’t mean your home has to suffer through months of uninspired decor. However, it's a fine line between an explosion of Christmas and tastefully weaving in a few magical touches. At the end of the day, the goal is to make your home look festive year-round without compromising on style. Focus on blending a tasteful array of festivity with the everyday look of your home.

It seems the topic uppermost in so many of our minds at this time of year is stress. AKA holiday stress. Too many gifts to buy, too little money. Too many cards to send out/e-mail, gifts to wrap, people to visit—too little time. Too many relatives and others to be considerate of—too little patience. Too little of you to go around. You are spread too thin in too many ways, which means the holidays are anything but. Aargh!

Time for a flip. Yup. Time to flip your internal switch from overwhelmed to relaxed.

It’s been a rough year for many of us. Our country, as well as many others across the globe, has been ravaged by fierce political and social divides, unprecedented mass violence, and natural disasters from fires to hurricanes with the unfortunate promise of more to come.

As the Holidays roll around, it may be challenging—if not impossible—to feel the Holiday Spirit of peace, good will toward all, and the joy of a year well lived.

As we move into longer darker days we are headed into the full blown holiday season. This time of year brings people into my office tired, sad, stressed, and excited. They are running a gamut of emotions with weeks to go.

If you want to feel grounded this holiday season, get proactive about creating your plan to stick with the healthy habits that keep you feeling strong and balanced.

The lively, bustling holiday season often brings up questions about "how to set healthy boundaries" with family and friends. These questions—and the answers to them—are so important, because solid personal boundaries can create the greatest of holidays. The tips and tools offered below will help you add a lasting glow to your holiday gatherings. As an added benefit, the concepts can also be used to improve interactions with family, friends, and co-workers throughout the year!

“You don’t know what you’ve got 'til it’s gone…" ~ Joni Mitchell

The shock has not lifted for me. Each day I continue to feel dazed and overwhelmed with grief by this world that is emerging. And yet, as I have written before, the more deeply I accompany my grief, the more resounding are my feelings of gratitude. When we allow ourselves to befriend loss and know it for the lifelong companion it is, you would have to be a fool to not recognize how blessed you are—not only for all the many ways life is working right in this moment, but even more so; for all the people that you love and have ever loved.

"You can choose your friends but not your family."

As cliché as it might sound, the statement relating to family is very true: your family can either be your strength or your weakness. During the holidays family matters seem to take center stage because it is a time when conflicts, money and feelings can be tested. How you choose to handle conflict will determine whether you can actually enjoy one another’s company during the holidays.