The holiday season is typically one filled with hustling and bustling. This can cause for stress and overwhelming feelings this time of year. This year, as if the holidays aren't stressful enough, we have to navigate the stressors of an unprecedented pandemic, which brings a whole mess of new and confusing factors to consider. Regardless of your circumstances and the effects this pandemic have had on those circumstances, there is still reason to find JOY in this season though. If for no other reason than that, you are blessed to have the chance to still celebrate the season. With one week until it's Christmas morning we wanted to give you a toolkit to survive the season and actually enJOY the season. We hope these 4 tips can help stop the stress from spinning constantly in your head and embrace the season, with the loved ones you are blessed to still have time here on earth, to find some moments of JOY even if the celebrations look differently this year. 

Be in the moment

       In this day in age the number of outlets, devices and other distractions vying for your time & attention can feel insurmountable when not managed diligently. Take time this season, and always, to be self-aware of the ways you aid in the distractions and steal that focus back from your distractions to redirect it on whatever loved ones you have near to you through these challenging times. Whether it be family, friends, or coworkers. We may all be in "different boats" sailing through this "societal storm" but we are still ALL in this storm, and taking that into consideration can remind us to embrace the little moments where we can find them, because these days they mat seem even shorter on supply than normal. Don't just embrace for them when they drop in your lap though, seek them. Don't take for granted the little blessings sprinkled amidst the storm, because focusing on the blessings still instead of the storm can make all the difference in your survival chances, physically, emotionally & mentally. Not only that, but we are never promised a tomorrow, so if God forbid these are the last holidays you get to enjoy with any of your loved ones do you want it to be a memory filled with distractions? Turn off the technology (unless it is necessary for the quality time) and be in the moment. Leave the work distractions at work (or in your newly thrown together home office), be present in the celebrations. Be in the moment.

Focus on Traditions

       Traditions are a huge part of our families celebrations, regardless of the season, but especially at the holidays. This year many of our traditions had to be left out of all the seasons...from spring, through summer and fall, and now Christmas. In our home, we have always focused on traditions as much as we have because they are an incredible way to share generationally during the holidays. This year even though many of our traditions had to be eliminated due to safety concerns and gathering size restrictions, we have still made our best effort to continue the traditions we could, reimagine a few to fit into the unprecedented times, and where neither option was available, we curbed the tradition for this year only, we discussed the tradition and why we love it, what we will miss most about it, the JOY they invoke and, what we look forward to about them when a more traditional means for celebrating is allowed again. In the mean time, we also looked for a new tradition or two to sneak into our season, to bring fresh JOY to the season, and to commemorate this unusual year into our future seasonal stories. Focus on traditions.

       I always recommend incorporating good planning and a few well utilized shortcuts into your holiday season to help keep it simple. On a normal year, I could do an entire blog series on tips for entertaining through the holidays & keeping it simple, especially if you were planning for a big crowd. However, this year, it seems like a complete no brainer. The pandemic is already adding enough uncertainty and confusion to the season, so don't add to it with unrealistic and entirely unnecessary steps that will take you out of the JOYfilled moments. Look for cheap or free entertainment by cracking out some board games or a deck of cards, throwback game night style. Eliminate lengthy & messy cleanup by looking for biodegradable disposable products to keep the sink and stovetop from filling with time consuming dishes. Less bodies means less waste when switching out to disposable, so this year you can save yourself the guilt and extend a little grace to the dishwasher at the same time. Take the chaos out of the menu & the kitchen by planning your meals small and with shortcuts, especially this year. No one likes to spend quality time at the holidays by slaving away in the kitchen the entire time, but with less guests in attendance this year, do your self a favor and prepare some meals that are low maintenance in the prep department, and if possible prep as much ahead as possible. Crockpots, Instapots, electric roasters and air fryers can be our friend in this area. If you have traditional recipes that you can reimagine to take some of the work out of it, do it. If there was ever a season to improvise a little, this is the year. Plus, this is the year to try a new recipe, if there's one you've wanted to try for a holiday meal, but you've never wanted to mess with the traditions, now's the time. You may even pick up a shortcut or recipe or two that you love enough to implement every year, saving you future time & effort! Keep it simple.

       When it comes to the holiday season, documenting is often so overlooked in the midst of the excitement. I know that I go into every holiday hoping to capture some great moments on film, or digital file, and I am usually pretty successful. Still, it never ceases to amaze me how many moments we miss simply because we forget to take a moment every now & then to intentionally document. Now I am not talking about a full documentary approach to each holiday get together, that would basically negate my "Be In the Moment" advice, but I am talking about not just flying by the seat of your pants in the celebration. I mean going with a camera, or fully charged device (whose battery will last even longer when you are only using it for picture taking instead of distractedly scrolling or gaming). I mean speaking up and asking those you do celebrate with to participate in a photo for cherishing in future years, by future generations. Even if you have to creatively space for the photograph, have fun with it. Consider it a fun twist . If a virtual gathering is happening in place of an in person gathering, learn how &/or practice the recording process so you are ready the day of. You will be grateful you made the decision to intentionally document this year especially. Document the Moments

Now with your tool kit fully detailed, go head into this Christmas week prepared & ready to enJOY your #DazzlingMoments & #CelebrateTheSeason this #DazzlingChristmas with your loved ones, near or far!