Twelfth Day of Holiday Inspirations for

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

‘Tis the season to decrease & delegate!

If you start feeling the onset of holiday overwhelm – stop, take a step back, and try to see if there is anything you can do to decrease your To-Do’s. Is there anything that isn’t a top priority on your Holiday “Joy-ometer” that you can let go of to free up some time and space in your calendar? Or is there anything on your agenda that can be shared or delegated to a family member, friend, or even outsourced to a service provider. Can you give yourself the gift of an errand service to pick-up the dry cleaning, drop off some packages, and deliver the holiday cookies to the teacher luncheon? Many errand/concierge services have very reasonable hourly rates and could assist with an hour’s-worth of bundled errand-tasks for less than what it costs for a few non-fat, no-whip mochas! Regardless of how you choose to do so, take a look at that incredibly long holiday To-Do list and see what you can manage to cross off or seek support with. The holidays are a season of sharing – so share some of your To-Do’s and make room for some festive fun! ENJOY!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

Eleventh Day of Holiday Inspirations for

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

Take Joy in Creating Your Own Holiday Experience

One of the biggest reasons many people find the holidays stressful is because, with all of the extra running around, the holiday crowds, and trying to fit so much in, things can feel pretty out of control. So take the time to remind yourself daily that, although you may not get to choose every person you’ll encounter or exactly which inconveniences may throw you off track, you do get to choose your reaction to every external circumstance. You don’t have to fall victim to other people’s bah-humbug attitudes. I read a friend’s Facebook post last week that said she was going to follow her son’s festive disposition and be sure to smile at every holiday shopper she comes across this year. She made a conscious decision on how she is going to show up in the world this holiday season. Just as we each have a choice in how we create our daily experiences, we have a choice how we create our holiday experience. Be empowered, choose a positive perspective, and shine brightly during these gone-before-you-know-it magical holidays!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

Tenth Day of Holiday Inspirations for

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

Be Grateful.

When you find yourself about to mentally curse out someone who cut ahead of you in the check-out line… or complaining about yet another holiday errand… or are secretly feeling a little resentful that you’re in the kitchen baking your Christmas yams for a houseful of out-of-town family that is about to descend, while your best girlfriend gets to show up at her mother-in-law’s with merely a spinach dip… Stop, take a deep breath, and be grateful. Be grateful you have the money to pay for your items in that check-out line, and thankful that you have a car to run your errands, and appreciative of that family who is making the trek to spend a holiday in the home that you are so blessed to have, with the food that so many others are without.

It is easy, where we’re under stress, to start thinking negatively and settling into a victim-level energy. So, make the conscious choice to focus on being grateful if you feel yourself starting to slip down that slippery slope of self-pity. With this shift to a more positive perspective of gratitude, you’ll enjoy the holidays so much more, and your warmth will be contagious!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

Ninth Day of Holiday Inspirations for

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

This Season of Joy, find Joy in the little things.

The beauty of Christmas tree lights in a quiet house when you are the last one up…The teddy bear snugliness (O.K., so I made up a word – it captures the feeling though, doesn’t it?) of a hug from children cuddled up in their fluffy winter footy pajamas at bedtime…The look of magical holiday wonder and dreams in your children’s eyes as they watch out the window for Santa… Take time to experience joy in the moment each day this holiday season – it only takes just that, a moment, but the benefits are huge! It’s the stuff that some of the most precious holiday memories are made of!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

Eighth Day of Holiday Inspirations for

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

Make having a healthy holiday simple.

Practice one healthy habit each day – even the tiniest one – so you can stay energized and bright. Let’s face it, for most of us, there is going to be a missed exercise class at the gym, an extra glass of holiday cheer, and/or indulging in one too many of Aunt Margie’s famous sausage puffs. Rather than beating ourselves up and having visions of too-tight jeans dancing through our heads each night, let’s go a little easy on ourselves. It is the Season of Joy, after all! So, think of one thing you can do each day to feel like you honored your health. Maybe it is parking at a further away than front-row parking space, or choosing a salad for lunch on a day you know you’ll be enjoying a holiday buffet for dinner, or rounding up the kids to take a check-out-the-lawn-decorations afternoon bike ride through your neighborhood, or drinking 3 extra glasses of water throughout your day – little healthful opportunities surround us during the holidays! Choose one or two a day, make them simple and fun, and rest your head easily at night, knowing that you gave yourself a little gift of health during your day!

Live Positively Fulfilled!

Lynn Ely
MomEvolve
www.momevolve.com

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