Does Winter Break leave you exhausted, stressed out, and broke!?

     Winter Break is filled with high expectations, increased family time, and temperatures that often give us cabin fever.  How can we head into the break or the holiday season purposely choosing to enjoy it more; to be present and relaxed with our family instead of busy and tense?   Here are a few suggestions that might help families celebrate their increased togetherness (even on a shoe string budget):

1.        Rethink that crazy To-Do List:    Take a deep breath and just do one thing at a time.  Put your entire attention on that task until it is finished, then switch.  Enjoy each activity fully while you are doing it.  Being mindfully attuned to one task increases performance and reduces your stress level, says Kristin Race from Mindful Life.  Then give yourself permission to say “no” to activities that don’t really fill your cup.  If you are less stressed, your children will also be less likely to fight and argue.  It’s all about Doing less and Being more.

2.       Change up your Traditions:  Our brains are hardwired to seek out novelty.  New experiences give us a joyful dopamine hit, so if your holiday traditions are stale, change them up, say the folks at Mindful Life.  Dare your children to wear their matching holiday pajamas from grandma to a busy coffee shop for spiced apple cider.  Make awkward family photos for next year’s card.  Create a scavenger hunt for your children’s gift (even if it is a pair of socks!).  They will remember the hunt long after the present is forgotten.  Be silly and spontaneous. 

3.       Random Acts of Kindness:  Performing acts of kindness is the secret sauce of holiday stress reduction.  Kindness decreases depression, reduces anxiety, boosts oxytocin, makes us feel more connected, and even lowers blood pressure.  So buy presents for a family in need, shovel off a neighbor’s sidewalk, feed the parking meter of a shopping stranger, or let someone go in front of you in line at the shipping store.  Find acts you can do all around your neighborhood or community.  Generate ideas with your kids and get them involved in the acts.

4.       Simply Enjoy the Magic of Winter:  Going back to simple pleasures makes each day of the winter break special and fun.   Make a list of one fun thing you will do each day as a family--Make a fort in the living room out of every pillow and blanket in the house.  String popcorn while playing upbeat music and then hang it outside for the squirrels.  Collect fresh snow in a bowl and drizzle with maple syrup for a treat.  Smear peanut butter on a large pinecone, then sprinkle with bird seed and hang in the trees.    Play flashlight hide and seek in the evening.  Go sledding with your kids and make snow angels.  Decide to have a “no tech Tuesday” or an “Electricity went out Wednesday” and pull out the board games, candles, and family stories to share.  Check out some audio books from the library and listen to them while sipping hot cocoa by the woodstove.  See what free children’s activities are being offered at the local library.  Make homemade playdough and create shapes while it is still warm (Heat 1 cup water, 1 Tbsp. oil, ½ cup salt, 1 Tbsp. cream of tartar & food coloring in saucepan until warm.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup flour.  Knead until smooth.)  Roll up a brown paper bag so it sets on your head and decorate with colorful paper and shapes for a New Year’s hat.  Spend hours cutting up paper for confetti to throw at noon instead of midnight on Dec 31^st.  Crank up the tunes and dance together.   Have the kids create a play and costumes with some of your clothing.   Take a night hike and look for stars.  Ignore the rush to consumerism.  Buy less.  Be more.

5.       Gifting with more Meaning:   Encourage your children to include a statement of appreciation for the recipient of each gift they give.  Have fun cutting open brown paper bags and walking across them with painted feet or hands to use as wrapping paper.  Relatives appreciate seeing the homemade paper of loved ones far away.

Your playful and relaxed presence is the best gift you can give your children.

Ann Sherman, Social Emotional Learning Instructor and Parenting Matters Coordinator at NES

720-561-4861   ann@teensinc.org