I admit it. I was in one case as grouchy as Scrooge about the wintertime holidays. Even as my husband and I assembled bikes for the kids in the wee hours of Christmas forenoon (and yes, we were inevitably a few bolts short), I fretted over whether we were carrying the truthful spirit of the season or merely preparation superconsumers. I dreaded the annual shopping and eating free-for-all that left us thinner in the wallet, fatter in the thighs, and exhausted from all the effort. By the fourth dimension New year finally rolled around each twelvemonth, I was a basket instance. Where was the sacred aspect? I wondered.

Of course, I wasn't alone in my frazzled land. The holidays can be incredibly stressful for everyone, especially when nosotros're focused on the externals rather than the true meaning of the holy days and their hope of peace and renewal.

Over the years, my extended and blended Jewish/Christian family unit has gradually made the holidays more than meaningful. Nosotros still requite presents to the children, but we quit exchanging gifts among adults. Instead, each of united states chooses a charity and gives money in the names of family unit and friends. I wish that I'd wised upward sooner.

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When my ii boys were small, I would accept had them brand two Christmas/Hanukkah lists: ane noting things they wanted for themselves, the other of things they wanted to requite to less-fortunate children. Information technology would take been a great time to go out the globe and think about life in other cultures as we made plans to fulfill their charity wish list.Merely we did have some lively conversations and rituals that honored Judaism, Christianity, and the winter solstice. I recollect how Hanukkah came alive one year after nosotros lit the menorah and said the prayers. We started talking about miracles. The Hanukkah miracle was that a single, small pot of oil burned for eight nights instead of just one. But the true Hanukkah miracle, we decided after a surprisingly deep and touching conversation, is well-nigh a whole lot more than oil. It's nigh remembering the mysterious force of grace that operates continuously in every life. Each of the states talked nigh a time when grace touched us with aid or healing. Small kids are and so total of wonder and marvel that a simple invitation to reflect on their lives ofttimes unleashes a torrent of excited stories, insights, and questions. This is the stuff that the all-time holiday memories are made of.

When Christmas came around that year, our discussions connected. What if the birth of the Christ child was as well near the birth of love and newness in our own lives? We'd but moved to a different boondocks that twelvemonth, so we reflected on all the blessings that had entered our lives. That led to a great substitution about letting go of the erstwhile to make room for the new.[pagebreak]All the December holidays commemorate low-cal in some way. And whether you lot celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the winter solstice, or all of the above, you lot can have the occasion to clean out the old and make room for the nascency of the new within you. It'southward piece of cake to talk most letting your own inner calorie-free shine, just it'due south difficult to experience that low-cal glowing if your life is crammed with mental or physical clutter. To that end, I do a simple ritual every year that does wonders for clearing my inner space: I clean off my desk. Don't laugh--it really works.

The process usually takes two half days, so I put them on my calendar. On the outset half day, I go through the dusty piles of neglected responsibilities, culling all the letters, faxes, manuscripts, videos, CDs, books, and e-mails that I know I'g not going to get around to, despite my good intentions. The few items that are still important become into an immediate to-practice pile. On the following one-half day of the Nifty Desk-Clearing Ritual, I set on the pile with vigor. When it has been vanquished, I write notes to a handful of people who have made a divergence in my life during the year.

Finally, I call back about my personal vision for the future and dribble it into a mission statement for the year to come. I get out my desk-bound clean on New Year's Eve, except for the mission statement. This year, I'll terminate the ritual by reading it to my fiancé, Gordie; my three closest buddies; my wonderful staff, Luzie and Kathleen; and the kids. Afterwards all, they're the ones who'll likely agree my feet to the fire so that I follow through and complete the tasks that my eye knows I was put here to attain.I recommend this ritual for its centre- and soul-clearing effects. Hither are four additional suggestions to transform your holidays into holy days.

Create a charity box. This is a spot where everyone in the family drops loose modify at the terminate of each day. At some point during the holidays--a perfect time would be when you exchange presents--decide what cause you'll donate the money to next December.

Have a party with spiritual pizzazz. Invite five to ten people and ask them to bring festive food and drink. Give each person a turn to speak without interruption about the lessons they've learned in the past twelvemonth. Then take a few minutes to write downward erstwhile habits that each of you lot is fix to allow get of, and fire the collected papers in a fireplace if you have one, or in another safe identify.

Requite out love coupons. Create them by hand from colored paper, or even blueprint them on the computer. They can be skillful for stories and trips to the zoo for kids; dwelling house-cooked, romantic candlelit dinners (or more than amorous activities) for spouses; walks in special places with friends. Foot rubs, dorsum rubs, concerts, chores...the possible delights are endless.

Take a retreat solar day 2 or 3 weeks before the holidays. This ways time alone to reflect, walk in nature, practice some spiritual reading or writing, and be silent. Information technology may seem crazy when there's and then much to exercise, but a centered, peaceful you is the best gift you tin can give to your family unit this--or whatever--holiday season.