Slow the Holiday Hustle: 5 Senses Reflection

You know that feeling where your schedule starts to feel really tight? It's one event after the other, last minute grocery trips, and the kitchen's a constant mess. You keep yourself going by telling yourself "it's just a season." Then suddenly, it's over. You're not sure when Thanksgiving and Christmas lost its magic, but that feeling of regret settles in because you spent so much time just trying to get through everything that you didn't stop to enjoy it.

The reality is that the season is whatever you make it. If you say yes to every invite, if you push everything to the last minute, if you run around frantically until you crash out and resort to doom scrolling, then yes you're going to be rushed. You'll end up feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. This isn't intended to make you feel judged or guilty but rather to encourage you to pause. Consider how much of the holiday hustle is a rush of your own making. Try to suspend self-judgement, take a deep breath (in for 3, out for 3), and just think for a second. There is another way...you probably fell into the trap of the holiday hustle without even realizing it. It just sort of consumed you. So if you want something different, it starts with a little bit of intentionality. Truly, it starts that simply.

This isn't to suggest you stay away from the festivities or cut out celebrations all together. The encouragement here is to be intentional about how you celebrate so that you do have a joyful, celebratory occasion. Before you get into any of the how-tos or details, take a moment to just imagine. Close your eyes and envision your perfect snapshot of a celebration. I don't mean an actual picture. Rather, if you could zoom out and take an observer's perspective, like Scrooge with the Ghost of Christmas Present viewing the Cratchit family's simple, warm, and loving gathering.

You can download a PDF here of the 5 Senses Brainstorm here:

5 Senses Brainstorm.pdf

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In your mind's eye, what would you see? Who would be there? What kinds of decorations, if any, are present? What's the lighting like? What's on the walls and on the table?

What do you hear? Who's laugh? What kinds of conversations? Is there music playing or people singing? Are there moments of quiet or prayer or taking turns sharing gratitudes?

What do you taste? Something familiar? Something new? Something homemade or bought? Something bubbly, something strong, something sweet? Is it one big sit down meal, multiple courses, or food out for grazing?

What do you smell? Is it the savory scent of food? Candles burning? Citrus? Trees? No extra scents and just clean or fresh laundry?

And lastly, what do you feel? To your physical touch are you in comfy clothes or all dolled up? Are you wearing fuzzy socks, slippers, shoes, heels? What about internally -- are you hyped up, loud, joyful, filled with laughter, calm, peaceful, settled, content?

There is no way you should feel. This is about what you want the holidays to looks like for you. So if the questions help you, use them. If they don't, focus on the prompts (see, hear, taste, smell, feel). You can use this worksheet to help you capture on paper what you're envisioning in your heart and mind.

This is from step 1 of "7 Steps to Celebrating Well." Check out the full blog post here for more on how to celebrate well.