Thursday, December 8, 2016

Create Mental Space During the Holidays


I love to look at beautifully decorated homes all decked out for Christmas.  However, I find pleasure in bringing out just a few of my favorite Christmas decorations.  The simple Christmas décor in my home has a calming effect on myself and my family.  It is a bit of a mystery but, less décor = more mental space. 
Perhaps, you could use more mental space this holiday season.  You may want to consider less decorations in exchange for more mental space.

Take it a step further and create a simplified gift list.  Maybe you began your Christmas shopping, but are feeling overwhelmed.  Maybe you have not even begun shopping and yet feel overwhelmed, either way, you'll find some relief in this post!    
Simple holiday expressions:  
Do you have an itch for being creative?  Make your own decorations or festive centerpiece.  One of my personal favorites is to take a bouquet of dried roses and snip the flower from the stem then placing the dried roses in a glass jar. This gives a simple yet elegant look to any room. 

Add baby's breath, acorns, or tiny pinecones and you'll have a beautiful jar that can beautify your home all winter long. (I live in a northern state and love to take advantage of wintergreens, acorns and pinecones.)

If you live in a warmer climate, especially along a coastline, a collection of seashells in a jar with green and red colored sea glass would be a beautiful festive decoration.  Create a Christmas tree centerpiece out of driftwood.  Celebrate with what is naturally found in the environment around you!
Another plus to simplified holiday decorations is less dusting and faster green cleaning!

Don't forget Brightly Green's December Special going on now!  
 
A minimalist gift list:
Do you say to yourself, "This year, I am going to purchase Christmas gifts throughout the year so I am not rushing at the end."   If you have, welcome to the club!  It is a noble goal, but hard to follow through—for some reason! 

I recently read a blog on minimalist holidays and was very impressed with the idea of gifting by categories.  For example—one year everyone on your list gets clothing of some type, the next year everyone gets some type of book, and so on.  Gifting by categories would be a great way to manage your shopping experience. 
Another suggestion shared by minimalists is to gift experiences.  Gifting tickets to the zoo, a concert, museum, restaurant, etc.

Gift to charity or make a donation on behalf of a family member- The White Envelope -a beautiful story! 

Creating a traditional gift is another great way to simplify gift giving.  This was something one of my grandmothers did when I was younger.  Grandma Don always gave each of my siblings and me a pair of socks and a comic book.  We always could use a pair of socks and reading the newest comic book was a treat too!  Going to Grandma Don's house was fun in itself!  We loved the chance to play in the woods and look for deer and rabbit tracks.  It was being with Grandma Don that counted! 
Enjoy the holiday season!  Take care of yourself and don't burden yourself with unrealistic expectations!  Give yourself permission to simplify the holidays and enjoy the people around you!  You may surprise yourself and have the most relaxed Christmas experience ever!

The meaning of Christmas can take center stage because of your choice to slow down and simplify your home and holiday shopping.   Give yourself a gift come January by choosing to reduce credit card purchases this month.  This will boost your outlook on the New Year!!


Holiday Recipe just for fun: 

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Do you have a favorite holiday recipe?  Email:  Brenda@hglabsllc.com





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