Image credit: Heatons
This post is written by our Senior Editor, Rachel Kempton.
Do you remember how wonderful Christmas felt when you were a child? I don’t know about you but come December, there was always a special kind of magic in the air: a feeling of wonder and anticipation. Every year I couldn’t wait for the Christmas decorations to come out of hibernation, to count down the days on my advent calendar and to play my (never-so-leading role!) in the nativity play. At school we’d gather unwanted gifts to give to patients at local hospitals and I’d go round nursing homes with my friends and sing Christmas carols to the old folks. Christmas was about giving, as well as enjoying precious time with family, laughing, playing games, eating far too much – and of course the joy of opening the goodies Santa had left in ours sacks and stockings.
As we get older, and the pressures of daily life take over, it’s not surprising that Christmas can lose its sparkle, especially if we find ourselves overwhelmed by to-do lists, exhausted by social obligations, and swept up in the commercial side of things. In fact according to the results of a survey*, Christmas is up there with divorce, moving house and changing jobs as the sixth most stressful life event. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Here are our top tips for ensuring Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year!
1. Embrace the spirit of giving
Spread some love and joy by focusing on what you’re grateful for, and what you can give. If you look around, there are kindness opportunities every day and in any situation – writing a card, helping out a friend or carrying someone’s groceries. Here are some more great ideas for giving something back:
- donate a toy for underprivileged children
- take a bag of unwanted gifts or clothes to your local charity shop
- spend an hour in your local hospital talking to someone who doesn’t get any visitors
- help out a homeless shelter
- organise a charity Christmas collection
- volunteer your services at your local Christmas concert or Carol Service
- invite a neighbour who’s alone to join you for Christmas dinner
- start a “Pay-It-Forward” chain (for example by paying for a coffee for the person behind you in the queue at your local cafe) to spread some holiday cheer.
Need inspiration? Try out this ‘Acts of kindness generator’ created by Shari’s Berries. With over 50 ideas to inspire your next thoughtful gesture it’s sure to make you to feel all warm and fuzzy inside knowing you’re making somebody else’s Christmas all the more special.
2. Keep it cheap – or free!
Christmas doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact you don’t necessarily have to spend any money at all! The Do What You Love team love the idea of a ‘free’ Christmas, and last year we only gave gifts which were:
- hand-made (like a scrapbook, a piece of furniture, or a wooden toy) although we were allowed to pay for materials/ingredients!
- second hand (like a vintage typewriter or sewing machine which we no longer used, or books which were gathering dust on our bookshelves or which were so brilliant we just had to pass on)
- items we had received and never used like a gift voucher, products that we got as part of a deal such as ‘buy one get one free’, or something we’d bought with a gift card we had previously received)
- we were available to give freely ourselves thanks to our personal skills/talents/businesses (i.e. a free e-course course, a healing or beauty treatment, a tarot card reading, a business mentoring session, or gardening/babysitting/DIY services)
- bought/acquired as a result of selling/trading online or at a car boot or mother and baby sale, for example.
Image credit: dotcomgiftshop
Gifting ‘free’ presents worked well because it felt good to really think about the person we were giving to and we also received some lovely thoughtful gifts ourselves too.
3. Bring back the traditions you loved
Remember those things you and your family did every Christmas without fail? Whether it was writing a letter to Santa, making snowflakes for the windows, baking gingerbread men, playing games after Christmas dinner, or leaving out a mince pie, carrot and glass of sherry on Christmas Eve… childhood traditions are precisely the things that make Christmas so special and unique. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t really have any traditions; it’s never too late to start new ones!
Need inspiration? Check out this article: 50 Christmas Traditions For Having Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (perfect for kids aged 1 to 92!)
4. Swap stress for love and gratitude
These days, whenever I start to feel anxious, overtired, or angry, that’s usually a trigger for me to slow down, take a breath and ask myself: “Am I thinking and acting out of fear and stress, or am I thinking and acting in a state of love and gratitude?” I challenge you to try it.
Need more inspiration, help and advice? Read this article on How to Choose Gratitude Over Stress This Holiday Season
5. Keep it fun and festive
If you want to fully experience the Christmas magic, you have to embrace the festivities (yep, I’m wearing my Christmas jumper and reindeer socks as I type!). Whether it’s filling your playlist with Christmas songs, watching some Christmas classics, organising Secret Santa at the office, or hosting an intimate gathering with friends and family, there are loads of ways that you can spread good cheer and ignite the festive spark in everyone around you too.
Image credit Kelly Hoppen
6. Do something different
As children, part of the reason why Christmas is so magical is because everything is new and exciting. We get swept up in the mystery of Christmas – the sights, the sounds, the smells and the atmosphere. Recapture that sense of wonder this year by visiting somewhere you have never been before or doing something you have never done. Depending on your budget you could head off to Lapland for the ultimate festive experience, visit a Christmas market in a location you have never visited before, try a festive activity such as ice skating, carol singing, going to a local panto, or baking Christmas treats. Trying something new and exciting this Christmas and we guarantee it will be one to remember.
Image credit: Next
* Results from a survey of over 3,000 people conducted by MemoriseThis.com – the UK’s largest on-line gift giving company.
Happy holidays!
I am writing this at my kitchen counter, glass of wine in hand, dinner dishes stacked high in the sink waiting for some attention. A voice in my head keeps reminding me that my large travel bag is still lying on my bedroom floor, in the exact spot I left it there on Sunday after arriving back from 19 days’ travel in the USA. The floor by my feet is strewn with children’s toys – an open jewellery box with a sleepy ballerina, done with pirouetting for the day; a plastic teapot ready to serve a tiny tea party, a slowly wrinkling balloon. Mr K is catching up with one of his superhero programmes in the next room, and the girls are sleeping upstairs. As I cast around my home, I could not be happier to be here.
Image credit: Kelly Hoppen
Homaira Kabir