How to Curb Holiday Stress
I contemplated titling this "How to curb the holiday zoomies." If you have a cat or dog, I know you know what I'm getting at here. Random speed running around the house? Yeah, now apply that energy to all the humans attempting to accomplish all the holiday things. hehehe
Does the holiday season stress you out? I get stressed thinking about all the obligations, expectations, excess, and waste. Yuck. Obligatory gift giving, presents that nobody really actually wants, all the wrapping materials that get thoughtlessly thrown out to contribute to the already overcrowded landfills. The impending doom of feeling like we're running out of time to accomplish ALL the things on our to-do list before the year ends. 😳
Thanks, but no thanks.
And if you've never thought about the waste portion of the holidays, just check out this stat from Stanford. (Yeah, I had to include it...)
Q: How much extra waste is created during the winter holiday season?
A: Americans throw away 25% more trash during the Thanksgiving to New Year's holiday period than any other time of year. The extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage, or about 1 million extra tons per week!
If every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet. If every American family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields. The 2.65 billion Christmas cards sold each year in the U.S. could fill a football field 10 stories high. If we each sent one card less, we’d save 50,000 cubic yards of paper.
Yikes!! This stuff is mind boggling to me. We only have one planet, people! We better start taking care of her before there's no more room for us.
So what else can we do to make the holiday season more mindful & meaningful?
Mindful Gift Ideas
Over the past few years, I've been cultivating a holiday practice that is more in alignment with my beliefs of connecting and taking care of ourselves and our planet. Gifting to others more mindfully. And making sure I'm also allowing myself to joyfully receive.
These are a few of my favorite practices and gifts that I like to lean into in the holiday season.
Fabric gift wrapping aka furoshiki. Ditch the disposable wrapping paper and go for this reusable and beautiful option!
Handmade gifts - Feeling creative? Handmade gifts are not only fun to gift, they're fun to make too! A quick Pinterest search can give you some ideas.
Support local/small business instead of big corporations. Spend your money in a way that's directly going to impact somebody in their business. It's like you're giving double gifts this way, one for your friend and one for that business owner. (Peep the list of my fav businesses below!)
Consumables! Who doesn't love presents you can eat? Baked goods, drinks, snacks! These are my favorite kinds of gifts. Bonus- get them from your fav local shop!
Experiences - There's nothing more meaningful than spending time together sharing an experience. Gift tickets to a show, museum, or make coupons to cook a meal or have a movie date. With COVID in full swing, it's a bit more challenging to gift experiences this year, however, not impossible. Just get a little creative! You can always gift a virtual experience like a class, workshop, or movie download.
Speaking of virtual sessions and [last minute] gift ideas, now through the end of December I'm offering all my reiki sessions at 20% off with the coupon HOLIDAY20. How can a reiki session support you during this time? Read on, my friend!
The holiday season can feel so hectic that often, we don't slow down, tune in, or take care of ourselves the way we should/need to. We may be flying by the seat of our pants trying to accomplish a thousand things. Trying to give give give to other people. Things feel fast and frantic. This is especially a good time to take a minute to slow down and tune in. How are you feeling? Are your actions this holiday season in alignment with your morals and goals?
Energy healing can help bring you relaxation and rejuvenation during this hectic time. It's a time for you to simply do nothing but receive. Reiki energy moves stagnation and blocks in your body, to allow your body the opportunity to heal itself. Whatever you're going through this holiday season, take some time to connect with yourself on a deeper level. In turn, this helps you show up and connect with others more deeply as well.
I hope this can inspire you to slow down and enjoy this season. Whatever your beliefs are and whatever you may be celebrating, may it all be joyful and full of love and connection.
This week's Conscious Collection
Some of my favorite local/small businesses to support during this holiday season (and beyond!) Most of these businesses have online shopping so you can support them even if you're not a Youngstown local.
The Back Rack | resale clothing
Bake Me Treats | French macarons, cakes & more
Branch Street | coffee roasters
Orange Avocado | organic juicery
Sustaining Bliss | zero waste & refill store
Unabandonded Herbals | salves, tinctures, and loose leaf herbs
consciously connected,
Brigitte
