It's Here!

Can't you just feel the intensity of the season crowding in?

Are you experiencing the CHAOS syndrome? (Can’t have anyone over syndrome) the holiday season brings? (Thank you FlyLady)

Well, don’t look now, but Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s are just a heart beat away!

Do any of these scenarios resound with you?

You have Honey Baked Ham on Speed Dial for Thanksgiving.

It’s your turn to host Christmas and you find yourself wishing for a communicable disease that would self-limit the first week of January.

Laundry is piled up on the couch and you have started watching the TV in the bathroom, on your I-Phone.

You caught the baby eating something that had been on the floor a couple of days.

Your windows are so dirty you have to step outside to see if it’s rainy or sunny.

The cashier at the 5-Guys drive through greets you and your kids by name and asks, “the usual?”

You view your gym membership as a charitable donation.

Exercise is now on the list with other 4 letter words.

You have no idea when the last time is you used your oven.

If you answered “yes” to any of these, know you’re not alone.

There is HOPE to end the holiday madness and experience a happy, healthy, CALM Christmas season.

You need a plan. What works for others, will not necessarily work for you.

Grab a notebook, calendar and pen (or your PC/Mac), and take yourself out to your favorite get-away place; the park, the neighborhood coffee shop or maybe your own emptied house!

~Take some time to figure out what you want to accomplish and what is important to you this holiday season. Skip the rest!

~Gather your favorite recipes. Cook as much as you can ahead of time and freeze. Cookies and pies freeze exceptionally well. How many varieties do you really need? Can you cook a lighter version of any of these?

~Along with your favorite fattening family recipes, cook a lighter, nutrient dense version of the same. For instance, make a small green bean casserole, but also prepare a beautiful dish of steamed, crisp green beans garnished with sliced almonds and sea salt. You’ll find a small amount of your traditional dishes will satisfy you as you fill up on the healthier versions.

~Assign some tasks to other family members. Who could put up the lights? Who can shop? Who can decorate? Create a new holiday tradition by having a family cookie baking or tree decorating party! Put the teenagers in charge!

~Schedule the specific times to decorate, bake, volunteer, etc. If it is not on the calendar, chances are, it won’t get done.

~If you decide to send out Christmas cards and you don’t have a readily available address list, consider gathering all the cards you receive from family and friends in a basket, taking particular care to save the envelopes for the return addresses, and begin to enter them in your address book during the commercials of your fav Christmas specials. You could send a Happy new year card out this year and be ready for next year!

~Keep a journal of those you have decided to purchase gifts for. Add space to notate when you wrap and send them. (A spreadsheet on the computer is handy.)

~Wash, fold and put away one load of laundry each day.

~Find a friend and commit to exercising together for 30 minutes each week day.

~Through all the planning remember this is to be a joyous season; you don’t have to do it all. Get rid of the “should” syndrome. We all have choices and can only fit so much into our lives. What will you choose to do? Remember, you really don’t have to do any of it, so just have fun and enjoy your have to do it all.

~My own personal favorite tip for beating the chaos in my own life, holiday season or not, is to set my alarm earlier than I need to and have some quiet time. We spend so much time running at a break-neck pace that we don’t take the time to be mindful. I spend time reading some inspirational writings and reviewing my schedule and thinking about how I can bless the individuals in my family. Get in the habit of caring well for yourself by providing “breathing room”, even if it’s earlier than you would like.

This is YOUR holiday! Figure out what’s important to you and Enjoy it!