Creating Calm through the Holidays

I am learning that I am enjoying doing less during the holidays. I know this is a time of year that gets chaotic for others, especially with family, travel, and everyone running around. 

Each year I end up dialing it back a little more. Giving myself permission to enjoy the quiet and cozy, rather than rushing through another To Do list. Spending more quality time rather than trying to run to every party or happy hour to catch up with everyone at once.

A friend suggested a holiday happy hour recently and while I wanted to catch up with them, I asked to meet after the holidays. There's so much pressure to squeeze everything into a short time frame and I want to savor it, let it linger a while. I'm taking a note from Gretchen Rubin, one of my favorite authors and podcasters who does a family holiday card in February (also check out her post on making lesser holidays special here). 

There's always going to be a To Do list, a party I've missed out on, or something else that I don't even know I've missed, but I want to feel more engaged, energized, and less frazzled!

My "create calm" tips:

• say yes to less - don't go to every holiday party, happy hour, show, etc

• schedule down time - rest, relax, take a nap!

• when making plans, make it count - what I mean is, stop scheduling stuff back-to-back and be thoughtful with your plans with others (it doesn't feel great to be squeezed into someone else's frantic schedule)

What are you doing to calm the holiday chaos around you? I'd love to hear your tips!