Energize For A Happy Holiday Season

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If you find the materialism of the season draining your energy, commit to making an attitude shift. If you want things to be different this year, only you can make it so. Take the lead for your family, and live in such a way that you prove less stuff really does equal more fun.

Maybe you'll take the money you usually spend on one-too-many toys and enjoy, instead, a weekend family getaway. Maybe you'll make homemade goodies, such as picture frames, home movies, or goodie baskets, which the whole family helps to create.

Maybe you'll bag the traditional gift-giving and start a new tradition. In our family, it goes like this: Each guest brings a wrapped gift of roughly the same dollar value. We sit in a circle and each person, in turn, has the option of taking a gift that's already been opened or opening a new one. It's fun. It's festive. It gets everyone moving and talking, and it switches the focus to the relationships and the event…not the gifts.

One of the best ways to avoid commercialism is to simply turn off the TV and its advertisements for the newest plastic plaything. Return instead to the educational standbys…books, blocks, water, sand, and time with Mom and Dad.

PregnancyandBaby and MomScape.com humor columnist Linda Sharp once asked a group of kids to name one thing they'd like from their parents that wouldn't cost a dime. The answers: "Listen to me, please," "Teach me to cook," "Stop being so busy," "Hug me more," "Read to me…"

Hard to wrap, but easy to give.

4. Bring tidings of comfort and joy…to yourself
This year, be realistic with your time and money. Start early, plan well, and take care of yourself.

Simplify as much as possible. Eat out. Use paper plates. If a holiday tradition is old and tired, reinvigorate it or start a new tradition of staying at home. Plan ahead. To help, chances are, your favorite food website has a checklist for big holiday events.
Replenish your natural energy by taking care of your body. Eat right. Exercise (in the crisp outdoors once in a while). Drink water. Sleep.
Energize your image. Give yourself an early holiday gift or a great haircut, a brow shaping, a pedicure with bright red polish, or a free makeover at your favorite cosmetics counter and a purchase of the most vibrant lipstick shade you'll actually wear.
Keep a "joy journal" this holiday season, in which you record the funny things your kids say, joyful times you share, your favorite things to do with your kids, your husband, and by yourself, and all the things for which you are grateful. Use your Joy Journal as a reminder of the facets of your life - and this holiday season - that are really important.
Deck the halls with items of comfort and joy. Display photographs from past holiday celebrations. Keep in full view reminders that you take care of yourself…fresh flowers, indulgent hand cream, inspiring music, and energizing scents, such as citrus or peppermint.
De-clutter. Here's an effective technique, created by the Flylady, who is committed to helping us all simplify and de-clutter. It's called the "27 Fling Boogie": Go through your home with a give-away box in hand and toss 27 items. (The Flylady also offers a creative and extensive list of clutter-free holiday gift ideas here.
Keep the romance alive. We all know about the prescription for a weekly date night. We also know how hard it is to make that a reality. Meanwhile, many married couples report that the simple act of kissing is the first part of intimacy to disappear. Schedule a 15-minute kissing date at least once a week, and marvel at its power to reinvigorate your relationship.
Spend the season with your most energetic friends. Instead of letting the Scrooges in your life yank you down, send them something sweet from a Secret Santa. A little anonymous enchantment may be just what they need.As you commit to keeping your spirit centered this holiday season, engage your kids in the process.Recognize your children as the gifts they are. The gift to you as a mother, and your gift to the world. Strive to greet each day as though it were Christmas and await, with reverence, the surprises that your family will help you uncover. Today and every day.