Staying “whole” during the holidays can be a challenge. Read on for these holiday tips to improve relationships and overcome stress.

As a child, the holidays were bookmarked with two dates: December 13th, my sister’s birthday, was the date we traditionally set up our Christmas tree, and January 1st, the day we took it down. We enjoyed three weeks of festivity, food, family, and cheer.

These days, the holiday season has been extended to start as early as Halloween and carry through to New Year’s, Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s Day or even Easter! We are bombarded in stores, on TV, Social Media, email, and the radio. I’d like to believe that this extension is filled with joy, peace, and love, yet I know that the reality is it can be a time of stress, bad habits, and overeating.

As early as Halloween, we begin to fill our bodies with foods that were meant for a day – hence the term holi-day – it’s not holi-week or holi-month. We feel the effects physically, mentally, and emotionally.  We spend money we don’t have and desperately hope for a tax refund to pay off our credit card. The merging of families can create a brilliant juggling act of scheduling dates and holiday get-togethers. Add in friends, work, and religious services and our schedule overflows. Hopefully, it will be with abundance, but often, it will be overwhelming.

All these factors can make us feel negative emotions, leading us to feel “less than” or broken. How do we stay healthy during this season? Is is possible to stay whole? How do we spread joy, love, hope, and peace to everyone we encounter and, most importantly, to ourselves? 

Staying whole for the holidays is a delicate balance of loving others and ourselves. It also involves a bigger wellness picture, including spirituality, relationships, finances, and physical health. But we only have so many hours in a day and so many obligations. Add in the extra activity of the holiday season, and these areas can suffer neglect. One solution is to multitask, weaving relationships into activity and allowing two priorities to be nurtured in one time slot.

Holiday Tips To Nurture Your Relationships

As you read the following suggestions, consider the important relationships in YOUR life.

Spiritual
Spirituality does not have to be sedentary. My friend, Sherry, begins each day with a walk to commune with God. Yoga or snowshoeing around a serene lake as the sun rises will also enhance your spiritual relationship. Do you attend a holiday service? Invite family, friends, or a co-worker to join you. If you don’t have a place of worship, join someone who does!

Self
As the demands of the holidays increase, it is easy to forget about the important relationship with yourself. Self-love is the act of taking care of yourself, which includes your body and your health. Self-love has respect for yourself and your own well-being. Self-love takes responsibility for your own happiness. This kind of love goes beyond self-confidence and is truly beautiful as it overflows and spills out onto others. Your time with yourself in health and wellness can include running, hiking, or horseback riding. It can be daily quiet time to read, write, pray, stretch, or meditate. Regardless of the activity, put it in writing on your calendar and don’t cancel on yourself. Even if you have to get up a half hour early to accomplish this, it is worth it so you start the day with ease.

Romantic
Spending active time with your partner is a great way to stay connected. I am a cyclist, and date nights with my husband are often date rides! For you and your love, experiment with activities you can teach each other or learn something new together. Some ideas are ice skating, skiing, or dancing.

Family
Encourage the members of your family to move more. Make being active together FUN with walks, bike rides, snowball fights, or run for charity. You could even do a team triathlon together.

Friendships
My friend Jenna leads a vibrant life. Each week, you’ll find her hiking in Woodstock, up Overlook Mountain, with five or more girlfriends. LaShelle in California rises at 4:30 a.m. twice a week to meet seven girlfriends for a run before it gets hot. I meet my tribe of friends each week in the gym to train and encourage each other.

Colleagues/Co-Workers
If you have colleagues or co-workers, instead of working through lunch, take your meeting outside for a brisk walk. Softball leagues are popular, as are charity events that involve walking, biking, or golf. For those more adventurous, you could experience a team-building event such as a low or high ropes course.

Finances
Sometimes we get so wrapped up in finding the perfect gift for everyone on our list, we forget the one thing that people covet: our time. One year for my mom’s birthday, we gave her “a day.” My sister and I showed up to cook her favorite foods and the entire family joined us for dinner. My mom was thrilled to have the day off from cooking and be surrounded by loved ones. A gift we gave my parents was a weekend getaway the following spring in Lake George. Everyone got a mini-vacation and my parents got to look forward to another weekend with the entire family together.

Volunteer
Volunteering is a great activity to do with loved ones. Food pantries, domestic violence shelters, and local support services all need help around the holidays. One year, my co-workers and I volunteered at the Salvation Army, helping to wrap presents. You could sponsor a local family or group in need. My sister used to lead a Teen MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) in Central NY. One year, a company provided the holiday party, food, decorating, gifts, and even showed up with Santa and his elves to bless this group of young moms!

Physical Health
Physical Health includes an important aspect of healthy eating. Here are a few final tips:

    1. Water
      Take your body weight and divide it in half. Drink that amount of water in ounces daily. For every 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, add 8 ounces. For 30 minutes of strength training, add 8 ounces. For every glass of alcohol, add equal amounts of additional water.
    2. Give it up!
      Take a break – from bread, alcohol, coffee, candy, gluten, dairy, or sugar for 3 weeks. Pick one or more to eliminate temporarily and see how GOOD your body feels without it.
    3. Snack!
      To speed up your metabolism, eat smaller meals more frequently. Aim for 5 meals a day eaten every 2-3 hours and include protein. Plan this the day before! It is not the same as grazing mindlessly from the candy dish all day!
    4. Eat Breakfast
      Start your metabolism and your day properly fueled!
    5. Fast
      Nutritional cleansing and intermittent fasting can be a foundation for weight control, appetite regulation, improved insulin sensitivity, brain health, cell and tissue maintenance, and detoxification.
    6. Leftovers
      Enjoying one holiday meal isn’t what derails you from your health goals. Sometimes it is the leftovers that you continue to eat for days after. Be sure to have take-home containers stocked to send extras home with your guests! Or, if you are a guest, offer your dish to another family.
    7. Portion Size
      Portion size can make a huge difference toward a healthier lifestyle. Visualize a deck of cards for the size of your protein, a baseball for one serving of vegetables, and a hockey puck as the right size for your starch. Be especially careful at the buffet table!
    8. Tell people WHY
      If you are embarking on a healthier eating plan or lifestyle, I recommend telling friends, family, and co-workers in advance and along the way. Some will join you, some won’t. By letting them know WHY you are investing in a healthier lifestyle, you will receive more support and encouragement, especially at the holidays.

Wellness in all areas – spiritual, relational, financial, physical – does not happen overnight or come by luck or wishful thinking. It comes with a lifestyle of good habits, consistency, and self-love. Combine healthy activities with the important relationships in your life. With a little creativity, you’ll find yourself trading stress for peace, overwhelm with abundance, and feel a little more whole for the holidays!

 


Additional Reading:

From my blog:

  • Holiday Survival Tips
    A few tips to keep your holiday healthier and on track with your goals.
  • Healthy Holidays, Healthy For Life!
    I am not an advocate for temporary diets or New Year’s Resolutions that either never get started or fizzle out before Valentine’s Day. Instead, incorporate healthy habits into your lifestyle that you can maintain with daily consistent action. Here are a few of my favorites that are part of my healthy lifestyle.

Additional Resources – Holiday Shopping

Buy Now: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas is in the Air
Includes my story: Love at Work

Buy Now: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive, Live Happy
Includes my story: Choosing Joy

 

 

 

 

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