🎅🏻🎄Countdown To Christmas🎄🎅🏻

December 10, 2021

🎅🏻🎄Countdown To Christmas🎄🎅🏻

Believe In The Magic

It’s no secret that this year is going to be another one for the records books…Covid (still), forest fires, flooding…BC has been put through it all this year. But there is a word that sums up 2021 and does encapsulate, in a deeper sense, the shared experience of billions of people this year, that word is RESLIANCE. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as ‘the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, toughness. The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity.’ It’s that quality that allows us to overcome challenges, obstacles, hardship, and adversity, instead of being defeated by them. Resilience is the quality that was summoned in us by all the challenges of 2021. And it’s also the quality that’s going to carry us forward into 2022.”

If you’ve been watching the news lately (and boy, is it depressing), it’s pretty clear that a lot of holiday traditions will still be different this year. With the rules constantly changing about traveling, highways being closed for who knows how long and new variants popping up it’s easy to forget the 2021 holiday season is coming up on us fast. It’s up to each one of us to make it as jolly for ourselves and our families as we can.

If you need a little bit of Christmas, right this very moment, here’s some great ways to get in the mood, especially if you’re not feeling the fa-la-la-la—la of it all. Let’s get your Christmas 2021 vibe turned up.

Decorate Now!

I can tell you from personal experience, if you’ve been feeling bummed out by this craptastic year, and you need a jolt holiday cheer, decorate your house for the holidays (my house has been decorated since the start of November because I’m that person). First, it get’s your adrenalin going which leads to endorphins, etc. I’m no doctor but getting up and lugging boxes of decorations out of storage absolutely helped to clear my cobwebs out (one of my bosses dangled from the ceiling to bring down our work Christmas decorations and let me tell you that was a sight hahaha).

I always feel the possibility of the season when I open all the boxes with sparkling and shimmering decorations. My wheels start to turn and I get a serious jolt of creativity (you can even decorate your work space for some added festive spirit).

I wish I could bottle that up for the rest of the year!

There’s no “no white after Labor Day” rule for Christmas decorating.

You don’t have to wait until after a certain date/time to do it! If you need some happy now, get those decorations up!

If you do decide to put your decorations up now, get into it. Don’t just throw it together. Make a plan and make it special. If you decorated a month ago like me then I hope you’re enjoying all your hard work still and feeling extra festive.

Be Thankful Everyday

Not to discount Thanksgiving, but the holidays are not completely about the food.

Yes, be grateful for the food you have but remember to give thanks for the other things you’re blessed with.

This year, more than any other year in our lives, we need to be thankful for health, wellness, prosperity, and the abundance that we have.

Don’t have $1,000,000 in the bank? Be grateful for what you do have.

Give thanks for your blessings and mean it. And give special emphasis on the reasons why you’re grateful.

If you can’t gather with your family and friends to share your traditions, give thanks for all the past years that were special (use zoom for something other than meetings are chat with your family/friends near and far this holiday season).

I’m a firm believer that gratitude for what you have invites more into your life. Call it manifesting. Call it Law of Attraction. Call it Spirituality. Whatever name you give it, practice it every day. There’s nothing silly about appreciating even the smallest things now a days. We all need a little extra cheer even beyond the holiday season. Keep a journal of 5 things you are grateful for each day. Make it a habit by writing the 5 things at the same time each day so you get into the habit. Who knows, you may enjoy it so much that you want to continue into the new year and beyond!

Make A Donation To A Cause You Love

Help alleviate another’s struggle.

Donate to an animal shelter.

Adopt a family through a Christmas hamper program.

Pick up one of those tags from the Senior tree at London Drugs.

It doesn’t have to be an endowment. If you can afford a few bucks, any organization will tell you it will be helpful.

Serving others is meaningful and important and it will definitely get you in the mood for Christmas.

Sometimes it doesn’t have to revolve around money at all. If making a financial contribution is not feasible, you can:

Donate your time: Maybe your organization needs help coordinating a project. Or maybe they need help coordinating people. Ask if you can lend a hand.

You can donate your talents. Maybe you have a specific talent that they need like graphic design, administrative talents, or a specialized vocation that requires a license, legal, medical, etc.

Sometimes helping an organization survive and thrive so they can help others is the most important thing you can do.

Get Your Hands Dirty!

One of the best ways to get out of a holiday slump is to take on a project.

Paint a room

Paint a picture

Do a festive DIY project (this is my kids favorite holiday activity)

Doing something creative will engage your mind and watching your Christmas flowering bulbs grow will definitely help you get in the Christmas spirit.

Engage Your Senses

Fresh baked Christmas cookies anyone? It’s never too early to start your holiday baking!

How about a scented candle that smells like caramel apple pie or a wax melt that smells like snickerdoodles? (I personally recommend the candles from Superstore! They smell/look exactly like another very popular candle store, but you can get two for the same price)

I find that peppermint essential oil in my diffuser always makes me feel Christmas-ey even in the middle of summer.

Scent can trigger positive emotions and there’s no better time than the holidays to bring it on in whatever medium you choose.

Have Alexa play holiday music or create a playlist of your all-time Christmas favs so you’ll always have exactly what gets you grooving in the most festive way. Play it on repeat, who cares?!

Take time to watch your favorite Christmas movies or maybe find some that you’ve never watched before.

I recommend digging into Christmas movies from the 1930’s to the 1960’s (I live for a good Christmas musical like Meet me in St. Louis or White Christmas). I find a new gem every year and it’s so much fun to see all the ways the studios made Christmas come to life on the screen.

Do A Little Something For Your Co-Workers And Friends

Gosh, if you haven’t seen people in person since the pandemic started, now’s the chance to show them that you’re thinking of them.

If you’re a baker, start planning your favorite festive treats. Maybe it’s your signature Christmas cookie. Maybe you have a yule loaf or fruitcake that slays?

Not a baker? Try making a special Christmas ornament that you put time and effort into. (This is one of my favorites. I make a signature DIY ornament every year to give to my friends. It’s just a thoughtful way to say I’m thinking about you.)

Not into crafting? How about getting blank greeting cards and writing your own special and specific message to them saying how much you appreciate them and what they do.

Leave the generic, big box greeting cards for last year. If there ever was a year to lay it all out on the line, 2021 is that year.

This tip can be even more impactful for your family members that you can’t be close to this year. Write those Christmas cards and put it all in there. Tell them what they mean to you and how their presence in your world makes a difference.

If 2021 has taught all us citizens of the world it’s that tomorrow is not guaranteed so don’t leave things unsaid.

There you have it, my favorite ways to get the Christmas vibe cranking!

Decorate Now!
Turn Up The Tunes When Decorating
Be Thankful Everyday
Make a Donation to a Cause You Love
Get Your Hands Dirty!
Engage Your Senses
Do a Little Something For Your Co-Workers and Friends

As you can see, I’m a Christmas nut but even if you just pick one thing from this list to do this holiday season, I bet it improves your mood! Try driving your kids around to look at local Christmas lights, I know that was always a holiday favorite of mine growing up. Can’t find local light displays there’s always Glow in Langley or Lights at Lafarge Lake in Coquitlam. Chilliwack has its own Country Christmas Village (with a Ferris wheel) on until Christmas Eve. Remember your RESILIANT and deserve to make the most out of this holiday season!