Seventh Day of Holiday Inspirations for

Stress-Taming Tips and Insights to Help You Have A Holiday Season Filled With Peace & Joy

Take all of your grandiose holiday plans and cut them by half!

The Holiday Season is a flood of festive invitations, endless errands, and enough To-Dos to make even one of Santa’s elves dizzy with busy-ness! But remember, you are only one person and there are only so many hours in a day. If you over-commit, your Holidays will simply be a blur, like driving through one of those winter white-outs of snow that I remember seeing out the window as a kid up north. Figure out which commitments and plans hold the most fun and meaning for you and your family, and put those on your calendar. As wonderful as it is to be asked to every holiday party and hope to create every holiday craft and potential festive memory under the sun, you won’t be much fun to fa-la-la with if you are over-tired, double-booked, and stressed out to the max. So choose your holiday activities wisely, put some thought into your RSVPs, and plan only a few special family craft/baking items.  Give yourself a little free space and time to take in all the splendor of the holidays in the moment – that way, you won’t wake up January 2nd realizing that the holidays are over and you were so busy running around, that you missed them! Slow down a little, get present, and enjoy breathing in the magic of this very holiday moment!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

Sixth Day of Holiday Inspirations for

Stress-Taming Tips and Insights to Help You Have A Holiday Season Filled With Peace & Joy

Give the gift of Kindness.

In the midst of all the merriment, be sure to spread some of that Holiday Cheer to your Self by committing to at least one activity each week that is solely for you. Whether it is a hot bath after the kids are tucked in, a coffee with a friend, some peaceful solo-shopping, a quiet tea in front of the fire… whatever makes a little holiday bliss for you! Give your Self the gift of some time for yourself – to settle down from the day’s festivities, catch your breath, and indulge in a little of your own Peace & Joy!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

Fifth Day of Holiday Inspirations for

Stress-Taming Tips and Insights to Help You Have A Holiday Season Filled With Peace & Joy

Give your Self the gift of some -Time Now™ this Holiday Season!

In the midst of all the merriment, be sure to spread some of that Holiday Cheer to your Self by committing to at least one activity each week that is solely for you.  Whether it is a hot bath after the kids are tucked in, a coffee with a friend, some peaceful solo-shopping, a quiet tea in front of the fire… whatever makes a little holiday bliss for you!  Give your Self the gift of some time for yourself – to settle down from the day’s festivities, catch your breath, and indulge in a little of your own Peace & Joy!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

Fourth Day of Holiday Inspirations for

Stress-Taming Tips and Insights to Help You Have A Holiday Season Filled With Peace & Joy

Accept that maybe everything doesn’t have to be completely Martha Stewart for the holidays to be happy.

Every ornament and decoration doesn’t have to be hand-made, and no one needs to know if you whip out a can of Betty Crocker icing for those sugar cookies – I’m betting the kids will still want to lick the spoon just as much! We moms put so much pressure on ourselves, especially at the holidays, trying to make everything look like a ladies magazine. But, remember, those magazine photos have something in their corner that most of us moms don’t – a staff whose sole purpose is to make everything look that perfect! This holiday season, let some “good enough” be great, and leave yourself some time and space to actually enjoy a little of that holiday spirit you are trying so hard to create!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

Third Day of Holiday Inspirations for

Stress-Taming Tips and Insights to Help You Have A Holiday Season Filled With Peace & Joy

Have Extra Ho-Ho-Ho On-Hand

Although we all know that, in a pinch,  moms can create some pretty amazing things with 2 saltines and some left-over ketchup packets, do yourself a favor and keep a couple of extra holiday treats and a simple holiday gift or two on-hand.  That way, when you awake with a start in the middle of the night, realizing you forgot to pick-up a festive snack for the 4th Grade class party or you need a last-minute teacher gift, you can avoid perusing the aisles of the all-night 7-Eleven trying to find that perfect something!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

Second Day of Holiday Inspirations for

Stress-Taming Tips and Insights to Help You Have A Holiday Season Filled With Peace & Joy

Build in some “wiggle-room”.

Even for the most jovial of Holiday Fa-La-La-ers, every mom knows that the best laid plans usually include a few potentially stressful, unanticipated delays and/or interruptions. We’ve all been there…Your kids are in their holiday finest, looking perfectly pressed and angelic (or close enough!), and finally all buckled into their car seats to depart for a holiday photo appointment or a party across town… and before you can even put the car into reverse, you hear those dreaded words, “Mommy, I have to go potty!” Whether it is this age-old insta-frustrator or some other inconvenience that pops up when you can least afford it to, they are all part of a day in the life of Mom.

So cut yourself some slack and try not to book holiday plans too tightly into your calendar. Shoot for leaving the house 10-minutes before you normally would, so you already have some built-in leeway for lost socks and 9 year-old bad hair days. And then, when you likely still roll in a few minutes late, pat yourself on the back and remind yourself that you are doing the best you can, and that, in and of itself, is pretty amazing!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely

MomEvolve

www.momevolve.com

First Day of Holiday Inspirations for

Stress-Taming Tips and Insights to Help You Have A Holiday Season Filled With Peace & Joy

Try to keep things semi-routine.

Over-tired kids and exasperated parents are the perfect recipe for holiday melt-downs.  As much as possible, try to keep your family on their usual meal and bedtime schedule.  If there are days, which of course there will be, that include later nights than usual, try not to over-pack the following day with too many activities, and be sure to build in some down-time.  It provides you with a great opportunity to curl-up as a family for some classic holiday movies or story telling!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com